Laghw and ADHD (RICC Khutbah)

September 11. 2026 mamdouh.salama@comcast.net The Danger of Laghw in the Age of Video Games While my intention was to continue my previous khutbah on the character of the Prophet ﷺ particularly truthfulness, a friend called me about his son, a third-year student at university, who is suffering from ADHD and cannot concentrate in his classes or reading. I asked, “Does he play video games?” He said, “Almost every night for hours.” I recently wrote a book entitled “Minds Alive” with a friend who is Director of Education at Al-Azhar in Egypt. I told him I wanted to add a chapter on the danger of laghw in the age of video games. He told me that video games have become a serious problem for many young people. So, this khutbah is based on that chapter because this is a problem that can affect any family. What is remarkable is that Allah has addressed this danger in the Qur’an, yet many Muslims may miss the warning. Allah begins Surat Al-Mu’minun with an extraordinary declaration: ﴾ نونمؤملا حلفأ دق ﴿ “Successful indeed are the believers.” [Al-Mu’minun, 23:1] Allah then tells us who these successful believers are. The first quality He mentions is: [Al-Mu’minun, 23:2] And immediately after that, Allah says: ع مه نيذِ لاو ﴿ “And those who turn away from laghw.” [Al-Mu’minun, 23:3] There is a profound lesson in this sequence. The very first quality named after Allah announces success is “khushu”: the ability to bring your heart, mind, and attention before Allah. The second is “turning away from laghw”, refusing to give your attention to what has no worthwhile purpose. The first teaches us where our attention should go. The second teaches us what our attention should leave behind. One protects the other. 1

What Is Laghw? Laghw is often translated as “idle talk.” But its meaning is broader. It includes speech and activity that is empty, useless, or without worthwhile purpose. Notice that Allah did not say successful believers merely avoid laghw. He says: ﴾ نوضرعم وغللا نع ﴿ They “turn away from it”. Why? Because something does not have to be haram before it can damage you. An activity may be permissible. But if it consumes hours of your life, controls your thoughts, weakens your concentration, or distracts you from your responsibilities, then we should ask: What is this activity doing to me? We normally think that wasting time means losing hours. But laghw can cost us something even more valuable: our ability to pay attention at all. Attention Is an Amanah: Allah has given every human being twenty-four hours each day. But He has also given us a limited capacity to concentrate, think, reflect, learn, and remember. That capacity is precious. Our children, and increasingly adults, live in an environment filled with highly stimulating entertainment: video games, short videos, social media, notifications, and endless scrolling. The issue is not that every game or every form of entertainment is haram. The question is: What happens when entertainment begins to train us to expect constant stimulation? A video game can provide a new challenge every few seconds, immediate feedback, points, rewards, sounds, movement, and excitement. Then the same child opens a book. Nothing flashes. No points appear. The child must sit, think, imagine, struggle, and remain patient. And perhaps he says: “I can't concentrate.” Then he stands for salah. Again, there are no rapidly changing images, artificial rewards, or constant novelty. He must stand quietly before Allah and concentrate. So, we should ask ourselves: Are we merely consuming entertainment or are we training our minds through what we repeatedly consume? A Lesson From ADHD: ADHD is a genuine neurodevelopmental condition that existed long before computers and video games. Its symptoms would have been evident in childhood during ordinary activities such as running, climbing, exploring outdoors, doing household work, learning, and interacting with others. Since ADHD is not diagnosed by a brain scan, doctors diagnose it primarily from a persistent pattern of behavior and impairment. 2

But suppose an adolescent showed no significant attention or behavioral problems earlier in childhood, then, after spending enormous amounts of time immersed in highly stimulating video games, becomes unable to tolerate ordinary activities requiring sustained attention, such as reading or studying. We should at least ask whether these habits may be producing ADHD-like behavior, rather than assume that the behavior necessarily reflects ADHD itself. Studies have found an association between heavy video-game use and increased attention difficulties, impulsivity, and ADHD symptoms. This raises an important question about how highly stimulating entertainment may shape a young person's attention and behavior. Because the Qur'an teaches us something fundamental: What we repeatedly do shapes who we become. This is where the placement of these verses becomes remarkable. T h ey h a ve learned to focus their attention upon what deserves They have learned to withdraw their attention from what does not deserve it. One protects the other. If we continuously surrender our attention throughout the day to whatever is most stimulating, we should not be surprised when commanding that attention during salah or study becomes difficult. This is particularly important for parents. Our responsibility is not merely to ask: “Is this game halal or haram?” We should ask a deeper question: What kind of person is this habit helping my child become? Is it developing patience, creativity, curiosity, physical strength, reading, problem- solving; or is the child gradually becoming unable to tolerate anything that does not provide immediate stimulation? Islam does not demand that every moment of life be work. Rest, play, recreation, laughter, family activities, sports, and permissible enjoyment have their place. The question is not: Did I enjoy myself? The question is: Does my entertainment serve my life, or has my life begun to serve my entertainment? When recreation restores us so that we return stronger to our responsibilities, it has served a purpose. But when it consumes our responsibilities, relationships, sleep, learning, worship, and eventually our capacity to concentrate, something has changed. 3

We protect our money because it has value. We protect our homes because they have value. We protect our children because they have value. But how carefully do we protect our attention? Companies compete for it. Apps are designed to capture it. Entertainment industries profit from keeping it. But Allah reminds the believer: Your attention belongs first to They know where to place their attention. And immediately afterward: و ﴾ نوضرعم They know when to take their attention away. Perhaps one of the great challenges of our generation is not simply protecting our time, it is protecting our capacity to pay attention to what deserves our attention. And perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to sit quietly, read deeply, think patiently, explore, build, create, converse, observe the world around them, and stand before Allah with a mind that has learned how to be still. O Allah, grant us humility and focus in our prayers, help us turn away from vain activities, and protect us and children from everything that distances from You. O Allah, spread your mercy upon us, shower us with Your blessings, increase our knowledge, grant us forgiveness, and reward us by the company of Your prophets in the highest place in Heaven, Al-Ferdous Al-Aala. O Allah, forgive our parents and all our friends and relatives who have passed away and make their graves a garden from heaven and grant them the Ferdous Al-Ala. O Allah, remedy our sick and grant them full and speedy recovery. O Allah, guide our children, protect them and make them righteous. O Allah we have many of our brethren who are suffering from injustice and oppression, O Allah grant them victory, heal their trauma, protect the helpless, fulfill their needs and grant them peace and prosperity. O Allah, we ask you in this blessed hour with every name you have elected for yourself that none of us leave this gathering, but his pains have been relieved, his worries have been removed, his debts have been paid, his weaknesses have been concealed, his sins have been forgiven, and his needs have been fulfilled, 33: 56 ) 4