Some of the young people today use what is known as acting as a method of da'wah; what is your opinion on this?
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The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh- May Allah preserve you - Some of the young people today use what is known as acting as a method of da'wah; what is your opinion on this matter? And did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) use this method in da'wah? I ask you to remind us of this, and may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh: Acting is a plague of the present age that has crept into some Muslims who are largely ignorant of the rulings of the Shari'ah. Acting is only needed by the disbelievers, because they have no alternative to verses from the Lord of the Worlds and hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that soften hearts and improve morals. There is nothing of these admonitions and reminders among the disbelievers; therefore, they resorted to adopting plays as a compensation for what they missed of guidance and light due to their disbelief in Islam. So, some young people who do not appreciate their Islamic religion with its due appreciation took these plays from the customs of the disbelievers, without noticing the difference between the disbelievers and the Muslims in this respect I mentioned earlier: that the disbelievers may benefit from plays, whereas the Muslims do not need them, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has sent them a Prophet whose Shari'ah contains everything that rectifies them and rectifies their affairs of religion and worldly life. Especially if we remember the bitter reality in these plays that they are not free from matters that are wrong, such as, for example, that they contain much or some falsification and lying, because a play is not suitable for presentation unless it is adorned with some words that do not represent reality. There may also be free mixing between women and men. If some young people are still adhering to this legal ruling that it is not permissible for men and women to mix freely, because a play may contain men and women, or young men and young women, then the play requires gathering the two sexes, and in that case, free mixing will inevitably occur; especially since the play requires what they call rehearsals, meaning multiple practices; so how much free mixing will there be between the two sexes there?!
If we assume that some Muslims are still conservative regarding some of the legal rulings, including the prohibition of free mixing between the two sexes, the people in charge of performing a play will have to substitute for the other sex of women by having some men act their roles. Here, they fall into another violation of the Shari'ah, which is imitating women. It was narrated in "Sahih al-Bukhari" from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:Sahih al-Bukhari 5885; therefore, no matter how much the people in charge of plays strive to avoid violating the Shari'ah, they are not free from the following matters:
Imitating the disbelievers, because these plays originated from them; then, they are not free from free mixing between men and women; if they are free from that, they are not free from men imitating women, because this is the nature of plays. Therefore, acting is not permissible as an activity because it contradicts the Shari'ah; so how is it permissible to adopt acting as a means to call people to Islam? That is from the category of dealing with matters in a manner contrary to the method of the Messenger (peace be upon him); rather, it is dealing with matters in the way of some open sinners and drunkards whose stories are mentioned in some books of literature, such as Abu Nuwas who used to say:
And cure me with that which was the disease
The disease is not a suitable cure, and the forbidden is not a suitable treatment; so fear Allah and be upright as you have been commanded.
Yes.
The questioner: O Shaykh, ... it would be useful here if you clarified for us the word "acting"; because now if someone came and said: Ahmad went up from the right side of the stage, and Sa'id went up from the left side of the stage, and they met in the middle of the stage, and Ahmad said to Sa'id: Would you like to teach me wudu'? So he took, for example, a pitcher of water and performed wudu' in front of the audience, or suppose, for example, that they went up and Ahmad said to Sa'id: I know a man who faces problems with his family regarding their adherence to Islam, what do you think he should do? So Sa'id said: Like this. Then Ahmad said: But, for example, I think he should do such and such, and he said: Like this. And indeed, he knows a person who suffers from this problem. I think there are types of things that may not have a legal issue, but sometimes it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the word "acting" that you ... mentioned earlier.
The Shaykh: Acting - may Allah bless you - is well-known today and does not need clarification. A person usually needs clarification of something that is obscure, but when it is a reality, clarifying this reality is from the category of what the jurists say in such cases, which is obtaining what is already obtained. The acting that takes place today is clearly seen to be a man, for example, who is beardless, and our Lord created him without a beard, but while he is adorning himself for disobedience to Allah, he shaves his beard, but he wants to act the role of a pious and virtuous scholar or a mujahid in the path of Allah; so what does he do? He takes a borrowed beard to act that person, whether he is a scholar or a mujahid or something similar. All the plays that take place today are based on the actor imitating someone who takes the role of either a king, an emir, a military commander, a servant, or something similar. These individuals, each of them acts the life of a person whose life was previously mentioned in books of history. This is what needs acting. As for some of the examples you mentioned, these come incidentally and do not become an objective and propaganda for the purpose of informing Muslims to return them to their religion and the like. I do not think that anyone, no matter how far they are from general conscious culture, needs us to explain to them what acting is. It is clear. Otherwise, we mention what is closer to the examples you mentioned, such as hadiths; like the hadith of Abu Hunayn al-Sa'di which came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" in a concise form and in "Sunan Abu Dawud" in a detailed form. He said: Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? They said: No, you are not more knowledgeable about his prayer than we are. He said: Yes, I am. They said: Then show it. So he began to pray. We do not say that he acted as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he did not adorn himself with his attire. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), for example, had a thick beard, and we see among you now - what Allah willed - blessed beards, very light beards, and medium beards. The one who prays the prayer of the Prophet to teach people does not intend to imitate the Prophet who had, for example, a noble and large beard, and Abu Hunayn's beard, for example, is light, consisting only of a few hairs. So he does not act as the Messenger (peace be upon him), but he narrates how the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was.
Similarly, for example, the hadith of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan when he performed wudu' in front of them and said: "This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah perform wudu'." This does not contain acting, but rather it contains narrating what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did. As for these acting narratives, they are in another category, and it is sufficient that they are not free from one of the violations I mentioned earlier.
The questioner: ... regarding the issue of imitating women, and the intention was not da'wah and not learning, but only for entertainment.
The Shaykh: I have answered this. I said: How can it be adopted as a means of da'wah with these violations?
The questioner: It is not for da'wah, but only for clarification.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. I am speaking in clear Arabic. I said: How can this acting, which contains these violations, be permitted? These plays are prohibited; so how can they be adopted as a means? This means two things. I have already answered the question you asked previously. Plays are never free from violations of these prohibitions, and they are not permissible in the Shari'ah. So how can something that is not permissible in the Shari'ah be adopted as a means for calling people to Islam? This is more reprehensible than the first.
Yes.
The Shaykh: Acting is a plague of the present age that has crept into some Muslims who are largely ignorant of the rulings of the Shari'ah. Acting is only needed by the disbelievers, because they have no alternative to verses from the Lord of the Worlds and hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that soften hearts and improve morals. There is nothing of these admonitions and reminders among the disbelievers; therefore, they resorted to adopting plays as a compensation for what they missed of guidance and light due to their disbelief in Islam. So, some young people who do not appreciate their Islamic religion with its due appreciation took these plays from the customs of the disbelievers, without noticing the difference between the disbelievers and the Muslims in this respect I mentioned earlier: that the disbelievers may benefit from plays, whereas the Muslims do not need them, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has sent them a Prophet whose Shari'ah contains everything that rectifies them and rectifies their affairs of religion and worldly life. Especially if we remember the bitter reality in these plays that they are not free from matters that are wrong, such as, for example, that they contain much or some falsification and lying, because a play is not suitable for presentation unless it is adorned with some words that do not represent reality. There may also be free mixing between women and men. If some young people are still adhering to this legal ruling that it is not permissible for men and women to mix freely, because a play may contain men and women, or young men and young women, then the play requires gathering the two sexes, and in that case, free mixing will inevitably occur; especially since the play requires what they call rehearsals, meaning multiple practices; so how much free mixing will there be between the two sexes there?!
If we assume that some Muslims are still conservative regarding some of the legal rulings, including the prohibition of free mixing between the two sexes, the people in charge of performing a play will have to substitute for the other sex of women by having some men act their roles. Here, they fall into another violation of the Shari'ah, which is imitating women. It was narrated in "Sahih al-Bukhari" from the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) cursed those men who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of women and those women who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of men.
لعن رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- المتشبِّهين من الرجال بالنساء ، والمشتبِّهات من النساء بالرجالImitating the disbelievers, because these plays originated from them; then, they are not free from free mixing between men and women; if they are free from that, they are not free from men imitating women, because this is the nature of plays. Therefore, acting is not permissible as an activity because it contradicts the Shari'ah; so how is it permissible to adopt acting as a means to call people to Islam? That is from the category of dealing with matters in a manner contrary to the method of the Messenger (peace be upon him); rather, it is dealing with matters in the way of some open sinners and drunkards whose stories are mentioned in some books of literature, such as Abu Nuwas who used to say:
And cure me with that which was the disease
The disease is not a suitable cure, and the forbidden is not a suitable treatment; so fear Allah and be upright as you have been commanded.
Yes.
The questioner: O Shaykh, ... it would be useful here if you clarified for us the word "acting"; because now if someone came and said: Ahmad went up from the right side of the stage, and Sa'id went up from the left side of the stage, and they met in the middle of the stage, and Ahmad said to Sa'id: Would you like to teach me wudu'? So he took, for example, a pitcher of water and performed wudu' in front of the audience, or suppose, for example, that they went up and Ahmad said to Sa'id: I know a man who faces problems with his family regarding their adherence to Islam, what do you think he should do? So Sa'id said: Like this. Then Ahmad said: But, for example, I think he should do such and such, and he said: Like this. And indeed, he knows a person who suffers from this problem. I think there are types of things that may not have a legal issue, but sometimes it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the word "acting" that you ... mentioned earlier.
The Shaykh: Acting - may Allah bless you - is well-known today and does not need clarification. A person usually needs clarification of something that is obscure, but when it is a reality, clarifying this reality is from the category of what the jurists say in such cases, which is obtaining what is already obtained. The acting that takes place today is clearly seen to be a man, for example, who is beardless, and our Lord created him without a beard, but while he is adorning himself for disobedience to Allah, he shaves his beard, but he wants to act the role of a pious and virtuous scholar or a mujahid in the path of Allah; so what does he do? He takes a borrowed beard to act that person, whether he is a scholar or a mujahid or something similar. All the plays that take place today are based on the actor imitating someone who takes the role of either a king, an emir, a military commander, a servant, or something similar. These individuals, each of them acts the life of a person whose life was previously mentioned in books of history. This is what needs acting. As for some of the examples you mentioned, these come incidentally and do not become an objective and propaganda for the purpose of informing Muslims to return them to their religion and the like. I do not think that anyone, no matter how far they are from general conscious culture, needs us to explain to them what acting is. It is clear. Otherwise, we mention what is closer to the examples you mentioned, such as hadiths; like the hadith of Abu Hunayn al-Sa'di which came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" in a concise form and in "Sunan Abu Dawud" in a detailed form. He said: Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? They said: No, you are not more knowledgeable about his prayer than we are. He said: Yes, I am. They said: Then show it. So he began to pray. We do not say that he acted as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he did not adorn himself with his attire. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), for example, had a thick beard, and we see among you now - what Allah willed - blessed beards, very light beards, and medium beards. The one who prays the prayer of the Prophet to teach people does not intend to imitate the Prophet who had, for example, a noble and large beard, and Abu Hunayn's beard, for example, is light, consisting only of a few hairs. So he does not act as the Messenger (peace be upon him), but he narrates how the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was.
Similarly, for example, the hadith of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan when he performed wudu' in front of them and said: "This is how I saw the Messenger of Allah perform wudu'." This does not contain acting, but rather it contains narrating what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did. As for these acting narratives, they are in another category, and it is sufficient that they are not free from one of the violations I mentioned earlier.
The questioner: ... regarding the issue of imitating women, and the intention was not da'wah and not learning, but only for entertainment.
The Shaykh: I have answered this. I said: How can it be adopted as a means of da'wah with these violations?
The questioner: It is not for da'wah, but only for clarification.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. I am speaking in clear Arabic. I said: How can this acting, which contains these violations, be permitted? These plays are prohibited; so how can they be adopted as a means? This means two things. I have already answered the question you asked previously. Plays are never free from violations of these prohibitions, and they are not permissible in the Shari'ah. So how can something that is not permissible in the Shari'ah be adopted as a means for calling people to Islam? This is more reprehensible than the first.
Yes.
Source
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