Video Games - A Real Dilemma

**StayHumble** · 12-08-2009

Sallamu Alaikum to all the brothers and sisters here at the forum,

I am having quite the problem and I am asking Allah (swt) to help me make the right decision. Ok, ever since I was little I played video games. I basically grew up with gaming consoles such as Nintendo and Sony. Whenever a new game system came out I wanted it, it was as simple as that. I am 19 years old and I do what any late teenager would do, I play video games, I watch anime, movies watch drama's like Smallville (superman series) and stuff like that. Me and my friends always find fun stuff to do, so as long as it is not haram. I used not to pray, just called myself a muslim because I was born into a muslim family. But about a month before this years ramadan I actually started to pray 5 times a day, read Quran trying to get closer to my lord. One of my muslim friends invited me to a lecture and it was my first time going and let me say I was blown away. I thought about everything that I had done in my entire life. This lecture was titled "weapons of mass technology" and how we are so distracted with buying and being engulfed in our material things. It really set things in. One of the topics was about video games and how many haram things are in it, women uncovered, music, violence, images of human beings and much more. After leaving the lecture I told myself thats it when I die god will ask me, "why did you waste your time playing video games and watching these haram things", I vowed not to play games or watch tv or listen to music forever. But as I did research I found that some muslim say that it is ok to play video games as long as it does not interfere with your obligatory prayers or being a good muslim. But how can anyone call themselves a muslim when they play game, even "halal" ones that depict images of charaters or life, and have music. We could be spending our time reading quran and reading hadith. But then I thought if I denounce all of these things I can kiss all my friends goodbye because what brought us together was our interests we played games, watched movies together prayed together, but if I am denouncing all of this that means my games over 50 collect dust, my friends can't come over and play games and I just dont know what to do please. I am sorry for the long post but I want everyone to get the picture. I want to cut all these things off so they don't tempt me to waste time even playing games for 5 mins, you could have been saying a couple of ayats of the quran and recieved a beneficial reward. All my friends and family have told me that I am a good muslim and that it is ok if now and then I play some game, but then this life is short and as we know time is the most precious thing in the world, not taking a second for granted. On the other hand If I choose to be completely in my deen and education, I won't have any time to just relax...plz help

**Ali_008** · 12-14-2009

I'd like to add that there is a lot of fitna on every step of our lives in this 21st century, what's important is that we protect ourselves. The internet has pornography but it doesn't make the internet haraam, does it? It really depends on what use you make of things. Video games fall under the same category as internet. I wouldn't find violence games haraam either as long as they are non-fiction i.e. games based on World Wars, Crusades etc.

**I<3Bush** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by Hamza81

Islam and Recreation

|Sheikh `Alî Bâdahdah|

People require rest and recreation. This is something completely natural. Without it, a person cannot be productive in life. The Companion Abû al-Dardâ’ said: “I seek recreation in something that is neither useful nor unlawful, and this makes me stronger on the truth.”

Islam is complete and comprehensive, addressing all aspects of our lives and all of our needs, including our need for diversions and for recreation. It provides for us lawful means to fulfill this need.

We read in the Qur’ân how the brothers of Joseph (peace be upon him) appealed to their father, the Prophet Jacob (peace be upon him), on the basis of this fundamental human need. They said: “Send him along with us tomorrow so he may engage in revelry and play. We will indeed keep him safe.” [Sûrah Yûsuf: 12]

The judge Abû Bakr b. al-`Arabî, commenting on this verse, observes:

There is no real objection to this type of recreation. A man engages in play with his family, as well as engaging in horse riding, archery, and in any other form of recreation sanctioned by the sacred texts. It is authentically related to us that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Jâbir when he married a mature widow: “Why did you not marry a virgin whom you could play with and who would play with you?” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim] The recreation that these brothers were referring to was either foot racing or archery. This we can understand from the verse: “We went off to compete with each other.” [Sûrah Yûsuf: 17]

`Â’ishah relates the following about her husband, the Prophet (peace be upon him):

I swear by Allah that I saw Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) standing at the door of my room while the Abyssinians were engaged in spear play in the mosque of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). He screened me with his cloak so I could watch them perform. He stood there for my sake until I decided that I had had enough. Now just imagine how much time a young girl eager for entertainment would stand there watching. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

At the end of this story, she relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The Jews know that in the world there is time for rest. And I have been sent with the true and pure religion.”

Qarazah b. Ka`b and Abû Sa`ûd al-Ansârî both said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted us to engage in recreation during weddings.” [Sunan al-Nasâ’î]

In the Sunnah, we see the Companions participating in many different forms of lawful entertainment and play. They engaged in sports like footraces, horseracing, wrestling, and archery. They spent time in telling jokes and in lighthearted conversation.

Salmân al-Fârisî said to Abû al-Dardâ’: “Your own self has a right over you, your Lord has a right over you, your guest has a right over you, and your family has a right over you. So give everyone his due.” When the Prophet (peace be upon him) heard about what Salmân had said, he approved of it, saying: “Salmân has spoken the truth.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sunan al-Tirmidhî]

The scholars of Islam have attested to the importance of lawful recreation to the healthy development of a person’s character. Al-Ghazâli writes:

After completing his bookwork, a child should be allowed to play in a nice manner so that he can relax from the fatigue of his studies. His play should not tire him out. If the child is forbidden to engage in play and forced to spend his time in perpetual study, this will result in his heart dying, his intelligence waning, and his manner of living becoming so wretched that he will seek from it any escape he can find.

Ibn Miskawayh writes:

A child should be permitted on occasion to engage in nice play so that he can relax from the fatigue of his proper upbringing. His play should neither cause injury nor be very tiring.

Ibn Jamâ`ah observes:

There is nothing wrong with the student resting himself, his heart, his mind, and his eyes – if any of these grows tired or languid – with play and recreation. This will return him to his proper state so that his time will not be wasted. There is nothing wrong with it being strenuous and exercising his body, for it has been said that this refreshes the metabolism, rids the system of excess toxins, and revitalizes the body.

Though recreation and entertainment is essentially lawful in Islam, it is necessary for us to keep the following in mind:

1. Time is precious. We must always be acutely aware of how valuable the time is that we have been given in our brief lives on Earth. Islam teaches us to place a premium on our time and to get as much out of it as we can, defining for us the various ways we can employ it.

Allah says: “It is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or show gratitude.” [Sûrah al-Furqân: 62]

Our lives should be spent in the remembrance of Allah and in thanks to Him. Indeed, Allah says: “I created neither humanity nor the jinn except to worship Me.” [Sûrah al-Dhâriyât: 56]

This is the ultimate purpose of life, and it should be what preoccupies our time. The Prophet (peace be upon him) speaks to us about how much we lose when we waste our time, saying: “There are two blessings that many people squander: health and time.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî]

He also says as a warning to us: “Allah leaves no more excuses for a person once he has given him sixty years to live.”

We all know that we will be standing before Allah and questioned about how we spent our time. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No one will be permitted to turn his two feet away on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about four matters: about his life, how he spent it; his youth, how he employed it; his work, what he did with it; and his wealth, how he earned it and spent it.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî]

2. Our work and our efforts are important in Islam, and as Muslims, we are encouraged to be industrious. Allah says: “Say: Work, for Allah will see your deeds as will His Messenger and the believers.” [Sûrah al-Tawbah: 105]

Allah makes clear to us the effect that our works have on our recompense in the Hereafter. He says: “Are you recompensed except for the work that you used to do?” [Sûrah al-Naml: 90]

He also says: “Is the recompense for goodness anything but goodness?” [Sûrah al-Rahmân: 60]

There are many verses in the Qur’ân that mention good works in conjunction with faith. Moreover, the importance of diligence and being responsible in our work is specifically emphasized. Allah says: “O John, take the scripture with determination.” [Sûrah Maryam: 12]

He also says: “Take what We have given you with determination.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 63]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The believer who is strong is better and more beloved to Allah than the believer who is weak.” [Sahîh Muslim]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: “Allah loves that when you engage in some work, you do so with proficiency.” [al-Bayhaqî, Shu`ab al-Îmân]

He also emphasized the importance of continuing with our deeds throughout the duration of our lives, saying: “If the Final Hour arrives and one of you has a sapling in his hand, if he can finish planting it before standing up, then he should do so.” [al-Bukhârî, al-Adab al-Mufrid]

A Muslim alternates from his worldly work to his work for the Hereafter, being equally diligent in both. Allah says: “Therefore, when you are free from your immediate task, still labor hard. And strive to please your Lord.” [Sûrah al-Sharh: 7-8]

3. Islam stresses the importance of striving to reap benefits for both this world and the next. The life of this world is the harvesting ground for the Hereafter. It is but a passing phase and the life to come is the eternal abode. A Muslim, therefore, should expend his efforts for the sake of the Hereafter and at the same time bring about benefits in this world. He should excel in cultivating and developing the Earth while gearing his efforts towards achieving felicity in the Hereafter.

Allah says: “And He has made of service unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the Earth; it is all from Him. Lo! Herein are signs for a people who reflect.” [Sûrah al-Jâthiyah: 13]

Allah says: “He it is who has made the Earth subservient unto you, so traverse its paths and partake of His providence.” [Sûrah al-Mulk: 15]

The Muslim world today is behind everyone else in knowledge, enterprise, and productivity. One of the reasons for this is that Muslims are not making productive use of their time and generally do not have a positive work ethic. We must resolve to stop wasting time, to stop falling short in our work, and to put an end to our unproductive habits.

In light of all of this, we can place recreation and entertainment in the proper context: We must observe the following guidelines:

1. Recreation must never cause us to neglect our obligatory worship and our obedience to Allah.

2. Recreation and entertainment should not take up too much of our time. We should not engage in it to the point where it ceases to be beneficial.

3. It should not become our habit to perpetually seek recreation and diversion.

4. Recreation should not keep us from activities that will benefit us in our worldly or spiritual lives.

5. Our means of recreation and our entertainments must be completely free from anything that is unlawful in Islam.

Source:http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cf...sub_cat_id=658

How does what you posted go against playing video games?

**Hamza Asadullah** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by I<3Bush

How does what you posted go against playing video games?

It is merely stating the Islamic perspective on recreational activities and that they should be conducted in accordance within the boundaries of Islam.

**Hamza Asadullah** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by Ali_008

Well brothers, the immense debate this has aroused gives me the feeling that as per the Shari'ah, video games ought to be makrooh.

I'd like to add that there is a lot of fitna on every step of our lives in this 21st century, what's important is that we protect ourselves. The internet has pornography but it doesn't make the internet haraam, does it? It really depends on what use you make of things. Video games fall under the same category as internet. I wouldn't find violence games haraam either as long as they are non-fiction i.e. games based on World Wars, Crusades etc.

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, Nice of you to make your own fatwa sheikh but most would disagree with you on the fact that voilent games are halal as they contain haraam images, material,music as well as the awrah of men and women and characters and story line which are contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Next time please refrain from making your own fatwas as you do not have the knolwedge and authority to do so. Islam is not a deen where we can state our opinions and make fatwas out of them so please be careful of misleading yourself and others.

**I<3Bush** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by Hamza81

It is merely stating the Islamic perspective on recreational activities and that they should be conducted in accordance within the boundaries of Islam.

Yea that was what I was thinking as well. I see you saying games are a waste of time / evil and then saying some games are good and then your last reply to Yahya seems to go against gaming completely so I' was just a little confused.

**Ali_008** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by Hamza81

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, Nice of you to make your own fatwa sheikh but most would disagree with you on the fact that voilent games are halal as they contain haraam images, material,music as well as the awrah of men and women and characters and story line which are contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Next time please refrain from making your own fatwas as you do not have the knolwedge and authority to do so. Islam is not a deen where we can state our opinions and make fatwas out of them so please be careful of misleading yourself and others.

Brother, I didn't post a fatwa of my own. I used the word "ought" and not "is/has". And Brother, I said violence games would become halaal only if they are based on true events and there are games without haraam images and you certainly have the option of disabling all kinds of sounds in a game. If just bringing in a little history in gaming makes it haraam then studying or doing anything whatsoever with History would be haraam as well because the history which we learn in schools and colleges has people going against the teachings of Islam and suffering because of it.

I gave the example of internet. The existence of a haraam content on the web does not totally make the internet haraam. It depends on what sites you choose to surf. On the same grounds, it depends on the games which you choose to play.

I totally respect your opinion and because of that I'll edit my previous post so that I don't mislead anyone.

**Hamza Asadullah** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by I<3Bush

Yea that was what I was thinking as well. I see you saying games are a waste of time / evil and then saying some games are good and then your last reply to Yahya seems to go against gaming completely so I' was just a little confused.

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, I only made an exception with a few games on WII which are used only for the intention and purpose of losing weight and for improving memory but even then most of these games will contain music and the awrah of men and women aswell as haraam material and images. Therefore it is just best not to have these consoles in ones home at all because i know from experience that they waste a significant amount of a person time and effort and that time and effort should be channelled and used towards more important and useful pursuits.

Also they have detrimental effects on the psychological and social development of children. One should spend time with ones child and these consoles will just become the focus of attention for the child because at that age can a child really control their habits? Why go through the hassle of trying to control the childs use of these consoles. There is so much more beneficial ways for a child to spend their time than spending hours upon hours on these games which also have effects on how the child will turn out especially if they constantly play voilent games and those of a sexual nature.

Only in the hereafter will all of us truly regret the seconds we wasted on useless pursuits which do more damage than good.

May Allah help us to make the best use of every second of our lives so that we can please him. Ameen

**cat eyes** · 12-14-2009

i have to be honest i have played play station before and i managed not to get addicted i did it for a bit of fun with my sister it didn't effect my deen at all i don't think things should be classed as forbidden so easily thats just my own opinion if you can control the amount you use it now i don't play it at all because i simply know its a waste of time and i wouldnt benefit from it but we are allowed to have a bit of fun from time to time too. i think some muslims forget that! now i have this funny image in my mind of an imam playing play station with his wife

**Salahudeen** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by cat eyes

i have to be honest i have played play station before and i managed not to get addicted i did it for a bit of fun with my sister it didn't effect my deen at all i don't think things should be classed as forbidden so easily thats just my own opinion if you can control the amount you use it now i don't play it at all because i simply know its a waste of time and i wouldnt benefit from it but we are allowed to have a bit of fun from time to time too. i think some muslims forget that! now i have this funny image in my mind of an imam playing play station with his wife

haha lol, I was a gaming addict in my teens, I used to pretend to go school and then wait round the corner till my mum went out to work and came back in the house and played games all day with my online buddies lol Subhanallah.

That was once a week normally Mondays

man I was such a geek lol. My bedroom was like my paradise lol.

**Hamza Asadullah** · 12-14-2009

Originally Posted by cat eyes

i have to be honest i have played play station before and i managed not to get addicted i did it for a bit of fun with my sister it didn't effect my deen at all i don't think things should be classed as forbidden so easily thats just my own opinion if you can control the amount you use it now i don't play it at all because i simply know its a waste of time and i wouldnt benefit from it but we are allowed to have a bit of fun from time to time too. i think some muslims forget that! now i have this funny image in my mind of an imam playing play station with his wife

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, sister no one stated that we are not aloud to have fun of course we are for it is in our nature but we should have fun within the boundaries of Islam.

In order to play a game which has no haraam images, audio,material and awrah of men and women one has to go through pain staking research of the game before buying it and then when one buys it it is still not certain if it contains any of the above and on top of that these games take a significant amount of time and effort to complete therefore wasting so much of ones time and effort on useless and purposeless pursuits.

Instead one can have fun and involve oneself in recreational activities that will benefit a person and with the right intention it can be reward too.

So the only point im trying to make is that let us do those activities that do not cost us a significant amount of time and are within the boundaries of Islam. In order for one to know whether a certain game is within the boundaries of Islam one has to spend a lot of time researching and finding out and then there is still no certainty if the game is ok. Instead we can do so many more things which we can benefit from too and were not risking our imaan at the same time.

and Allah knows best

**IslamicRevival** · 12-15-2009

Salaam.

I dont see anything wrong with playing games such as FiFa 2010 (Football game) or any other sports game as long as they do not contain violence or lewd scenes

We as Muslims are allowed to have fun but obviously there and boundaries and limits. I play games online, sometimes even with the young uns, It brings us together... It puts a smile on their faces, whats 'wrong' with that?

If someone misses Namaaz because he is playing a game instead then its the individuals fault not the game

**Ali_008** · 12-15-2009

Originally Posted by Hamza81

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, sister no one stated that we are not aloud to have fun of course we are for it is in our nature but we should have fun within the boundaries of Islam.

In order to play a game which has no haraam images, audio,material and awrah of men and women one has to go through pain staking research of the game before buying it and then when one buys it it is still not certain if it contains any of the above and on top of that these games take a significant amount of time and effort to complete therefore wasting so much of ones time and effort on useless and purposeless pursuits.

Instead one can have fun and involve oneself in recreational activities that will benefit a person and with the right intention it can be reward too.

So the only point im trying to make is that let us do those activities that do not cost us a significant amount of time and are within the boundaries of Islam. In order for one to know whether a certain game is within the boundaries of Islam one has to spend a lot of time researching and finding out and then there is still no certainty if the game is ok. Instead we can do so many more things which we can benefit from too and were not risking our imaan at the same time.

and Allah knows best

Brother, what makes you think that you won't get rewarded for this research that you'll do for a halaal game. Remember the Hadith in which Rasoolullah

said that a man gets rewarded even for having intercourse with his wife just because he took the halaal way to fulfill his desire. Similarly, if you work on finding a source of entertainment which is not haraam, will it not please Allah? Will it not be called Jihad?

**Hamza Asadullah** · 12-16-2009

Originally Posted by Ali_008

Brother, what makes you think that you won't get rewarded for this research that you'll do for a halaal game. Remember the Hadith in which Rasoolullah

said that a man gets rewarded even for having intercourse with his wife just because he took the halaal way to fulfill his desire. Similarly, if you work on finding a source of entertainment which is not haraam, will it not please Allah? Will it not be called Jihad?

Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, Jihad of the nafs is when one controls ones desires, therefore getting rid of your games console which does more harm than good and wastes a significant amount of one's precious time and effort would be jihad of the nafs because one can spend that precious time and effort on more fruitful and worthwhile pursuits which will actually benefit one in the hereafter.

and Allah knows best

***charisma*** · 12-16-2009

Assalamu Alaikum

Brother, if you feel that it does not benefit you, and that you can do better things with your time and if it is going against your conscience, which it seems like it is, then it is best for you to just leave it and obey your conscience. I don't doubt that there are games which would be considered haram, because there definitely are, and there are some halaal games as well...but if you know you're not going to be playing the halaal games since mashallah you have the knowledge of which types of games are permissible and which ones arent, then it is best to do what you know is right to do.

I think you're mentally prepared if your friends choose to leave you because you know that everything you're doing is to please Allah and not the people around you. You can be an example to them inshallah, and maybe you can be a source towards their guidance....who knows? What type of friends do you want to rise with you on the day of Qiyamaa?

fi aman allah
wsalaam

**eesa the kiwi** · 01-13-2016

ok bumping a real old thread coz it came up when i googled something

i dont really watch tv, in the evenings i like to either read a book or play xbox if im not busy with stuff. today i was playing assasins creed and in it was images of uncovered women. not lewd or anything but showed face and hair. i was like subhannallah i try lower my gaze in real life should i be avoiding these games too
problem is aside from racing games i dont have many games without female characters so it will limit my library of them quite a lot. i already mute the music

im not asking for opinions because that was something i hated about christianity (you ask a question and get an opinion in response instead of an answer. actually if you ask ten christians the same question you usually get ten different answers) but im hoping someone will either know the answer or be able to direct me too a fatwa site with info on this
jazak allah khair for reading

**Saleem Khan** · 01-13-2016

Originally Posted by eesa the kiwi

ok bumping a real old thread coz it came up when i googled something

i dont really watch tv, in the evenings i like to either read a book or play xbox if im not busy with stuff. today i was playing assasins creed and in it was images of uncovered women. not lewd or anything but showed face and hair. i was like subhannallah i try lower my gaze in real life should i be avoiding these games too
problem is aside from racing games i dont have many games without female characters so it will limit my library of them quite a lot. i already mute the music

im not asking for opinions because that was something i hated about christianity (you ask a question and get an opinion in response instead of an answer. actually if you ask ten christians the same question you usually get ten different answers) but im hoping someone will either know the answer or be able to direct me too a fatwa site with info on this
jazak allah khair for reading

Video games are impermissible due to the following reasons,
1. It is impermissible for adults to engage in (lahw wa la'ib) futile things.
2. Many games contain music and music is severely prohibited in Islam.
3. Most games contain vulgarity and immorality. Things that are haraam and extremely harmful to a Muslim's imaan.
4. Games contain pictures and the prophet (peace be upon him) has cursed picture makers.

Vidoes games are only permitted FOR CHILDREN with the following conditions.

1. No music.
2. No immorality
3. No vulgarity or profanity.
4. Or any other issue that is against islamic values.

Although with the above conditions it is permitted for children to play video games, it is best to avoid them and parents should encourage children to involve themselves in beneficial activities for example sports and educational games etc.

Under no circumstances should a Muslim adult play video games. Every second of our time is an amaanah (trust of Allah) which should be spent in acquiring closeness to Allah and earning jannah not spending it in futile games. If one feels the need to pass time, do something beneficial like sports or educational games.

Sorry for the long reply.