The Ruling on Dramas and Theater
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The rest of the question: What about theater and dramas?
Answer:
As for acting, what appears to us is that acting falls under the category of lying. When one acts as 'Umar, or acts as Abu Jahl, or acts as Pharaoh, or acts as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), all of this, to our knowledge and in our fatwas, is lying. What sufficed the first generation is sufficient for the later ones.
If his intention is to give advice, he says: Allah said such and such, and the Messenger said such and such, and so-and-so used to say such and such, and 'Umar used to say such and such, and al-Siddiq used to say such and such, and Ibn Taymiyyah used to say such and such, and he issued a fatwa on such and such, and 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz used to say such and such.
But if he acts as himself, saying: I am 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, I am 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, I am Ibn Taymiyyah, I am Ibn al-Qayyim, making himself Ibn al-Qayyim, and speaking in the name of Ibn al-Qayyim, or in the name of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, or in the name of others from the scholars, or in the name of the Companions, then this is not sound. This is lying. He may say things about them that should not be said about them, and portray them in ways they are innocent of. As for theater, we do not know its details; we do not know the specifics of theater.
The student : Before the dramas?
Answer: Yes.
The student : Meaning like dramas, meaning people take on the roles of other people...?
Answer: If the theater consists of acting, or if it is merely a gathering for poetry, or literary words, or interviews between one person and another, where this one says such and such, and that one says such and such, and they say wisdom, then if what they say is good, it is good, and if what they say is bad, it is bad. That is to say, "theater" is a general, vague term; we do not know what lies beneath it.
If the intention behind the theater is acting, then acting, as mentioned earlier, is lying. If the intention behind the theater is that a group of people, one says a word, and another says a word, and this one recites verses, and that one recites verses, or this one calls to such and such, and that one calls to such and such, and they cooperate, then this has its own ruling. If what they do is in what pleases Allah and in what Allah has permitted, then there is no harm. If it is in what angers Allah, then it is blameworthy and forbidden.
The rest of the question: What about theater and dramas?
Answer:
As for acting, what appears to us is that acting falls under the category of lying. When one acts as 'Umar, or acts as Abu Jahl, or acts as Pharaoh, or acts as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), all of this, to our knowledge and in our fatwas, is lying. What sufficed the first generation is sufficient for the later ones.
If his intention is to give advice, he says: Allah said such and such, and the Messenger said such and such, and so-and-so used to say such and such, and 'Umar used to say such and such, and al-Siddiq used to say such and such, and Ibn Taymiyyah used to say such and such, and he issued a fatwa on such and such, and 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz used to say such and such.
But if he acts as himself, saying: I am 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, I am 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, I am Ibn Taymiyyah, I am Ibn al-Qayyim, making himself Ibn al-Qayyim, and speaking in the name of Ibn al-Qayyim, or in the name of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, or in the name of others from the scholars, or in the name of the Companions, then this is not sound. This is lying. He may say things about them that should not be said about them, and portray them in ways they are innocent of. As for theater, we do not know its details; we do not know the specifics of theater.
The student : Before the dramas?
Answer: Yes.
The student : Meaning like dramas, meaning people take on the roles of other people...?
Answer: If the theater consists of acting, or if it is merely a gathering for poetry, or literary words, or interviews between one person and another, where this one says such and such, and that one says such and such, and they say wisdom, then if what they say is good, it is good, and if what they say is bad, it is bad. That is to say, "theater" is a general, vague term; we do not know what lies beneath it.
If the intention behind the theater is acting, then acting, as mentioned earlier, is lying. If the intention behind the theater is that a group of people, one says a word, and another says a word, and this one recites verses, and that one recites verses, or this one calls to such and such, and that one calls to such and such, and they cooperate, then this has its own ruling. If what they do is in what pleases Allah and in what Allah has permitted, then there is no harm. If it is in what angers Allah, then it is blameworthy and forbidden.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.