Ruling on reading stories that contain magic and fantasy

I am a student who is currently in England for my studies but
Alhamdulilah I have no problem in practicing my religion, especially
prayers. I know that reading storybooks involving magic and fantasy
are not permissible especially given that they are a waste of time.
However does reading them take one out of the fold of Islam since
magic is kufr?
Praise be to Allaah.
Reading stories that contain magic and fantasy involves things
concerning which there are some reservations.
Firstly:
They are spreading acts of sihr (witchcraft) and kufr, to the extent
that they become like ordinary behaviour in civilized societies; in
factthey depict such things as essential skills for individuals and
societies that can be learned. They often depict the magician as a
good and decent man who does good and spreads good among the people,
and this is the most dangerous aspect of the matter, where something
evil is presented as something good, where one no longer objects to it
in one's heart and no longer feels that magic and its practitioners
are something abhorrent, and one no longer thinks of the seriousnessof
the sin involved before Allah. So how about when such stories become
widespread andchildren and youngsters turn to them.
These negative outcomes have recently led many western education
specialists to warn against the spread of magic stories in their
societies, and many schools have banned these books from their
libraries. There have been discussions about them in parliamentary
debates in Britain, after they discovered some of the dangers that may
result from their becoming widespread among people.
Secondly:
In most cases, these stories teach their readers about types of magic
and sorcery and depict to them some of the secrets of magic, thatmake
it easy for any reader to apply them and indulge in them. This also
poses a great danger, because it may lead the reader to try to put
into practice what he has read. It is not just the matter of reading a
story for fun; rather there is the fear that some of these stories may
influence their readers so they may be bewitched or harmed because of
reading these incomprehensible words in these stories.
Hence Muslims should beware of allowing theirchildren to read these
stories, and societies should put a stop to the spread of this aspect
of culture; they should focus instead on things that are important and
beneficial in terms of science, arts and literature.
In Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (1/192) it says:
I hope that you can explain the prohibition on using and reading books
of magic and astrology, because there are many such books, and some of
my friends want to buy them, and they say that if they are not used
for harmful purposes, there is nothing wrong with it. Please advise
us, may Allah bless you.
The answer was:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be
to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and
his family and Companions, and those who follow him sincerely …
What the questioner says is correct. The Muslims should beware of
books of magic and astrology, and those who find them should destroy
them, because they are harmful to the Muslim and cause him to fall
into shirk. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Whoever learns a branch of astrology has learned a branch of
magic... And Allah says in His Holy Book about the two angels
(interpretation ofthe meaning): "but neither of these two (angels)
taught anyone (such things) till they had said, 'We are for trial, so
disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)'" [al-Baqarah 2:102].
This indicates that learning magic and practising it is kufr. So the
Muslim must oppose books which teach magic and astrology, and destroy
them wherever they are.
This is what is required. It is not permissible for aseeker of
knowledge or anyone else to read them or learn what is in them. People
other than seekers of knowledge also have no right to read them or
learn what is in them, or to approveof them, because they lead to
disbelief in Allah. What is required is to destroy them wherever they
are. And the same applies to all books that teach magic and astrology
- they must be destroyed. End quote.
To sum up: Just reading these stories is not kufr that puts one beyond
the pale of Islam, so longas that is not done with the aim of learning
magic and practising it. However what is required is to warn against
reading books ofmagic in general and to strive to destroy them if
possible, and to beware of reading them or distributing them.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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