# Is it wrong to watch Bollywood films and TV series?

*Fatwa in our times: are films and TV series a priority?*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/qbvwbhoizw4/s/9/
- Date: 2016-12-21 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Islam in the 21st Century | Mufti Abu Layth | Ha Meem Foundation (54:46–1:02:22)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBvWBHOIzW4&t=3286s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/qbvwbhoizw4/

**Topics:** Entertainment, sport and leisure; Islam and modernity

**Question as asked:** When you give a fatwa as a mufti living here you have to take the conditions of our time into account, but there are things that could be detrimental to our deen; how do you reconcile the good and the bad, for example with Bollywood films?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth does not see films and TV as a priority issue: entertainment is human, as poetry was for the companions, so focus on adding good rather than pushing people away.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that, in the bigger picture, he does not necessarily see movies or TV series as high on the priority list.

**Evidence, his words at 56:03:** “given the the the bigger picture I don't necessarily see these things as up there on the priority list uh things like movies or TV series” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBvWBHOIzW4&t=3363s)

## Longer summary

An audience member asks how a mufti living in Britain reconciles the conditions of the time with things that might harm people's deen, giving Bollywood films as the example. Mufti Abu Layth says that, in the bigger picture, he does not necessarily see movies and TV series as high on the priority list; people watch them as entertainment, and keeping up with celebrities and culture is very human. He says that in the companions' time the celebrities were poets, and cites a hadith in al-Bukhari that they discussed the poetry of the jahiliyya in the Prophet's mosque, poetry as explicit and violent as any film, Imru' al-Qais being much repeated. Rather than telling people to stop and pushing them away, against the hadith warning to speak to people so that Allah and His Messenger are not denied, he says to focus on the good they can add, be warm and call people in.

## Sources and names cited

- fatwa
- report: the companions discussed the poetry of the jahiliyya in the mosque of the prophet (cited as in al-Bukhari, number not stated)
- jahiliyya
- Imru' al-Qais
- report: speak to people according to what they know; do you want allah and his messenger to be denied

## Transcript (machine tier, 54:46–1:02:22)

[54:06] moment or never a dull thing about them so I mean may Allah subhana tala connect us with this Legacy of ours and kind of allow us to not only learn it but to convey it to those who come after us a mean I would I don't know about time restraints I I did actually want to have maybe see some questions you guys had or something like this but I don't know how are we pushed for I mean if we do have cuz actually to be honest with you one is you know when you go to a place and you just talk to people okay it's can be fun and everything but you don't know what the people actually have got on their mind somebody could be oh

[54:46] I'm so I want to know about this thing but okay fine he's talking about this so I would rather get to know a bit about what people actually want to know about so I mean questions that people have it how does the be reconcile so when we when we study you know we study various principles like and and and types of things principles so when you give a fatwa so obviously you're a Muti and you're living here you have to take into the condition of our time

[55:24] enir um but there's things that could lead people astray we won't use the word haram okay that could be detrimental let's just say to our Dean so how do you reconcile that the good and the bad you know given our states and you know I mean it's it's a very broad it's a I mean I put it into context okay yeah um and it's difficult so is there a specific example or um that would probably be more helpful um there's many many many many but don't mention it let's just say Bollywood films Bollywood yeah cuz as you brought that

[56:03] up okay that's probably not fair I I would do you know what see my focus and my attitude is actually the same look we are part and parcel of the society we live in this world you know people some I know damn I'm going to get done for this any [Laughter] time the thing is no it's fine I mean the thing is look I given the the the bigger picture I don't necessarily see these things as up there on the priority list uh things like movies or TV series or just and I know there's types of

[56:41] movies and there's some which you know people would say that's obviously unacceptable and then there's the general which are just movies movies like somebody's you know I don't know they're watching Rambo they're watching whatever you know just the there's so many movies out there people are watching this regular movies because it's entertainment but people also do I know they do learn from movies as well but more than anything it's fun it's entertaining and people like that they they keep up like you mentioned this the people keep up with culture whether it's Sports they know what I totally don't know anything about sports actually but I mean people they would know about footballers everything their lives uh they would know about celebrities the

[57:18] same type of thing this is a very human thing without trying to justify I'm not trying to justify I'm just saying I'm just describing it is it is actually very real this happened just as much in the time of the Sala as it does now but in different ways now like now we have TV we have these they didn't have that then their celebrities were different people so their celebrities quite often were poets um their celebrity like if we go back to the time of the sahaba the celebrities were poets the celebrities were uh mainly maybe Warriors and people like that but more often were like poets and the stories that the poets would tell in their poetry were like movies

[57:57] and the sahab used to discuss them just as much as people today discuss in fact there's a Hadith inkari that they would sit in the Masjid in the prophet's Masjid and they would speak about the poets The Poetry of jilah and the Poetry of jilah for those of you who are unaware of it is is just as crazy as any of these films that you can imagine it is and it is very explicit it is very sexualized it is very violent it is very I mean those this is the average poetry

[58:33] like IM was rated the dawn of the poets he one of the they used to call him the you know the the the the what is it the Deviant King if you like like the king of those who have gone astray almost and his PO is non-stop all about womanizing and all and not just about womanizing goes the full I mean it's the whole thing so it's and he was one of the most talked about poets amongst the sahaba he was like very they used to repeat his poetry they used to go on you know in front of in front of the Prophet

[59:13] Sall alaihi wasallam amongst themselves it was it was a normal part and parcel of their society obviously IM had died by the time uh you know Islam and the prophet but he's let's say but he'd only just like probably two generations back at most he wasn't or one he had just kind of missed the thing it wasn't that he was so far back from like thousands of years or anything he's an example there were many of the uh other poets as well and so this thing is everywhere it's it's in a way I'm not justifying it but it's going to happen it's normal people want a bit of fun they want to kind of get involved about certain things they want to but at

[59:51] the same time what we can do is focus on the positive okay okay fine you're doing all of that you know you're watching these you're watching these movies you know watching Breaking Bad anybody hasn't watched Breaking Bad you're watching all these type of things and these are and they are awesome obviously everybody knows those things are awesome but in addition to that you what are you doing that's good like what are you learning about Islamic as well now how about you focus on the good and try and push that up as opposed to just because when you tell people to stop doing things you're not giving them Alternatives and you're not being real

[1:00:30] as well in the real world you know like let's say young people they go to school they go to college they whatever it is everybody's it's it's not like you're asking them to just become a Hermit and they don't want to do that and they see that as boring and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said and you seen a Hadith that don't speak to people in a way that will take them away from the thing that be a you know appropriately address them that do you wish that for what you're saying that Allah and his messenger are denied that somebody you know you you tell somebody God damn it stop watching these you know these TV Ser had enough

[1:01:10] of these or stop watching these movies I've had enough of you watch all Bollywood as you mentioned and the person says no but I like you say God you get so person says you know take you and you get you know take your Islam shove it whatever you know I I don't want it I mean what have you just done person would have never never said something like that you you've literally kind of pushed that person to saying that you've pushed them right out of Islam in in your you know like weird Twisted wisdom of thinking you're enjoying the good and forbidding the evil so it's it's about that guidance be warm just call people in

[1:01:49] don't worry about the you know don'ts don'ts don'ts worry more about the what are we doing that would be my and I think these type of things are what they call ubiquitous you mentioned Bal you know this what the scholars use this term that it's everywhere and they are movies TVs everywhere so it is a focus on let's try and make sure the roots of Islam are there that's why I would say these are are written can you please stop speaking nonsense

[1:02:21] about how do you convince someone to abstain from drinking in a positive way just go have a drink with them say you can drink but you got to pay for mine it's not what is the standing of a person who who who offers prayers yeah prayers does oh does oh oh okay does umah and Hajj but engages in obsene drinking drinking oh it's just about drinking [Laughter]

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment QBvWBHOIzW4/s/9. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/qbvwbhoizw4/s/9/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.