The Ruling on Writing Narratives and Fictional Stories

Question : The questioner says: I am interested in writing stories, and I compose events with fictional names to address certain social problems and others. Is this considered lying, given that what I write has not happened, but rather I anticipate it happening?

Answer : Some scholars have held that such a thing is permissible, that a person may depict abstract concepts through tangible forms. He stated that this is among the striking of parables about which Allah the Exalted said: He also stated that some exegetes said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: "safety," and so on, and the like of and so on. They said that these are not actual events that occurred, but rather Allah the Exalted strikes them as parables for us. So if a person wants to strike parables in stories that serve the community and benefit from them, then there is nothing wrong with it, but on the condition that it not be in the form of acting, such that he acts as a woman and imitates her. For a man acting as a woman and imitating her in voice, appearance, and the specific forms of speech belonging to women, this is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the men who imitate women. So it is not permissible for a man to imitate a woman, neither in her voice, nor in her style, nor in her manner of speech, nor in her clothing, even if he says he wants to serve the community by doing so. Because the thing that Allah Mighty and Majestic has forbidden and His Messenger has forbidden cannot possibly lead to reform ever, for it is not possible to bring about reform through forbidden means. Rather, sins, when committed, become a cause of failure, corruption, and the alteration of affairs. And listen to the saying of Allah the Exalted: meaning that you encountered something other than what you love, or other than what you love. And that was in a certain instance when a sin occurred among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not from all of them, but from the archers whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had placed on the head of the mountain. A single sin occurred from them, so defeat befell the Muslims because of this sin, and because of the failure and disagreement in the matter of these archers, may Allah be pleased with them and forgive them. The important point is that I say: as for the one who claims to reform the society by imitating women, we tell him that this is in reality not a means of reform, because anything that is forbidden cannot possibly...