Is Harry Potter frowned upon?

[doorster]

What is this rule 18?

LI Islamic Forum Rules

 

[Wyatt]

:exhausted

So far, everyone on this thread who is a muslim and has read it agrees that it's not harmful at all, yet the only one who is against it has not read it and is using someone else's words to back up their objection.

Maybe if someone who has read it and still sees it as a dangerous book could answer, I could get some real conversation. :rollseyes

 

[doorster]

:exhausted

So far, everyone on this thread who is a muslim and has read it agrees that it's not harmful at all, yet the only one who is against it has not read it and is using someone else's words to back up their objection.

Maybe if someone who has read it and still sees it as a dangerous book could answer, I could get some real conversation. :rollseyes

people are so flipin clever!

but they don't read the posts

are you trying to wind me up???


fear of corrupting the aqeedah (belief system) of children is my objection (I am 49 years old, and already have an idea about true and false Aqa'aid)

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, Director of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas, states the following:

".....

According to the trustworthy people who (have) read the works of “Harry Potter” it is all about magic and mythology. Therefore, I would not advise young people to read it or parents to give it to their children.

The attractive way in which these works are done is very dangerous and might negatively affect the basic concept of `aqeedah or Islamic creed and values of our youth. People of knowledge recognize the impact such artistic works might have on the mind and soul. The late well-known Muslim poet, Muhammad Iqbal, is quoted to have said: “Aridity of logic cannot overwhelm the beauty of poetry.”

Therefore, a Muslim is advised to stay away from these attractive but poisonous works."

 

[Banu_Hashim]

Rule 18:

" 18. Do not say "Islam says X" unless your position is based upon sound evidence - which means the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Always cite your sources. If quoting the Qur'an, give soorah (chapter) and ayah (verse) number. For ahadeeth, you must the name of the collection, volume/book number and hadeeth number. Unless you quoting from an agreed-upon authenthic collection (i.e. Bukharee, Muslim) you must also provide authenthic information. "

Is there an Qur'anic ayat strictly prohibiting the reading of books of the nature of Harry Potter? Is it not open to interpretations by different scholars? There may be scholars who have said it's OK...

 

[doorster]

I give-up!

it is so easy to promote any and every deviant idea under the sun but it is so very hard to post something based on Islam, I've wasted so many hours on here today without realising it. each time I tried to clarify something they came up with something else!

sad sad sad!

 

[Wyatt]

people are so flipin clever!

but they don't read the posts

are you trying to wind me up???


fear of corrupting the aqeedah (belief system) of children is my objection (I am 49 years old, and already have an idea about true and false Aqa'aid)

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, Director of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas, states the following:

".....

According to the trustworthy people who (have) read the works of “Harry Potter” it is all about magic and mythology. Therefore, I would not advise young people to read it or parents to give it to their children.

The attractive way in which these works are done is very dangerous and might negatively affect the basic concept of `aqeedah or Islamic creed and values of our youth. People of knowledge recognize the impact such artistic works might have on the mind and soul. The late well-known Muslim poet, Muhammad Iqbal, is quoted to have said: “Aridity of logic cannot overwhelm the beauty of poetry.”

Therefore, a Muslim is advised to stay away from these attractive but poisonous works."

Yes, you've posted that plenty of times, but how could you be scared that it will corrupt children's belief system when you go by others' words that it will? The fraction of children that have gotten into actual magic most likely do not have religion in the family in the first place. Whether you believe it may be harmful or not comes from what other people say, and not your own experience reading it, right? If I'm totally misunderstanding you, then I apologize. :ermm:

Maybe I could ask you what in the books specifically may be dangerous to children's belief system or what in the books may give the children a harmful opposition to their own religion?

 

[doorster]

oh you are beautiful! I am, henceforth, never uttering a word of complaint about you (intentionally), and I hope you will allow me to call you my Brother! jazakAllah khair wa salam wa janat!!!

 

[Fishman]

I have read the books and I did enjoy them. In hindsight though, I realise that they have content that is not compatible with Islamic values.

I don't know if they are explicitly considered haraam, but from what I know, a lot of scholars do frown upon Harry Potter (certainly the ones that I personally hold in good esteem). Obviously, we take our Islam from scholars and do not follow our own desires and if they feel uneasy about the contents of such books, surely they must have had some level of Islamically derived reasoning for such feelings.

Magic is considered to be one of the biggest sins a muslim can commit (yes, as muslims, we believe magic to be real). It ranks up there with shirk, murder and zina. Imagine a book that has teens going around committing zina, murdering people and worshipping idols, as though it was a good thing. Could we, as muslims, endorse such a book? Of course not. Why the different attitude to a book that shows magic in a positive light, when it is almost the same mountain of a sin, then? The point I'm making, is that most of us are willing to hold a double standard, even though the magnitude of magic as a sin in Islam, ranks nearly as high as shirk.

Anyway, this isn't just about Harry Potter, to me. In my view, muslim children ought to stay away and be kept away from ALL books and other forms of entertainment that have even the SLIGHTEST bit of haraam in them. Like for example, if not for magic, Harry Potter should not be read because of the "love" and dating themes in the books. Can a muslim afford to be lax about these things? This kind of stuff can and does affect the minds of so many teenagers. Behaviour of such a nature should NOT be seen as being the norm for muslims, we shouldn't want our kids growing up with fuzzy ideas of "love" floating around in their subconscious.

Is it any wonder why many young women and men "fall in love" and are willing to compromise their chastity so easily? Such crap makes our iman WEAK and leaves us open to the onslaught of Shaytan and leaves us more susceptible to his whispers.

If we keep our kids away from such thrash, they'd grow up with very minimal iman damaging influences. Such protection for our children is of utmost importance in this day and age, especially given that we are living so close to the time of dajjal, where a person will sleep as a muslim and wake the next day as a disbeliever.

Uh, what he said.

 

[Wyatt]

I have read the books and I did enjoy them. In hindsight though, I realise that they have content that is not compatible with Islamic values.

...

If we keep our kids away from such thrash, they'd grow up with very minimal iman damaging influences. Such protection for our children is of utmost importance in this day and age, especially given that we are living so close to the time of dajjal, where a person will sleep as a muslim and wake the next day as a disbeliever.

Wow. oh: That was really nice. I see what you mean with the simple values not being compatible between Islam and the books, though that's entirely cultural as well. If one were to be raised in a non-muslim State, there would be an awareness of that 'young love' and the such anyway, so it would probably be hard to keep it all away. Though, the time of which they're living in the books, their hormones run loose just like every human at that age (along with the readers), so what if they have nothing to relate to while they are living in a country where they will inevitably encounter such perversion? How does one go about raising the young muslims, possibly readers of such novels, and ensure they don't lose faith and innocence?

Is keeping the access away from them necessarily a good thing since it may even alienate them from the world they're living in (be it in a State under a non-muslim rule)? Or maybe let them read it at an appropriate age where they're invulnerable to impression of such ideas and have had enough education to realize what everything is- or even use the books and other material to teach them about the importance of their faith? Of course, being raised with Islamic values and hopefully the ability to think for oneself, one may be able to know and not be when it comes to such values, do you know what I mean?

I'm confusing myself because it's kind of hard to say what I'm meaning. Sorry if this makes no sense. imsad

What do you mean by the time of dajjal, where a person will sleep as a muslim and wake the next day as a disbeliever?

That was a really helpful response, thank you!

 

[سلثتحعرين!]

So your film base must be none existant then because you have to avoid films with slight nudity then. which rules out half the films in existance? and other fictional films that involve mythical animals and magic?

You cant have one without the other???

 

[MartyrX]

I can understand why some people would shy away from it. However if you are strong in your belief than you should realize that these books/movies are just entertainment. It's all a work of fiction as are many things in this world. If you take these books as they are than you will be fine. The same way with children as they read these books. If parents would take the time to teach their children that this is fiction, and not to look too much into they will be fine. Of course not every child has the mental capacity to understand this. That would be why you would have to take extra special care that they have been properly instructed about these books.

 

[Malaikah]

Magic is considered to be one of the biggest sins a muslim can commit (yes, as muslims, we believe magic to be real). It ranks up there with shirk, murder and zina. Imagine a book that has teens going around committing zina, murdering people and worshipping idols, as though it was a good thing. Could we, as muslims, endorse such a book? Of course not. Why the different attitude to a book that shows magic in a positive light, when it is almost the same mountain of a sin, then?

I think the mistake you are making here is that you are comparing the magic in the Harry Potter series, which is FAKE, to the magic that Muslims believe in, such as engaging with the jinn, which is REAL.

That is what I don't understand. The magic in the series is not real, unless someone is going to tell me that Muslim believe you can take a piece of wood, put a feather in it and you can do magic with it??

So how can something that doesn't exist be a sin?

 

[doorster]

I think the mistake you are making here is that you are comparing the magic in the Harry Potter series, which is FAKE, to the magic that Muslims believe in, such as engaging with the jinn, which is REAL.

That is what I don't understand. The magic in the series is not real, unless someone is going to tell me that Muslim believe you can take a piece of wood, put a feather in it and you can do magic with it??

So how can something that doesn't exist be a sin?

since when did saleh al-munnajad of islamqa stop being your fave scholar now?

well, I never!

There is no such thing as good magic in Islam, and all forms of magic are haraam.

Islam does not forbid leisure or having fun in permissible ways. The basic rule concerning these games is that they are permissible so long as they do not get in the way of obligatory duties such as establishing prayer [i.e., praying properly and on time] and honouring one’s parents, and so long as they do not include anything that is haraam. There are, however, many haraam elements in these games, such as the following:

1.

Games which depict wars between the people of this world (“good guys”) and people from the sky (“bad guys”), with all its implications of accusations against Allaah, may He be glorified, or the noble angels.
2.

Games which involve sanctifying the cross or passing over or by it to gain strength, to bring one back to life or the give the player extra “lives” and so on. Also, games which are used for designing birthday cards as in Christian culture are also forbidden.
3.

Games which approve of witchcraft/magic, and which glorify witches/magicians/sorcerers, etc.
4.

Games which are based on hatred of Islam and Muslims, like the game in which a player gets 100 points if he hits Makkah, 50 points if he hits Baghdaad, and so on.
5.

Games that glorify the kuffaar and show pride in belonging to them, like games in which if a player chooses an army belonging to a kaafir state he becomes strong, and if he chooses an army belonging to an Arab state he becomes weak. Also, games which teach a child to admire kaafir sports clubs and the names of kaafir players.
6.

Games that include depictions of nudity, and some games that allow the winner to see a pornographic picture; games that corrupt morals, such as games where the idea is to run away with a girlfriend from the bad guys or a dragon.
7.

Games based on ideas of gambling.
8.

Music and other things that are known to be forbidden in Islam.
9.

Physical harm, such as damage to the eyes and nervous system; harmful effects of game sounds on the ears. Modern studies have shown that these games may be addictive and harmful to the nervous system, as well as causing stress and nervous tension in children.
10.

Making children get used to violence and criminality, and teaching them to take killing and murder lightly, as in the famous “Doom” game.
11.

Corrupting children’s sense of reality by teaching them about a world of illusions and impossible things, such as coming back from the dead, supernatural powers that do not really exist, images of space aliens, and so on.



We have gone into details about some of the ideological dangers and things that are prohibited by Islam because many fathers and mothers do not pay attention to these things, and they bring these games for their children and let them play with them.

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=2898&ln=eng&txt

Rule 14. Do not upload, post or otherwise transmit any contents that is unlawful (haram), harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.

simulated magic is cool then by that logic anything can be made cool (modesty forbids me from being explicit but I hope you get the point instead of carrying on useless vendettas for revenge or anyother puposes

 

[Woodrow]

I wish we all could put this much effort into something beside a fictional character and theoretical practices or non-practices.

Enough has been written to use this thread as a referenc thread, no need for more posts.

:threadclo: