Are cartoons halal?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Read more → views In the name of God, entirely Compassionate, especially Merciful | Peace be with you
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
I receive a lot of riff (English for criticism) regarding my graphic work, more specifically the cartoons, comics and animations I make.
When learning early on as a Muslim that drawing was completely haram (forbidden, harmful) in Islam I felt a blow as my whole life is based on design and sketching. There is colour everywhere, shapes, textures, light and animation in Allah's handiwork so my immediate response was to question: How am I supposed to inhibit the artistry that Allah painted himself and designed in me?
People informed me of this ahadith (prophetic saying) and this Quranic verse so I shrugged *fine* in acceptance, I put my paintbrushes and pens away and took to writing. Later on in life however I was given essays by honest iconic Muslims on the permissibility of drawings, and attended assemblies where Muslims' artistic abilities were the very reasons Islam flourished in those areas.
The grey area or the debatable area is within whether the sketching of faces, of living beings, be it animal or human is halal (acceptable). Sound Vision use puppets for the successful Adam's World series, Fine Media Children explores full animation and Khaleel Muhammad's Hakim superheroes - they were also taken to court by the "Biddah-Band". I'm not suggesting that if they 'get away with it, why can't I?' Nobody could refute though that while Islamically it is always haram to recreate Allah's creation in an enticing form to develop admiration, thereby distracting from Islam's message of humility, these cartoons were a humble effort to spread Islam. And they do!
Recent discussions again though place seeds of doubt that this and that image make me fit for hell, since the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) disliked "image makers".
I know for fact photos are halal by default: they are exact copies and not replicas, therefore as long as they are hidden from places of worship, they cause no fitna (trouble). I also know for fact that toys, sketches and puppets are halal for they are mere child's play and can become great tools of expression for adults if, just like music, they are used in context.
I shall continue my work, it hasn't proved harmful to date and inshaAllah (God willing) it won't in the future. I do however take full responsibility if such a Muslimness cartoon ever breaks a person's faith, causes distractions or somehow leads to a devilish path. Sometimes I find people want something to be haram because they have been believing in that their lives. Yes, haram = harm.
Now then, where's my number 2 paintbrush?
What do you suggest I do?
---
By: The Misanthrope
Peace & respect ★
I receive a lot of riff (English for criticism) regarding my graphic work, more specifically the cartoons, comics and animations I make.
When learning early on as a Muslim that drawing was completely haram (forbidden, harmful) in Islam I felt a blow as my whole life is based on design and sketching. There is colour everywhere, shapes, textures, light and animation in Allah's handiwork so my immediate response was to question: How am I supposed to inhibit the artistry that Allah painted himself and designed in me?
People informed me of this ahadith (prophetic saying) and this Quranic verse so I shrugged *fine* in acceptance, I put my paintbrushes and pens away and took to writing. Later on in life however I was given essays by honest iconic Muslims on the permissibility of drawings, and attended assemblies where Muslims' artistic abilities were the very reasons Islam flourished in those areas.
The grey area or the debatable area is within whether the sketching of faces, of living beings, be it animal or human is halal (acceptable). Sound Vision use puppets for the successful Adam's World series, Fine Media Children explores full animation and Khaleel Muhammad's Hakim superheroes - they were also taken to court by the "Biddah-Band". I'm not suggesting that if they 'get away with it, why can't I?' Nobody could refute though that while Islamically it is always haram to recreate Allah's creation in an enticing form to develop admiration, thereby distracting from Islam's message of humility, these cartoons were a humble effort to spread Islam. And they do!
Recent discussions again though place seeds of doubt that this and that image make me fit for hell, since the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) disliked "image makers".
I know for fact photos are halal by default: they are exact copies and not replicas, therefore as long as they are hidden from places of worship, they cause no fitna (trouble). I also know for fact that toys, sketches and puppets are halal for they are mere child's play and can become great tools of expression for adults if, just like music, they are used in context.
I shall continue my work, it hasn't proved harmful to date and inshaAllah (God willing) it won't in the future. I do however take full responsibility if such a Muslimness cartoon ever breaks a person's faith, causes distractions or somehow leads to a devilish path. Sometimes I find people want something to be haram because they have been believing in that their lives. Yes, haram = harm.
Now then, where's my number 2 paintbrush?
What do you suggest I do?
---
By: The Misanthrope
Peace & respect ★
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