only in eating but also in stories for children, cartoons en dolls or
othing play things. Is it forbidden or at the least not recommended to
make my child familiar with the pig? Should I avoid my child seeing
this animal.
Praise be to Allah.
Undoubtedly the concepts and ideas that a child learns about and
experiences in the early stages of his upbringing will have an impact
on him for much longer than the parents and teachers of the child
themselves realise, and that does not go away once that stage is
passed; rather they will remain and form an important part of his
make-up and thinking, and will have a clear impact on the formation of
his identity and culture.
InSaheeh al-Bukhaari(6130) and Muslim (2440) it is narrated that
'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I used to play with
dolls in the house of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), and I had friends who would play with me, and when the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came in,
they would hide away from him, but he would send them one after
another to play with me.
The scholars stated that Islam only granted a concession to children
to play with such toys, even though it forbids images and the making
of images, because of the role that playing with such toys plays in
preparing the child mentally for what he will do in the future.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
An exception is made for this from the prohibition on keeping images.
This was stated definitively by 'Iyaad and was narrated from the
majority. They regarded it as permissible to sell toys to girls to
train them from an early age in caring for their houses and children.
End quote fromFath al-Baari, 10/527
Undoubtedly the pig is not only an impure animal or something that is
haraam to eat, or other things that are said about it or other Islamic
rulings that have to do with it; it is also a cultural element of the
Christian West, and part of the identity of those nations.
InSaheeh al-Bukhaari(2222) andSaheeh Muslim(155), it is narrated that
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:"By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, soon the Son of Maryam) will descend among you
as a just judge, he will break the cross, kill the pigs and abolish
the jizyah, and wealth will become so abundant that no one will accept
it."
Ibn Battaal (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The reason for breaking the cross and killing the pigs is because they
are part of the religion of the Christians who are fabricators and
transgressors. Hence the Prophet told us that 'Eesa will change what
they attributed to him, as Muhammad changed it and told them that they
were following falsehood in that regard. This indicates that 'Eesa
will come to confirm the corrections introduced by the law of
Muhammad, and will judge with justice between people.
End quote fromSharh Saheeh al-Bukhaari, by Ibn Battaal, 6/604
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This indicates we should object to evil deeds and remove them, and
remove the symbols of evil, and killing the pigs comes under this
heading. It is also indicative of the view favoured by our madhhab and
that of the majority, which is that if we find a pig in non-Muslim
lands or elsewhere, and we are able to kill it, we should kill it; and
it proves false the odd opinion held by some of our companions and
others, who said that pigs should be left alone if they are not
causing any harm.
End quote fromSharh Muslim, 11/221
To sum up:
Pigs are an animal that is not respected, and one of the symbols of
disbelief and lies against Allah, may He be exalted. So it is not
right for a Muslim to raise his children to like them or pay attention
to them or be fond of them, whether that is in a picture book or a toy
or a cartoon and so on. Rather what is prescribed is to point out that
they are connected to their false religion and are one of its symbols,
and that they have no protection or sanctity in sharee'ah, and we
should explain that according to the child's level of understanding,
so that when he grows up, he will have a proper understanding of the
shar'i rulings having to do with them.
With regard to making your children avoid seeing pigs, if what is
meant by that is a passing glance or seeing a picture of a pig in
passing, this is something that is difficult to do, and we do not
think that it is necessary. Rather all that is required is that the
child should not become used to them or care about them or pay any
attention to them.
And Allah knows best.
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