Dought & clear - Ruling on watching movies and serials that portray the Prophets and the Sahabaah

There are movies that portray the Prophets forthe purpose of teaching
children; is it permissible to let our children watch cartoon movies
about the Prophets or those movies that portray Bilaal or Maryam, such
as ar-Risaalah (The Message) or as-SayyidahMaryam? I use these movies
to teach childrenbecause they get confused about the stories of
various Prophets and I also teach them how the Prophets put a great
deal of effort into conveying their messages.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The contemporary scholars are unanimously agreed that it is haraam to
depict the Prophets (peace be upon them) ingeneral and our
ProphetMuhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in
particular.
Fatwas stating that this is haraam have been issued by the Standing
Committee for Issuing Fatwas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a
statement to this effect was made by the Islamic Fiqh Council that met
in Makkah al-Mukarramah.
There is no doubt that depicting the Prophets isa kind of disrespect
towards them, because people have a great dealof respect towards them
and hold them in high esteem, but depicting them detracts from that
respect, especially if theyare depicted in cartoons.
What Allah has told us of their stories in the Qur'an is
sufficient."Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson for men of
understanding. It (theQur'an) is not a forged statement but a
confirmation of Allah's existing Books (the Taurat (Torah), the
Injeel(Gospel) and other Scriptures of Allah) and adetailed
explanation of everything and a guide and a Mercy for the people who
believe" [Yoosuf 12:111].
It says in a statement of the Islamic Fiqh Council:… Depicting him,
whetherit is an animated drawing or otherwise, whether it is a
three-dimensional image or not – all of that is haraam and is not
permissible according toIslam.
It is not permissible to do that or approve of it for any purpose or
aim whatsoever, because it leads to very serious consequences.
Those who are in positions of authority and those who are in charge of
media and publications should prevent any depiction ofthe Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), whether three-dimensional
or otherwise, in stories, reports, theatrical plays, children's books,
movies,TV shows and so on. Thatmust be denounced and any such
productions should be destroyed.
The ruling that applies to the Prophet (blessingsand peace of Allah be
upon him), also applies to all of the Messengers and Prophets
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon them); what is haraam in the
case of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is also
haraam in their case.
End quote from Statements of the IslamicFiqh Council, 8thsession,6thstatement.
Based on the above, it is haraam to watch such movies, whether they
are portrayed by real actors or in cartoons.
Secondly:
It is not permissible to depict the Sahaabah at all, according to the
correct scholarly opinion.
A fatwa to that effect was issued by the Council of Senior Scholars in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a statement to that effect was issued
by the IslamicFiqh Council of the Muslim World League.
See the answer to question no. 163107
In that regard there is no differentiation between the senior Sahaabah
and those of lesser standing, or between the Rightly Guided Caliphs
and others, because that detracts from their status and the high
esteem in which they are held.
They had the honour of accompanying the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him), striving in jihad with him, defending
the faith,being sincere towards Allah and His Messenger and His
religion, and conveying this religion and knowledge to us, which
dictates that they should be held in high esteem and greatly
respected.
Undoubtedly portraying them will detract from the high esteem in which
they are held by people, and viewers maybegin to think of them in the
image of the actors who play their roles. [?]
This is in addition to what many of these serials and movies contain
of distortion andfabrication of events according to what is dictated
by the medium.
In a fatwa of the Standing Committee (1/712) it says: Portraying the
Sahaabahor 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. End quote.
To further emphasize this point, we shall quote the statement of the
Council of Senior Scholars on which all its members were unanimously
agreed, thetext of which follows:
1.Allah, 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 contraryto Allah's praise of
them and detracts from the high status and honour that Allah, may He
be exalted, granted them.
2.Depicting any one of them may expose them to mockery and belittling
by people whofor the most part are notrighteous and are far removed
from piety and Islamic 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 (may Allah be pleased
with them) 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 Allah 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 (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon
him). 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 Allah be
upon him) and what he brought of Islam, 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 (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
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 howactors are and what theyaim 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 Islam is thatanything 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 (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them), this must
beprevented.