Fatawa

The Ruling on Fictional Stories – Shaikh Ibn ul-Uthaymeen

Question: Some of the writers author meaningful stories that are written in a captivating way and have an influence on the souls of the readers. However, these stories are fictional. So what is the ruling on that?

Answer: “There is no harm in that if it remedies religious problems or moral problems or societal problems. This is because there is no harm in striking parables through invented stories that are not real. Some of the Scholars even mentioned that in some of the parables in the Noble Quran are not real. However, Allah strikes these parables. For example, His statement:

ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً رَجُلَيْنِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَبْكَمُ لا يَقْدِرُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ كَلٌّ عَلَى مَوْلاهُ أَيْنَمَا يُوَجِّههُّ لا يَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي هُوَ وَمَنْ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَهُوَ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

And Allah puts forward (another) example of two men, one of them dumb, who has no power over anything (disbeliever), and he is a burden to his master, whichever way he directs him, he brings no good. Is such a man equal to one (believer in the Islamic Monotheism) who commands justice, and is himself on a Straight Path?

[16:76]

So I do not see harm in this because the intent is to warn. However; if a person has knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah, then presents the verses that remedy [various] problems, explains them, gives exegesis of them, strikes parables for them, then this is good. He also mentions the Ahaadith, explains them, and strikes a parable for them, then this is good without doubt”

[Fataawa Noor ‘ala Darb no. 702]

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan

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