The Ruling on Acting and Fictional Stories for the Purpose of Da'wah
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Question:
We ask you, Your Eminence, on the occasion of this noble gathering, to direct a word and advice to those who have adopted acting and fictional stories as a means of calling people to Allah, because many of the righteous young people—may Allah reward them with good—are doing this now?
Answer:
We have stated on more than one occasion that acting is not suitable, and that it is lying, for a person to act as if he is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, or Abu Jahl, or Abu Lahab, or so-and-so, or so-and-so, is not correct. It is obligatory that the call, education, and guidance be conducted in the manner followed by the scholars, and followed by the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who came after them.
The teacher, or the guide, or the preacher reminds people of Allah, of His right, and warns them of His anger. He does not need to say: I am so-and-so, and I am so-and-so, acting as if he is so-and-so, or so-and-so; because this is lying, even if his intention is good.
Likewise, inventing stories that have no basis is feared to be lying. He should clarify to people what is clear and what is evident regarding the matter of good, and what is evident regarding the matter of evil; so that they may avoid evil, and so that they may desire good, through the verses and texts that came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
That is to say, what sufficed the earlier generations in their education, preaching, and reminding is sufficient for the believer in his education, preaching, and reminding, along with avoiding lying, which is acting, or stories that have no basis... stories that did not happen, such-and-such happened, and such-and-such happened, so-and-so became such-and-such, and became such-and-such, and it has no reality, so-and-so became such-and-such, and became such-and-such, and it has no reality. I fear that this is of the lying that Allah has forbidden.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Bulugh al-Maram 16:80 This is the one who invents stories to deter the people, or to preach to the people, and he lies. I fear for him regarding this. This is what has become apparent to me.
We ask you, Your Eminence, on the occasion of this noble gathering, to direct a word and advice to those who have adopted acting and fictional stories as a means of calling people to Allah, because many of the righteous young people—may Allah reward them with good—are doing this now?
Answer:
We have stated on more than one occasion that acting is not suitable, and that it is lying, for a person to act as if he is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, or Abu Jahl, or Abu Lahab, or so-and-so, or so-and-so, is not correct. It is obligatory that the call, education, and guidance be conducted in the manner followed by the scholars, and followed by the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who came after them.
The teacher, or the guide, or the preacher reminds people of Allah, of His right, and warns them of His anger. He does not need to say: I am so-and-so, and I am so-and-so, acting as if he is so-and-so, or so-and-so; because this is lying, even if his intention is good.
Likewise, inventing stories that have no basis is feared to be lying. He should clarify to people what is clear and what is evident regarding the matter of good, and what is evident regarding the matter of evil; so that they may avoid evil, and so that they may desire good, through the verses and texts that came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
That is to say, what sufficed the earlier generations in their education, preaching, and reminding is sufficient for the believer in his education, preaching, and reminding, along with avoiding lying, which is acting, or stories that have no basis... stories that did not happen, such-and-such happened, and such-and-such happened, so-and-so became such-and-such, and became such-and-such, and it has no reality, so-and-so became such-and-such, and became such-and-such, and it has no reality. I fear that this is of the lying that Allah has forbidden.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Woe to him who lies in his talk to make the people laugh, Woe to him! Woe to him!
ويل للذي يحدث فيكذب ليضحك به القوم، ويل له، ثم ويل له
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.