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Ruling on watching movies based on shirk beliefs or predictions of the future

27-12-1998

Question 1107

Is it halal for a Muslim to watch a film such as Hercules which is based on Shirk stories/ideas?

I eagerly await your response insha'Allah.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

It is not permissible to watch these kinds of movies which tell stories of shirk. Seeing and hearing them can cause serious damage to the heart of the Muslim. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) got angry with Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him) when he saw him with a piece of the Tawraat (Torah) in his hand, and told him to destroy it. Many of the Muslims do not have sufficient protection or the level of knowledge required to recognize the corrupt ideas in these movies, so some viewers may develop doubts that damage their eemaan and shake their belief; they may start to believe some of the false ideas and their hearts may be filled with evil poisons as a result of watching these movies. This is in addition to the haraam content in many of these movies, such as pictures of women, music and so on. We may also note the recent appearance of movies based on distorted Biblical beliefs or the false prophecies of liars and charlatans. These movies have become very popular in the West because of the spiritual vacuum resulting from the lack of true religion. Due to the environment surrounding the Muslims in western countries, some of them have started to follow these movies. Muslims should fear their Lord and avoid watching these films of kufr. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): Verily! The hearing, and the sight, of each of those you will be questioned by Allah. [Al-Isra 17:36]

If Muslims want to entertain themselves, let them do so in permissible ways. And Allah is the guide to the Straight Path.

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