“YouTube earnings are haram,” says Dr Zakir Naik

Renowned religious scholar Dr Zakir Naik denounced YouTube earnings, declaring them “haram” for violating Islamic principles during a lecture in Karachi.

Dr Naik was responding to a question from a man who asked about YouTube. In reply, he stated, “When Allah provides for me so generously without YouTube, why should I use it?”

He continued, “YouTube earnings are haram. If you earn from YouTube ads featuring women and music. Even if you ban alcohol ads, can you stop the depiction of women?”

The religious preacher said, “I have 24 million followers, and I could easily monetise that. People are making substantial sums by resharing my videos on their YouTube channels, but they place women’s images in the thumbnails, resulting in 2 million views while my original video only gets 500,000.”

Dr Zakir Naik maintained that he does not file copyright claims because he “seeks blessings, not money earned through unethical means.”

He also revealed that his videos are shadow-banned, saying they do not receive as many views as they once did. “However, since arriving in Pakistan, my viewership has increased,” Dr Naik noted.

Despite his team being experts in social media, Dr Naik said his primary goal is to spread Allah’s message, not to profit from un-Islamic or inappropriate means.

He advised the man to abandon YouTube influencing and turn towards Allah, assuring him that “leaving ad revenue behind would not harm his livelihood but instead open the door to further blessings.”