Publishing Indecent Magazines

Question :

What is the ruling concerning the sale of magazines, in whose pages can be found pictures of enticing, unveiled women, and magazines that concentrate solely on informing people about the lives of actors and actresses?

Answer:

It is not allowed to sell magazines that portray pictures of women or invite to fornication, lewdness, homosexuality, consuming intoxicants, etc., whatever it is that invites and helps one into falsehood. It is also not allowed to work for such magazines, neither in the printing or distribution of them, because this includes helping each other in sin and transgres- sion, spreading corruption in the land, inviting to social degradation, and spreading lewdness. In His Clear Book, Allah Almighty said:
"Help you one another in virtue, righteousness, and piety; but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And Fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in Punishment."

The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Whoever calls others to guidance will have a reward similar to the rewards of those who followed him, without them losing anything from their rewards. And whoever calls others to falsehood, then upon him is sin equal to the sins of those who followed him, without anything from their sins being decreased for them."

In another Hadith, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Two kinds of people, whom I have not seen yet, are from the dwellers of the Fire: men, in whose hands are whips like the tails of cows they beat people with them; and women, who, though they are dressed are in reality, are naked; they walk seductively, from side to side, and their hair is shaped like the humps of camels. They will not enter Paradise, nor will they smell it, even though its fragrance can be detected from such and such distance."

There are many verses from the Qur'an and sayings of the Messenger of Allah that have a similar meaning. We ask Allâh Almighty to guide, protect, and save the Muslims; to guide those who are in charge of the media, to save them from the evil of theirselves and the plots of Shaytan, and to make their paramount objective the welfare of all Muslims. Indeed Alläh Almighty is Most-Generous.

Source:
Ibn Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 8 Pages 187-188-189