Are purposeful animated films considered a means of education?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Your Eminence, regarding some educational means, some media institutions produce purposeful animated video films featuring Islamic attire that tell the stories of some conquerors and famous figures in Islam. Their impact has become clear from the people’s enthusiasm for them and the children’s attachment to them. Does Your Eminence see these means as a partial substitute for the flood of content broadcast by the media and the resulting corruption of religion and virtue?
The Shaykh : Yes, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
There is no doubt that these films that have emerged have benefit and public benefit from one aspect, and they prevent harm from what is spread in the media, which its spreaders intend to use to destroy morals and creed. Perhaps you understand the meaning of my saying "destroy morals," because many of those who watch what is broadcast, especially on satellite dishes, have had their morals corrupted and degraded.
I mean, there are people who are graduates of Islamic colleges and are committed, but they were afflicted with watching these films, and their morals were completely stripped away, may Allah protect us, and they reached a point that I do not like to speak of what I hear. This is clear, but how does it destroy the creed? The faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic?
Yes, because if a person leans toward desires and becomes attached to forbidden desires, that strips away his creed, and his concern, whether awake or asleep, is these desires, so the creed is stripped away and gone, may Allah protect us. The heart is a vessel. If you fill a vessel with water, can you add milk to it? Answer me, everyone?
The questioner : It is not possible.
The Shaykh : Why?
If you pour milk on it, they repel each other, for it is a vessel. If you fill it with good, evil is prevented, and if you fill it with evil, good is prevented. So these films that our brother asked about are undoubtedly beneficial, but it remains that these films, which were created, the creator does not have knowledge of what is behind the appearance. For example, we hear that he shows Muhammad the Conqueror. If the boy starts watching this film, do not think that he imagines that anyone among the heroes of Islam is greater than?
The questioner : Muhammad the Conqueror.
The Shaykh : Greater than Muhammad the Conqueror, and he thinks that Muhammad the Conqueror is the single hero of Islam, and this is a problem. And if he shows Khalid ibn al-Walid and his like among the heroes of the Companions, that is also a problem, because we do not see the permissibility of depicting the Companions at all. But if these films showed battles between the Muslims and their enemies without specifying a particular person, so that souls do not become attached to him, that would be better. Even if these films were not in this state and were a display of what is seen in the universe, such as planets, stars, the sun, and the moon, and what is seen on earth, such as rivers and others, that would also be good. If they also showed what was seen last week of the many meteors that spread, and I think you saw them, if we talked about them?
The questioner : I saw them, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Good, tell us about them.
The questioner : O Shaykh, some of the brothers say that these meteors are not on...
The Shaykh : Let us leave what the brothers say. You saw them, so tell us what you saw.
The questioner : I saw them, but...
The Shaykh : Just say what you saw.
The questioner : Yes, they are actually spread widely, especially before the Fajr prayer.
The Shaykh : And what did you see? What did you see?
The questioner : I saw, O Shaykh, great consecutive meteors.
The Shaykh : Why do you not say "meteors" (shuhub) as Allah said?
The questioner : Yes, they are meteors, and some of the brothers think they are meteorites.
The Shaykh : We do not care about some of the brothers. We have only the word of the Lord of the Worlds.
The questioner : They are indeed meteors, but as I heard, O Shaykh, they say they are over China.
The Shaykh : In any case, the news about them was widespread from the third hour to the sixth hour, until the light of the sun drove them away. People were watching them from the east, west, north, south, and overhead, but from the east more so. By the thousands, according to what was told to us, by the thousands, not by the hundreds or tens, falling down. But it is said: they do not collide with each other despite their number, to the point that it is said: they woke them up from sleep from the light we saw, and we thought it was continuous lightning. So a scene like this, if it were shown, would be among the greatest things in frightening and softening the heart. So we hope that the owners of the films use such things.
As for specifying a conqueror who came in the later eras after the Companions, so that the child or boy thinks that no one is greater in heroism than this man, we do not see that. This makes people forget Khalid ibn al-Walid and Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib and others among the heroes. Yes.
Your Eminence, regarding some educational means, some media institutions produce purposeful animated video films featuring Islamic attire that tell the stories of some conquerors and famous figures in Islam. Their impact has become clear from the people’s enthusiasm for them and the children’s attachment to them. Does Your Eminence see these means as a partial substitute for the flood of content broadcast by the media and the resulting corruption of religion and virtue?
The Shaykh : Yes, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
There is no doubt that these films that have emerged have benefit and public benefit from one aspect, and they prevent harm from what is spread in the media, which its spreaders intend to use to destroy morals and creed. Perhaps you understand the meaning of my saying "destroy morals," because many of those who watch what is broadcast, especially on satellite dishes, have had their morals corrupted and degraded.
I mean, there are people who are graduates of Islamic colleges and are committed, but they were afflicted with watching these films, and their morals were completely stripped away, may Allah protect us, and they reached a point that I do not like to speak of what I hear. This is clear, but how does it destroy the creed? The faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic?
Yes, because if a person leans toward desires and becomes attached to forbidden desires, that strips away his creed, and his concern, whether awake or asleep, is these desires, so the creed is stripped away and gone, may Allah protect us. The heart is a vessel. If you fill a vessel with water, can you add milk to it? Answer me, everyone?
The questioner : It is not possible.
The Shaykh : Why?
If you pour milk on it, they repel each other, for it is a vessel. If you fill it with good, evil is prevented, and if you fill it with evil, good is prevented. So these films that our brother asked about are undoubtedly beneficial, but it remains that these films, which were created, the creator does not have knowledge of what is behind the appearance. For example, we hear that he shows Muhammad the Conqueror. If the boy starts watching this film, do not think that he imagines that anyone among the heroes of Islam is greater than?
The questioner : Muhammad the Conqueror.
The Shaykh : Greater than Muhammad the Conqueror, and he thinks that Muhammad the Conqueror is the single hero of Islam, and this is a problem. And if he shows Khalid ibn al-Walid and his like among the heroes of the Companions, that is also a problem, because we do not see the permissibility of depicting the Companions at all. But if these films showed battles between the Muslims and their enemies without specifying a particular person, so that souls do not become attached to him, that would be better. Even if these films were not in this state and were a display of what is seen in the universe, such as planets, stars, the sun, and the moon, and what is seen on earth, such as rivers and others, that would also be good. If they also showed what was seen last week of the many meteors that spread, and I think you saw them, if we talked about them?
The questioner : I saw them, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Good, tell us about them.
The questioner : O Shaykh, some of the brothers say that these meteors are not on...
The Shaykh : Let us leave what the brothers say. You saw them, so tell us what you saw.
The questioner : I saw them, but...
The Shaykh : Just say what you saw.
The questioner : Yes, they are actually spread widely, especially before the Fajr prayer.
The Shaykh : And what did you see? What did you see?
The questioner : I saw, O Shaykh, great consecutive meteors.
The Shaykh : Why do you not say "meteors" (shuhub) as Allah said?
The questioner : Yes, they are meteors, and some of the brothers think they are meteorites.
The Shaykh : We do not care about some of the brothers. We have only the word of the Lord of the Worlds.
The questioner : They are indeed meteors, but as I heard, O Shaykh, they say they are over China.
The Shaykh : In any case, the news about them was widespread from the third hour to the sixth hour, until the light of the sun drove them away. People were watching them from the east, west, north, south, and overhead, but from the east more so. By the thousands, according to what was told to us, by the thousands, not by the hundreds or tens, falling down. But it is said: they do not collide with each other despite their number, to the point that it is said: they woke them up from sleep from the light we saw, and we thought it was continuous lightning. So a scene like this, if it were shown, would be among the greatest things in frightening and softening the heart. So we hope that the owners of the films use such things.
As for specifying a conqueror who came in the later eras after the Companions, so that the child or boy thinks that no one is greater in heroism than this man, we do not see that. This makes people forget Khalid ibn al-Walid and Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib and others among the heroes. Yes.