The Ruling on Acting in the Mosque Under the Pretext of Da'wah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Sami asks your eminence: What is your opinion of one who permits acting or drama in the mosque, and that is in the context of da'wah (calling others to Islam)?
Answer:
Acting is not permissible, neither in the mosque nor anywhere else. It is not part of the practice of Muslims; rather, it is something brought to us from the practices of others. Da'wah is not done through acting. Da'wah is done through the Book and the Sunnah, through encouragement and warning, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, and just as the callers to Allah followed after him. Did the Messenger act? Did the Companions act? Did the scholars and sincere callers of the Ummah who came after them act? This is a frivolous act and an act that is not attributed to da'wah. This is frivolity, and da'wah does not accept frivolity. Da'wah is done through the Book and the Sunnah, and through evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. It is also done through a good example. The work that calls to Allah must be an example, so that one is the first of people to do good, to do what he commands, and to avoid what he forbids.[Al-Baqarah 2:44] This is how da'wah is done. Da'wah is not done through acting, laughter, and the like. Yes.
Sami asks your eminence: What is your opinion of one who permits acting or drama in the mosque, and that is in the context of da'wah (calling others to Islam)?
Answer:
Acting is not permissible, neither in the mosque nor anywhere else. It is not part of the practice of Muslims; rather, it is something brought to us from the practices of others. Da'wah is not done through acting. Da'wah is done through the Book and the Sunnah, through encouragement and warning, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, and just as the callers to Allah followed after him. Did the Messenger act? Did the Companions act? Did the scholars and sincere callers of the Ummah who came after them act? This is a frivolous act and an act that is not attributed to da'wah. This is frivolity, and da'wah does not accept frivolity. Da'wah is done through the Book and the Sunnah, and through evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. It is also done through a good example. The work that calls to Allah must be an example, so that one is the first of people to do good, to do what he commands, and to avoid what he forbids.
Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ
Source
75-لقاءات مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 09-5-2-1433 — archive.org (23:24)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.