Fun is part of a healthy life

Some people think a good Muslim never plays or rests. That is not the Sunnah. Halal is the default, and most fun is halal (see How halal and haram work).

• Nabi ﷺ raced his wife. Aisha said she raced him on a journey and won. Years later, when she had put on weight, they raced again and he won. He said: this one is for that one¹.
• He let people play in the masjid. Some Abyssinian men were playing with their spears in the masjid. Nabi ﷺ stood at his door and screened Aisha with his cloak so she could watch².
• He let girls sing on Eid, as the story below tells.

A Companion named Hanzalah worried he was a hypocrite, because at home with his family he did not feel the same faith as with Nabi ﷺ. Nabi ﷺ told him: Hanzalah, there is a time for this and a time for that³.

So the question is never "is fun allowed?" It is: is this kind of fun halal, and is it in its right place? The rest of this chapter answers that, topic by topic.

Music: what all scholars agree on

Before the differences, here is the common ground. Every school accepts these:

• The daff at weddings. The daff is a simple frame drum, like a tambourine. Nabi ﷺ said: what separates halal from haram (marriage from zina) is the daff and the voice⁹¹⁰. A wedding should be announced with joy.
• When Aisha prepared a bride for a man of the Ansar, Nabi ﷺ asked: did you not have any entertainment? The Ansar like entertainment¹¹.
• At the wedding of Rubayyi', young girls beat the daff and sang poems about her father. Nabi ﷺ sat and listened. He only corrected one line that said he knew what would happen tomorrow¹². So the words matter.
• The daff on Eid, as in the story above¹³.
• Singing and poems without instruments, with good words. Nabi ﷺ said: some poetry is wisdom¹⁴. He asked Hassan ibn Thabit to answer the enemies of Islam with poetry¹⁵. The Companions sang short rhymes while they dug the trench around Madinah, and Nabi ﷺ joined in¹⁶.
• Singing to camels on a journey. Anjashah did this, and Nabi ﷺ only told him to go gently¹⁷.

Some scholars say the daff is only for women and girls. Others allow it for men too.

And all scholars agree on the other side too: no song is allowed if its words call to haram, like zina, alcohol, drugs, shirk or mocking the deen. And no gathering is allowed that has alcohol or indecency.

Musical instruments: two views

Other instruments, like the guitar, piano, flute or drum kit, are where scholars differ. This is an old difference.

View 1: not allowed (most scholars)

The four schools, in their main positions, do not allow musical instruments beyond the daff. This is the view of most scholars, past and present. Their main proofs:

• Nabi ﷺ said: there will be people from my ummah who will treat as halal zina, silk, alcohol and musical instruments (ma'azif)¹⁸. They say: if instruments were already halal, he would not count "treating them as halal" next to zina and alcohol.
• Allah speaks of someone who buys "lahw al-hadith" (idle talk) to lead people away from Allah's path¹⁹. Ibn Mas'ud and other Companions explained this as singing.
• In the Eid story, Abu Bakr called the girls' singing the instruments of Shaytan. Nabi ﷺ did not say he was wrong in general. He allowed it because it was Eid²⁰.

View 2: some instruments are allowed (a smaller group)

A smaller group of scholars, such as Ibn Hazm in the past, and some scholars today, allow instruments when the words are clean and the setting is halal. Their main points:

• Bukhari recorded the hadith above without saying "so-and-so told us" for the first link. Ibn Hazm said that means its chain is broken. (Most hadith experts, such as Ibn Hajar, answer that it is connected and sahih.)
• They say the hadith is about people who mix these things together in sinful parties: zina, alcohol and music. It is the whole scene that is blamed.
• They say the daff on Eid and at weddings shows that sound itself is not the problem. What matters is the words and the setting.

How to live with this difference

• Both views are held by real scholars. Follow a scholar you trust. Do not call a Muslim on the other view a sinner or say he left the deen.
• If you are unsure, Nabi ﷺ gave a rule: leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt²¹. Many Muslims choose to step away from music for this reason, and find peace in it. See Doubtful things, need and mistakes.
• Hearing is not the same as listening. Music in a shop, a taxi or an advert that you did not choose is not a sin on you, in any view. The question is what you choose to put on.
• In every view, music must never crowd out the Quran, salah or remembering Allah.

Nasheeds, and why the words always matter

A nasheed is a song with good words, about Allah, Nabi ﷺ, faith or good character. With instruments, it follows the difference above.

• Voice-only nasheeds with good words are allowed in all views, as the poems of the Companions show²².
• Nasheeds with the daff are allowed by many scholars, at least for weddings and Eid, and some allow them at any time.
• Voice effects that sound like instruments: some scholars treat them like instruments, others do not.

The content test for every song

Whatever your view on instruments, ask:

• What do the words say? Do they praise zina, alcohol, drugs, violence, pride or shirk? Then it is not allowed in any view.
• What does it do to my heart? Does it make me forget Allah, or crowd out the Quran?
• When and how much? Never in a way that makes you miss salah. Allah says what is with Allah is better than entertainment and business²³.

Allah says the hearing, the sight and the heart will all be asked about²⁴.

Pictures and statues: what is agreed

Islam came to free people from worshipping idols. So the rules on images start there.

• Idols and images made for worship are haram, by agreement. When Nabi ﷺ entered Makkah, there were 360 idols around the Kaaba. He struck them with a stick, reciting: truth has come, and falsehood has vanished²⁵. See Shirk: what breaks tawhid.
• Making statues of people and animals is not allowed, according to the great majority of scholars. Nabi ﷺ said: those who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and told: give life to what you created²⁶.
• He said angels do not enter a house with a dog or a picture²⁷²⁸.
• Pictures of things without a soul are fine: trees, mountains, buildings, cars, flowers. Ibn Abbas told a man who made pictures for a living: if you must, draw trees and things that have no soul²⁹.
• A picture that is walked on or sat on is lighter. Aisha hung a curtain with pictures. Nabi ﷺ was unhappy and tore it. She made it into one or two cushions, and he used them³⁰. Many scholars also mention the words "except a design on cloth"³¹, and differ on how far that goes.

The reasons scholars give: images can lead to worship, and making a likeness of a living being copies Allah's creating³².

Photos, video and drawings

Cameras did not exist in the time of Nabi ﷺ, so scholars of our time differ:

Camera photos and video

• View 1: allowed for halal uses. Many scholars today say a camera only captures a reflection, like a mirror. Nobody shapes a likeness by hand. So photos and video are allowed if what they show is halal.
• View 2: only for real need. Other scholars say photos are still images of living beings. So they are allowed only for need, like passports, ID, security, medicine and teaching. Photos just for memories are not allowed in this view.

Both views are held by major scholars. Both agree:

• No indecent photos or video, of anyone. And never share a picture of someone without their permission, especially a woman who covers.
• Do not honor a photo the way people honor idols: no bowing, no candles, no asking it for help.

Drawing and painting by hand

• Landscapes, plants, buildings, patterns and calligraphy are fine in every view³³.
• Drawing people and animals by hand: most scholars say it is not allowed, because of the hadith on image makers³⁴. Some, mostly Malikis, say the strong warning is for statues (images with a body or shadow), and flat drawings are only disliked.
• Many scholars say a figure without a face or head no longer counts as an image of a living being.
• Children's drawings and teaching pictures are allowed by many scholars, because of need and because the rule is lighter for children.

Toys and dolls

Aisha said: I used to play with dolls in front of Nabi ﷺ, and my friends used to play with me. When he came in, they would hide, but he would send them back to play with her³⁵.

Once a curtain moved and he saw her dolls, with a horse with wings among them. He asked: a horse with wings? She said: have you not heard that Sulayman had horses with wings? He laughed so hard that his back teeth showed³⁶.

• From this, most scholars allow dolls and toy animals for children. They are for play and learning, not for honoring.
• Some scholars allow only simple dolls, like Aisha's made of cloth, and say lifelike modern dolls are better avoided. Others allow ordinary modern toys for children.
• All agree: avoid toys that are idols, lucky charms, or figures of other religions' gods, and toys that are indecent.

So let your children play.

Movies, TV and video games: the content test

A screen is just a tool. The ruling depends on what is on it, and what it does to you. Ask these questions:

• Violence in games: scholars differ. Some say realistic killing games harden the heart. Others allow action games that are not cruel. Think about the player's age.
• Online chat in games: watch who your children talk to. See Phones and the internet.

Sports and games

Sport is not just allowed, it is encouraged.

• Nabi ﷺ said three times from the minbar: strength is in shooting (archery)⁴⁰.
• He organized horse races⁴¹ and raced on foot with Aisha⁴².
• Running, swimming, football, cricket, martial arts and the gym are all fine with the content test: cover your awrah, do not miss salah, and do not harm others.
• Avoid the face. Nabi ﷺ said: when one of you fights, let him avoid the face⁴³. Because of this, many scholars do not allow sports where hitting the head and face is the main goal, like boxing. Others allow them with safety rules.

Prizes and betting

• A prize from a sponsor, a club or one person is fine.
• Everyone pays in and the winner takes all: that is gambling, which is haram⁴⁴. Nabi ﷺ only allowed prize stakes in camel racing, horse racing and archery, training for defense⁴⁵.

Board and card games

• Nabi ﷺ warned against nardshir, a dice game like backgammon: playing it is like dipping your hand in pig's flesh and blood⁴⁶.
• Scholars differ on what this covers. Some say every game of pure dice luck. Others allow family dice games with no money.
• Chess: Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis say it is not allowed or strongly disliked. Shafi'is say it is only mildly disliked, as long as there is no gambling, it does not delay salah, and no bad talk comes with it.

Birthdays and other celebrations

When Nabi ﷺ came to Madinah, the people had two days of games left over from before Islam. He said: Allah has given you two better days instead: the day of sacrifice and the day of breaking the fast⁴⁷. So Islam has two Eids, and they should be the happiest days of the year in a Muslim home.

Birthdays

• All agree: a birthday is not an Eid, and no special prayer, fast or reward is tied to it.
• Stricter view: some major scholars say a yearly birthday party is a new festival Islam did not bring, and copies other people's customs. They point to the hadith: whoever copies a people is one of them⁴⁸.
• More lenient view: other scholars say a simple family birthday is a custom, not worship, and can be a way to thank Allah for another year of life. Their conditions: do not call it an Eid, and nothing haram at it.
• Nabi ﷺ fasted on Mondays and said: that is the day I was born⁴⁹. He marked it with worship, every week.

Both views are held by real scholars. Read more in Can Muslims celebrate birthdays?

Other celebrations

• Weddings, a new baby (aqiqah), Eid, a graduation, a new home, a guest arriving: sharing food and joy is good. See Udhiyah and aqiqah.
• Religious festivals of other faiths: scholars agree a Muslim does not join in their worship. They differ on greeting a neighbor on their day: many allow kind words, others say avoid the greetings too. Be kind to your neighbors either way.
• The Mawlid (marking the birth of Nabi ﷺ) is a long-standing difference among scholars. See Sunnah and bid'ah, and follow the scholars you trust with good manners toward others.

Time is a trust

Even halal fun has a limit. Allah swears by time: by time, people are surely in loss, except those who believe, do good, and urge each other to truth and patience⁵⁰.

• Nabi ﷺ said: two blessings many people lose out on: health and free time⁵¹.
• On the Day of Judgment, every person will be asked about their life and how they spent it, their knowledge, their wealth and their body⁵².
• Nabi ﷺ said: part of being a good Muslim is leaving what does not concern you⁵³.

Simple habits

• Salah first. Pause the game or the show at the adhan. Fun fits around salah, not the other way.
• Set a limit before you start, especially for scrolling, series and games.
• Make rest an act of worship by your intention: rest so you can work, pray and care for your family better.
• Play with your family. Time with your spouse and children is time well spent.

Watched things you regret? Do not despair. Say astaghfirullah, delete what needs deleting, and start a new habit. Allah loves those who turn back to Him.

Common questions

Music plays in the shop, the gym or my coworker's car. Am I sinning?

No. Hearing what you did not choose is not a sin in any view. What counts is what you choose to play.

My family listens to music and I have decided not to. What do I do?

Keep your choice with good manners. This is a real difference among scholars, so do not call them sinners or argue. Kindness to your family is required in every view.

Can we have a daff and singing at our wedding?

Yes. All scholars allow the daff and clean songs at a wedding⁵⁴. Keep the words good, and avoid alcohol and indecent dancing. Other instruments follow the music difference.

Is it OK to take family photos and videos on my phone?

Many scholars today allow photos and video of halal things, because a camera only captures a reflection. Others allow them only for need. Follow a scholar you trust. All agree: no indecent pictures, and ask before sharing someone's photo.

My son plays video games for hours. What is the ruling?

Check the content: no indecency, no shirk or magic made to look good, no gambling. Then the time: games must never come before salah, sleep, school or family. Set limits together, and play with him sometimes.

Is it haram to draw people in art class?

Most scholars say drawing living beings by hand is not allowed except for need, and a school requirement can count as need. Some Malikis say flat drawings are only disliked. Many allow figures without faces. Follow a scholar you trust.