What is the ruling on gatherings held in the mosque with plays and hymns, provided they are free of musical instruments?

The questioner : In the Eid prayer area, there is a gathering with Islamic plays that have a purpose, and hymns and hand drums. All the lyrics encourage jihad and Muslims, and it is in the way of da'wah (calling others to Islam). This gathering will be, if Allah wills, in the mosque. The mosque where the gathering will be held consists of two floors: an upper floor and a lower floor. The upper floor is for men, and the activities such as plays and hymns will be there. The lower floor is for women, and the image will be transmitted from the upper floor to the women via a video camera. Is this permissible?

The Shaykh : First, there are no plays in the religion of Islam. There are sermons, and there are lessons, sermons, and stories chosen from the Book of Allah and from the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), by which Muslims are guided and raised, whether they are men or women. As for plays and acting, this is a method that, as I think, is not hidden from you; it is usually a disbelieving Western custom, foreign to Islam. Islam does not need such means. We know that the Westerners, due to their extreme poverty in what concerns the upbringing of their souls, their refinement, their purification, and their cleansing from stinginess and miserliness, due to this extreme poverty, they feel, and we excuse them, that they need such plays and acting. Therefore, it is not permissible for Muslims to imitate them or follow their example. Perhaps you have heard or read a hadith narrated by the Imam al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from the Battle of Hunayn, and they passed by a large tree of the sidr tree, on which the polytheists used to hang their weapons. So one of them said: Look at how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disapproved of the word of those Companions. How great is the difference between it and the word of the people of Moses, who asked to worship the calf besides Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Some of his companions only asked for a tree on which to hang their weapons. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) disapproved of that from them with the strongest disapproval. Therefore, we warn Muslims in general, and you who live in the heart of the land of disbelief in particular, that their traditions and customs do not overcome you and that you do not imitate them, so that it diverts you from holding on to much or little of what Islam brought. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, these plays and acting, no matter who is in charge of them, are not free from lying to link events to each other, if they are not free from the mixing of women and men. And if they are free from that, they are not free from a man imitating a woman or a man imitating a young boy, or similar matters of disapproval that are not hidden from a Muslim. Therefore, I conclude this word to say to you: Beware, beware, of bringing any of these newly invented matters, such as plays and others, into your mosque, if you have the will and effective effort for that, if Allah wills. Otherwise, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .

The questioner : We tried to prevent people in the mosque from holding a gathering, and it had been prepared for a month in advance. It will be a fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) in the mosque, and they will turn against us, especially us young people, who always oppose the older people of the mosque.

The Shaykh: Yes

The questioner : They say about us that we are innovators. So what do we do? Do we prevent them by force? Or do we talk to them?

The Shaykh : No, I do not think that force will be of benefit, especially since I do not know which of the two forces is stronger with you: the force of truth or the force of falsehood? And especially since you live, as I said earlier, in the heart of the land of disbelief and misguidance. Therefore, what I see from afar, and the witness sees what the absent one does not see, is that it is obligatory for you to use wisdom and to avoid harshness, in response to His saying (the Exalted): . Yes.