Portraying
the Sahaabah or one of them is forbidden,
because it is disrespectful towards them, lowers the esteem in which they are
held and exposes them to criticism, even if it is thought that this serves a
purpose, because the negative consequences to which it leads outweigh any
benefits, and anything of which the negative consequences outweigh the positive
is definitely forbidden. A statement was issued by the Council of Senior
Scholars stating that this is forbidden.
To
further emphasize this point, we shall quote the statement of the Council of
Senior Scholars on which all its members were unanimously agreed, the text of
which follows:
1. Allaah, may He be
glorified and exalted, praised the Sahaabah and affirmed their high status. Presenting the
life story of any one of them in the form of a play or movie is contrary to Allaah’s
praise of them and detracts from the high status and honour that Allaah, may He
be exalted, granted them.
2. Depicting any one of them may expose them to mockery
and belittling by people who for the most part are not righteous and are far
removed from piety and Islaamic conduct in their
public lives,
in addition to the fact that those who produce such plays and serials do it for
the purpose of material gain.
No matter how careful they are, they will still include lies and backbiting.
Moreover, depicting the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم) will make people
lose respect for them and begin to look down on them; their trust in the
companions of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon them) will
be shaken and the esteem in which Muslim viewers hold them will decrease. This
may lead Muslims to doubt their religion and will open the door to arguing
about the Companions of Muhammad (صلّى اللَّهُ
عليه وسلّم).
Some of the actors would inevitably have to
play the parts of Abu Jahl and his ilk, which means that they would utter words
reviling Bilaal and reviling the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allaah be
upon him) and what he brought of Islaam, and this is undoubtedly wrong. It will
also be taken as a means of confusing the Muslims about their religion, the
Book of their Lord and the Sunnah of their Prophet Muhammad (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم).
3. What is said about serving interests – such as
highlighting noble characteristics and good manners, whilst making sure that
facts are presented accurately on the basis of authentic reports
of the Seerah, and not compromising any of that in any
way, in order to convey the right message and teach lessons – is mere
assumption and hope. Anyone who knows how actors are and what they aim for
will realize that this kind of acting is contrary to the reality of these
actors and others who work in that field, and how they really live and behave.
4. One of the established principles in Islaam
is that anything that leads to purely negative consequences, or of which the
negative consequences outweigh the good, is haraam. Even if we assume
that there is some benefit in acting the roles of the Sahaabah, its negative
consequences outweigh the positive. Therefore, in order to protect the public
interests of the Muslims and block the means (that may lead to evil), and to
protect the dignity of the Companions of Muhammad (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم), this must be
prevented.
{End
quote from Abhaath Hay’at Kibaar al-‘Ulama’, 3/328}
Depicting the Sabaabah in Plays
Praise be to Allaah. The Sahaabah have a
high status in Islaam, because they were the contemporaries of the Messenger of
Allaah (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم);
they fulfilled the duty of supporting him and being loyal to him, and they
strove for the sake of Allaah with their efforts, their wealth and their
selves. Hence the scholars are agreed that they
are the elite and the best of this Ummah, and that Allaah gave them the honour of being the
companions of the Messenger of Allaah (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم). He praised them in His Book when He said:
مُّحَمَّدٌ
رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاء عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاء
بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا
سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ
“Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allaah. And those who are
with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves. You
see them bowing and falling down prostrate (in prayer), seeking Bounty from Allaah and (His) Good
Pleasure. The mark of them (i.e. of their Faith) is on their faces (foreheads)
from the traces of prostration (during prayers).”
[al-Fath 48:29]
And the Messenger of Allaah (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) praised them when he
said:
“The best of my
ummah is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come
after them.”
(al-Bukhari, 3650;
Muslim, 2535)
The Prophet (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) warned against belittling
them, mocking them or insulting them when he said:
“Whoever insults my
companions, the curse of Allaah, the angels and
all of mankind will be upon him.”
(al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah, 2340)
Portraying
any one of them on stage or on the screen is contrary to this praise from Allaah,
and is detrimental to the high status and honour which Allaah has bestowed upon
them. That is because
representing any one of them in this fashion exposes them to mockery and
ridicule. Actors are usually people who have no room for
righteousness, piety and Islaamic morals in their lives. Moreover those who put
on plays are doing that as a means to earn money, and no matter how much they
try to avoid it, it will involve some lying and backbiting.
Representing the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم)
has an effect on their status in the hearts and minds of the Muslims, and paves the way for Muslims to doubt their
religion. It also necessarily implies that one of the actors
will play the role of Abu Jahl or one of his ilk among the kuffaar, and he will
have to utter words insulting Bilaal, and insulting the Messenger (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) and the message of Islaam
that he brought. Undoubtedly this is
a great evil.
What
is said about this serving the interest of calling people to Islaam and
spreading noble Islaamic morals and etiquette is simply an assumption and wishful thinking.
Whoever knows the real nature and aims of actors will realize that this kind of
acting is in sharp contrast to the real nature of the actors and their
audience.
One
of the basic principles in Islaamic sharee’ah is that if a matter both serves an interest
and does some harm, if the bad outweighs the good then it is haraam. Representing the Sahaabah may serve some interest but the harm done by this is
far greater than any good that might be achieved.
So in order to protect those interests and
ward off the harm, and to preserve the honorable status of the companions of
the Messenger of Allaah (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم), we must not allow
that.
Based on the above, it is haraam to represent any of the companions
of the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ
عليه وسلّم) in movies or plays etc.
And
Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet
Muhammad and all his family and companions.
{Source: Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, in MajAllaah
al-Buhooth al-Islaamiyyah, 1/223-248}
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