What is the ruling on acting out events that happened in the past?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : How is your health, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Oh Shaykh! Do you allow us to ask a question?
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : Regarding acting, playing a role—for example, an incident that happened in the past, where young people act it out—is this permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible; this acting is among the leftovers that the colonizers left in these lands; then we accepted it, even though it is full of germs and microbes, so it is not permissible.
The questioner : I mean: not under any circumstances—for example, they act out roles that contain nothing wrong; for example, the role of Mus'ab ibn 'Umar when he went to Madinah, or something like that, such that there is no mixing or anything of this kind.
The Shaykh : If there were something in it that you knew about, you would not ask whether it is permissible or not; but you are asking about acting that contains nothing, is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And who am I talking to?
The questioner : You are talking to me.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I mean—oh Shaykh!—I intended that
The Shaykh : My brother! I am talking, and you are going back to talking about your own words. I answered you, did you not understand what I am saying?
The questioner : No, I understood—oh Shaykh!—I understood.
The Shaykh : Then, what do you want to say now?
The questioner : Now, is there a second question I can ask?
The Shaykh : You can; just with one condition.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : With one condition, with one condition, listen to what I am telling you, the second question is permissible with one condition, do you accept?
The questioner : Yes, I accept.
The Shaykh : Yes, the condition is simple and easy, and it is that you repeat to me what you understood.
The questioner : Yes, I repeat to you—oh my Shaykh!—that acting—came to be, I mean—it is a leftover of the colonialism that settled in our lands, and it carries within it many impurities and harms for us as Muslims, this is what I understood, oh my Shaykh!
The Shaykh : This is the text of the understanding.
The questioner : The text of the understanding?
The Shaykh : Yes, I want the second text; otherwise you will lose the second question!
The questioner : I do not remember the second text, oh Shaykh!
The Shaykh : The second text is the answer to your second question, which is considered the one you want to direct, which is the third; your second question was: what if it contains nothing contrary to the Shari'ah?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did you not say that?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, what did I answer you with?
The questioner : I did not hear you—oh Shaykh!—when you answered me and I asked you, yes, so you replied and said to me, did you not understand me?
The Shaykh : Yes, what was your answer?
The questioner : I did not hear the answer to it—oh Shaykh!-.
The Shaykh : What was your answer when I said to you: I did not understand me? Your answer was: Yes, I understood!
The questioner : Yes, I understood the first part, yes.
The Shaykh : How is the first part and the second part, the second part has no value?
The questioner : No—oh my Shaykh!—may Allah bless you, it has value; but I did not hear it from you.
The Shaykh : Did I not say to you: I did not understand from you?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When I said to you: Did you understand? You said to me: Yes!
The questioner : I said I understood what I heard, but what I did not hear, the question about it is: did you hear? And I did not hear it.
The Shaykh : But there was no gap—my brother!—between that question which I answered you on, and your second question which I answered you on, there was a gap, there was a distance, may Allah guide you! I told you: that this second question does not need to be directed; because if your question was about acting that contains a violation of the Shari'ah, you would not ask about it.
The questioner : Yes. Yes.
The Shaykh : Do you understand me now?
The questioner : I understand, oh Shaykh!
The Shaykh : What did you understand from me now?
The questioner : That if there is a violation of the Shari'ah in the acting, I know from myself that this acting is not permissible. But the question was about acting that does not contain a violation.
The Shaykh : Fine, so why do you go back and ask and say: what if it does not contain a violation?
The questioner : This—oh my Shaykh!—I mean—is an addition for emphasis.
The Shaykh : This is a patch! A patch!
The questioner : A patch, yes.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, instead of admitting that you made a mistake—and you are not the first to make a mistake—like you are many, and admitting the second time you say: excuse us, we made a mistake. Do not interpret it: by Allah! It is an addition for emphasis; because if it were an addition for emphasis, you would have understood me and said: excuse me, I intended emphasis. The conclusion is, despite the fact that you did not succeed in fulfilling the condition; we waive our condition for the benefit of your second question, which is actually the third, so throw it away and it is not on you.
The questioner : You remain more generous than us—oh my Shaykh!—may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : No, you are welcome. This is my duty religiously.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, and bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : Oh Shaykh! Do you allow us to ask a question?
The Shaykh : Please.
The questioner : Regarding acting, playing a role—for example, an incident that happened in the past, where young people act it out—is this permissible?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible; this acting is among the leftovers that the colonizers left in these lands; then we accepted it, even though it is full of germs and microbes, so it is not permissible.
The questioner : I mean: not under any circumstances—for example, they act out roles that contain nothing wrong; for example, the role of Mus'ab ibn 'Umar when he went to Madinah, or something like that, such that there is no mixing or anything of this kind.
The Shaykh : If there were something in it that you knew about, you would not ask whether it is permissible or not; but you are asking about acting that contains nothing, is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And who am I talking to?
The questioner : You are talking to me.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I mean—oh Shaykh!—I intended that
The Shaykh : My brother! I am talking, and you are going back to talking about your own words. I answered you, did you not understand what I am saying?
The questioner : No, I understood—oh Shaykh!—I understood.
The Shaykh : Then, what do you want to say now?
The questioner : Now, is there a second question I can ask?
The Shaykh : You can; just with one condition.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : With one condition, with one condition, listen to what I am telling you, the second question is permissible with one condition, do you accept?
The questioner : Yes, I accept.
The Shaykh : Yes, the condition is simple and easy, and it is that you repeat to me what you understood.
The questioner : Yes, I repeat to you—oh my Shaykh!—that acting—came to be, I mean—it is a leftover of the colonialism that settled in our lands, and it carries within it many impurities and harms for us as Muslims, this is what I understood, oh my Shaykh!
The Shaykh : This is the text of the understanding.
The questioner : The text of the understanding?
The Shaykh : Yes, I want the second text; otherwise you will lose the second question!
The questioner : I do not remember the second text, oh Shaykh!
The Shaykh : The second text is the answer to your second question, which is considered the one you want to direct, which is the third; your second question was: what if it contains nothing contrary to the Shari'ah?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did you not say that?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, what did I answer you with?
The questioner : I did not hear you—oh Shaykh!—when you answered me and I asked you, yes, so you replied and said to me, did you not understand me?
The Shaykh : Yes, what was your answer?
The questioner : I did not hear the answer to it—oh Shaykh!-.
The Shaykh : What was your answer when I said to you: I did not understand me? Your answer was: Yes, I understood!
The questioner : Yes, I understood the first part, yes.
The Shaykh : How is the first part and the second part, the second part has no value?
The questioner : No—oh my Shaykh!—may Allah bless you, it has value; but I did not hear it from you.
The Shaykh : Did I not say to you: I did not understand from you?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : When I said to you: Did you understand? You said to me: Yes!
The questioner : I said I understood what I heard, but what I did not hear, the question about it is: did you hear? And I did not hear it.
The Shaykh : But there was no gap—my brother!—between that question which I answered you on, and your second question which I answered you on, there was a gap, there was a distance, may Allah guide you! I told you: that this second question does not need to be directed; because if your question was about acting that contains a violation of the Shari'ah, you would not ask about it.
The questioner : Yes. Yes.
The Shaykh : Do you understand me now?
The questioner : I understand, oh Shaykh!
The Shaykh : What did you understand from me now?
The questioner : That if there is a violation of the Shari'ah in the acting, I know from myself that this acting is not permissible. But the question was about acting that does not contain a violation.
The Shaykh : Fine, so why do you go back and ask and say: what if it does not contain a violation?
The questioner : This—oh my Shaykh!—I mean—is an addition for emphasis.
The Shaykh : This is a patch! A patch!
The questioner : A patch, yes.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you, instead of admitting that you made a mistake—and you are not the first to make a mistake—like you are many, and admitting the second time you say: excuse us, we made a mistake. Do not interpret it: by Allah! It is an addition for emphasis; because if it were an addition for emphasis, you would have understood me and said: excuse me, I intended emphasis. The conclusion is, despite the fact that you did not succeed in fulfilling the condition; we waive our condition for the benefit of your second question, which is actually the third, so throw it away and it is not on you.
The questioner : You remain more generous than us—oh my Shaykh!—may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : No, you are welcome. This is my duty religiously.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, and bless you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.