1. The Ruling on Acting in Plays
Question:
At the university, we have a committed theater run by righteous people, in which plays are presented that recount the history and glories of the Islamic nation. This year, many scripts have been written for us, among them texts or stories dealing with the period before the Muhammadan mission, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the conditions in which the Arabs lived at that time. Some of these texts and stories also address the lives, striving, and trials of some of the righteous among the Tābiʿūn—may Allah have mercy upon them. Since the students who portray these scenes and circumstances are religiously committed youth and are the best of the university’s young people in character and religion, we ask the following:
1. Is it permissible for these young men to assume and portray the conditions and persons of those Arabs who lived before the Prophetic mission, who, as you know, were polytheists and unbelievers?
2. Is it permissible to portray and assume the roles of the Tābiʿūn and the righteous, presenting this on stage in order to introduce people to their striving and their trials?
Answer:
The acting mentioned is permissible if the intention behind it is to derive benefit from bravery, heroism, and the manner of entering wars and fighting enemies, or if the purpose is to depict the ignorance, polytheism, and superstitions in which they were immersed, which Islam abolished; their unbelief and polytheism do not harm us in that respect.
(Secondly) There is no objection to the acting mentioned for the purpose of learning about the striving of the righteous, their trials, their worship, and their righteousness, and of observing some of what they did and the effects they had on others. Such acting is excused for that purpose. It does not matter that the actor is, in his actions, not literally being truthful, since he is narrating on behalf of another something that is true and real, and the audience knows that it is a representation of something that occurred previously.
Undoubtedly, the benefit the audience derives from acting is greater than the benefit they derive from the mere verbal narration of a story, for acting depicts the event in the mind, leaves its effect permanently in memory, and causes one to recall the story and apply it or draw analogies from it. For this reason, Allah the Exalted frequently employs parables in the Qur’an. If a person were to enact some of them before the people, they would visualize them and recognize the profound effect they contain. And Allah knows best.
This fatwa was answered by:
His Eminence Shaykh ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbdur-Raḥmān al-Jibrīn—may Allah have mercy on him. Source
2) Ruling on Acting
Question:
You know—may Allah preserve you—that people need a variety of means of daʿwah in order to confront what the enemies are plotting. A guiding preacher may need to employ certain daʿwah messages whose ruling may be unclear to him. Among these are:
1. A man imitating a woman’s voice to depict and address a particular situation;
2. A man wearing women’s clothing on stage before a gathering of people in order to address a specific issue;
3. Imitating unbelievers in some of their distinctive traits in order to warn against them;
4. Representing Jews and Christians on stage in order to warn against their schemes;
5. Circumambulating a grave or prostrating to it in order to teach the ignorant how such acts are done so that they may avoid falling into them;
and other such matters intended to address a certain issue or to explain a particular trait to people so that they may practice it, or another so that they may avoid it if it is blameworthy. What is your opinion of one who says: “All the legal texts must be applied to the reality of the people”?
Answer:
In my view—and Allah knows best—these dramatic representations are permissible on account of the evident benefit involved, namely, rectifying certain reprehensible acts that occur within these communities. Indeed, in this acting and imitation there is benefit in clarifying the errors of those sinful people, so that those present may come to know the extent of their ignorance and their scandalous mistakes. This then becomes a cause for warning against them (their sinful actions) and keeping away from imitating them. In this way they are exposed and the evil of their schemes becomes manifest. And Allah knows best.
This fatwa was answered by:
His Eminence Shaykh Abdullah ibn ʿAbdur-Raḥmān al-Jibrīn—may Allah have mercy on him. Source
3) Ruling on Watching Animated Cartoons for Children and Adults
Question:
What is the ruling on watching animated cartoons for children and adults?
Answer:
Animated cartoons are regarded as images. However, since they are not fixed and can be erased and removed from those films, and since they have been drawn in the form of Allah’s creation, we hold that there is no objection to watching them for children as a form of amusement, and for adults for recognizing the wonders they contain, taking heed, reflection, remembrance, and benefit, though with dislike—especially if, before being recorded, they had been drawn by hand and their form had been altered from their original state. Source
4) Ruling on the Use of Cartoon Images in Islamic Media
Question:
What is your Eminence’s opinion regarding cartoon images in the field of Islamic media, especially in video tapes and other filmed programs, given that they have begun to spread among Muslim children as a suitable educational alternative to many corrupt tapes that call to immorality and the wasting of time without benefit?
Answer:
We advise against occupying oneself with such images and such films that contain no benefit. However, if they are used as an educational alternative for Muslim children in place of corrupt tapes that call to immorality or to wasting time without benefit, then it may be said that such cartoon images in the field of video tapes are permissible, so that they may serve as a substitute for that which is worse than them. For some evils are lighter than others, and among the legal maxims is: [committing the lesser of two harms in order to avert the greater of them]. Thus, if there is no alternative but to occupy these children away from corruption (Fasad) and frivolous amusement, while taking care to raise them in a sound manner- that preserves for them their religion and their time. And Allah knows best.
This fatwa was answered by:
His Eminence Shaykh ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbdur-Raḥmān al-Jibrīn — may Allah have mercy on him. Source
5) Ruling on Showing Video Films Containing Plays and Events in a Mosque Library
Question:
We, the congregation of Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād Mosque, have a library for the mosque, and it has two entrances: one opening into the mosque and the other opening to the outside. Inside the library, video films are shown containing plays and celebrations such as scout ceremonies, as well as cartoon films for children. Is it permissible to show these films inside the library?
Answer:
If those films contain benefit, whether for children or others, then there is no objection to showing them inside the library or elsewhere. But if they contain no benefit and consist only of enticing images, amusement and play, or that which is of no benefit in religion or worldly life, then it is not permissible to show them or to look at them, whether inside the library or elsewhere. Source
This fatwa was answered by:
His Eminence Shaykh ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbdur-Raḥmān al-Jibrīn — may Allah have mercy on him.
(Translated by Mohammed bin Thajammul Hussain Manna)
Saheehus-Seerah 