Reading the chapter "The Dispensation Regarding Children's Toys" from the book *Al-Halal wa al-Haram* by al-Qaradawi, and Shaykh al-Albani's response to it.
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The Shaykh :"The Dispensation Regarding Children's Toys:
And if there is a type of statue in which there is no intention of veneration or luxury, and which does not entail any of the aforementioned prohibitions, then Islam does not narrow its chest regarding it, nor does it see any harm in it.
Such as the toys of young boys that are made in the shape of dolls or cats, or other beasts and animals, for these images are worn out by the play and fiddling of the children with them. Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, said: Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim
And in a narration: Narrated by Abu Dawud.
The girls mentioned in the hadith are the dolls played with by young girls and boys, and Lady Aisha was young in age at the beginning of her marriage to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Al-Shawkani said: In this hadith is evidence that it is permissible to allow young children to play with statues. It was narrated from Malik that he disliked for a man to buy that for his daughter. And Qadi Iyad said: Playing with dolls for young girls is a dispensation, and the like of children's toys. " The author says, this is his personal opinion " such as children's toys: statues that are made from sweets and sold on festivals and the like, then they are not long in being eaten."
The Shaykh : This is something we do not agree with at all. And before explaining the reason for that, it is necessary to draw attention to a subtle point that the author passed over quickly. The hadith of Lady Aisha is often misunderstood by some people in a way that this hadith does not indicate. The hadith of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) playing with dolls is one thing, and the guardian of the girl buying these toys ready-made from other than the girls is another thing, especially if these toys that are bought are made in Europe, especially if these purchased images represent the customs of the disbelievers and the upbringing of the disbelievers of their girls. This is one thing. And the making of dolls by young girls from scraps, made internally for young girls from dolls, in order to practice the principles of decorating the home, is another thing. And this other thing is what the hadith of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) playing with dolls indicates, not something else. Therefore, one should not be deceived by what is said today that the hadith of Aisha indicates the buying of toys by the guardian of the girl from the market, especially the toys that have spread and overflowed in the lands. And from the subtle jurisprudence of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) is that he alerted us to this reality. Before he saw the harms of the images that come to us from Europe in the name of children's toys, before Malik saw with his own eyes, he saw it with his penetrating mind and said what the author quoted without commenting on it with anything. And it was narrated from Malik that he disliked for a man to buy that for his daughter. So this is the reality that many people overlook. Your buying toys for the girl is not the same as allowing her to make the toy with her hand. For a certain reason, the Wise Lawgiver, after prohibiting three-dimensional images absolutely, permitted for a certain reason and for a profound wisdom the making of toys for the girl, but did not allow this making to be from outside, nor did He allow it to be bought from there. And therefore, what the author appended with his saying: " And the like of children's toys are statues that are made from sweets and sold on festivals" this appending is erroneous, there is no doubt in that, from two aspects:
The first aspect: It was previously explained that these toys are not made in the house. What does the girl gain from that?
Second: The sweets. These sweets are perhaps made for her in molds of a certain type, and something else. But he says on festivals, so who makes them? Which nation on the face of the earth makes three-dimensional sweets in the shapes of birds, butterflies, rabbits, and the like? The Muslim nation or the disbelieving nation? None of us doubts that this is not an Islamic custom. And in that case, the author has forgotten what he mentioned at the beginning of the research, that the secret of the angels not entering the house in which there are images is because the one who takes the image imitates whom? The disbelievers. So if we today permit the making of sweets in the shapes of images and statues, then we are imitating the images. This is an error. And the second error is appending this type of toy to the toys of scraps that remain and last, whereas these are sweets that the child will eat and gain nothing from them except that his taste grows up and he is raised on the French disbeliever taste, and he comes to it with the images since the softness of his nails. And this is what Islam does not want at all from the Muslims. Yes.
And if there is a type of statue in which there is no intention of veneration or luxury, and which does not entail any of the aforementioned prohibitions, then Islam does not narrow its chest regarding it, nor does it see any harm in it.
Such as the toys of young boys that are made in the shape of dolls or cats, or other beasts and animals, for these images are worn out by the play and fiddling of the children with them. Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, said:
I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and my female companions would come to me, and they would hide from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) out of fear, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would be pleased with their coming to me, and they would play with me.
كنت ألعب بالبنات عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه واله وسلم، وكان يأتيني صواحب لي فكن ينقمعن - يختفين - خوفا من رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم -، فكان رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يسر لمجيئهن إليَّ فيلعبن معيAnd in a narration:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her one day: What is this? She said: My girls. He said: And what is this in the middle of them? She said: A horse. He said: And what is this on it? She said: Wings. He said: A horse with wings?! She said: Or have you not heard that there were horses for Sulayman ibn Dawud that had wings? So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed until his molars were visible.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لها يوما: ما هذا؟ قالت: بناتي، قال: وما هذا الذي في وسطهن؟ قالت: فرس، قال: وما هذا الذي عليه؟ قالت: جناحان؟ قال: فرس له جناحان؟! قالت: أو ما سمعت أنه كان لسليمان بن داود خيل لها أجنحة؟ فضحك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى بدت نواجذهThe girls mentioned in the hadith are the dolls played with by young girls and boys, and Lady Aisha was young in age at the beginning of her marriage to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Al-Shawkani said: In this hadith is evidence that it is permissible to allow young children to play with statues. It was narrated from Malik that he disliked for a man to buy that for his daughter. And Qadi Iyad said: Playing with dolls for young girls is a dispensation, and the like of children's toys. " The author says, this is his personal opinion " such as children's toys: statues that are made from sweets and sold on festivals and the like, then they are not long in being eaten."
The Shaykh : This is something we do not agree with at all. And before explaining the reason for that, it is necessary to draw attention to a subtle point that the author passed over quickly. The hadith of Lady Aisha is often misunderstood by some people in a way that this hadith does not indicate. The hadith of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) playing with dolls is one thing, and the guardian of the girl buying these toys ready-made from other than the girls is another thing, especially if these toys that are bought are made in Europe, especially if these purchased images represent the customs of the disbelievers and the upbringing of the disbelievers of their girls. This is one thing. And the making of dolls by young girls from scraps, made internally for young girls from dolls, in order to practice the principles of decorating the home, is another thing. And this other thing is what the hadith of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) playing with dolls indicates, not something else. Therefore, one should not be deceived by what is said today that the hadith of Aisha indicates the buying of toys by the guardian of the girl from the market, especially the toys that have spread and overflowed in the lands. And from the subtle jurisprudence of Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) is that he alerted us to this reality. Before he saw the harms of the images that come to us from Europe in the name of children's toys, before Malik saw with his own eyes, he saw it with his penetrating mind and said what the author quoted without commenting on it with anything. And it was narrated from Malik that he disliked for a man to buy that for his daughter. So this is the reality that many people overlook. Your buying toys for the girl is not the same as allowing her to make the toy with her hand. For a certain reason, the Wise Lawgiver, after prohibiting three-dimensional images absolutely, permitted for a certain reason and for a profound wisdom the making of toys for the girl, but did not allow this making to be from outside, nor did He allow it to be bought from there. And therefore, what the author appended with his saying: " And the like of children's toys are statues that are made from sweets and sold on festivals" this appending is erroneous, there is no doubt in that, from two aspects:
The first aspect: It was previously explained that these toys are not made in the house. What does the girl gain from that?
Second: The sweets. These sweets are perhaps made for her in molds of a certain type, and something else. But he says on festivals, so who makes them? Which nation on the face of the earth makes three-dimensional sweets in the shapes of birds, butterflies, rabbits, and the like? The Muslim nation or the disbelieving nation? None of us doubts that this is not an Islamic custom. And in that case, the author has forgotten what he mentioned at the beginning of the research, that the secret of the angels not entering the house in which there are images is because the one who takes the image imitates whom? The disbelievers. So if we today permit the making of sweets in the shapes of images and statues, then we are imitating the images. This is an error. And the second error is appending this type of toy to the toys of scraps that remain and last, whereas these are sweets that the child will eat and gain nothing from them except that his taste grows up and he is raised on the French disbeliever taste, and he comes to it with the images since the softness of his nails. And this is what Islam does not want at all from the Muslims. Yes.