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... the science of peace |
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When
is the media (TV. Radio station, cinema) considered legitimate and
isn’t it legitimate? The employment
of media varies accordingly; if it serves Islam and its objectives, if
it elevates humanity, widens man’s knowledge, improves his morals
then, doubtlessly, it is not only considered legitimate but is also
regarded a must. However, once it includes any kind of wanton and
dissolute activities and programmers, which impure man’s spirit,
lower his humanity, serve the purposes of the tyrants and oppressors
and support the international arrogance and then it is automatically
prohibited. Indeed, just as there is no absolute rejection to such
kinds of media in Islam, there is also no absolute acceptance; the
employment of such means determines its functionality and application
in Islam. Is
it permitted for a pious man to work in a domain of art which is known
for its wantonness in a way that doesn’t affect his morals and his
religious values as well? These are two
points in this domain. The first one depends upon the person himself
and his abilities to withstand temptations. Indeed this person has to
know himself; if this job is gong to affect negatively his values and
consequently lead him to the path of dissoluteness and licentiousness,
then it is prohibited. The other point is related to his role which he
plays either in a film or in a play. Once this role is advantageous to
the Islamic situation, then there is no problem. However, once it
supports the immoral habits and desires in a way that doesn’t suit
physically, spiritually, and realistically the Islamic situation then
it is prohibited. In
the light of the above mentioned ideas, do I have the right to play a
role in a play which disagrees with my Islamic doctrine? In case this
role serves the real image of Islam and functions as a complement to
an Islamic role, such as the role of AbiLahab (The prophet’s uncle,
one of the leaders of the unbelievers), in his confrontation of Islam,
then there is no problem. Where as if this role supports the infidels
in a way that the play itself consolidates paganism then it is
forbidden. Are
we permitted to play the role of the Prophet and Imams (a.s) on the
theatre or in the cinema, especially that this role benefits
Islam and helps in its universal wide spread? On the first
level, there is no absolute rejection to this subject for there is no
evidence, either in the Quran or in the Sunnah (traditions) of the
prophet, that prohibits
the representation of prophets or Imams by an actor in a play or
in a movie. Yet, here emerges a secondary level of
consideration related to the role the actor is playing. The actor has
to make sure that his role is not going either to weaken the
personalities and the greatness of the holy religious people or
undermine them. Indeed, if there is any slight disdain to their
holiness, then it is prohibited. Briefly, the action, in itself, is
not prohibited. But what is prohibited is whether this role distorts
the image of the prophet or not. Is
it permitted for a girl to shake hands with a man if this is required
in the film? Of course, it
is prohibited. But if there is a positive necessity for this scene,
the girl can wear thick gloves- not the ones made of nylon- simply
because this kind allows a direct touch which is forbidden. However,
if she is sure that the gloves are too thick not to allow any direct
touch then there is no problem. What
is your opinion concerning both the manufacturing of solid shapes and
their possession? With respect
to the above mentioned issue, I’d rather take an obligatory
precaution by doing without it rather than prohibiting it. Indeed, its
prohibition is built upon this obligatory precaution. As to their
possession, if they are taken as a object to play with –or similar
uses then there is no problem. As a matter of fact, the texts, we
usually refer to, and which prevent such shapes, depend mostly on the
purpose they are made for
by the artist and not on their use , for it was, many times, mentioned
that “the one, who had made a picture or had carved a statue will be
asked to infuse life in his statue although he is not a blower, in the
doomsday” This statement reveals that this issue depends upon the
maker himself whether he is imitating God or not. Thus it is an issue
that has to do with
the mentality of the maker ,and I,
Like any other Jurist, declare that their possession, selling, and use
are not forbidden. Is
the statue, which shows only the upper half of the body, subject to
the same law? Indeed, what
is prohibited, in this area, is the statue that reveals the whole body
of a person. But if this statue shows half of the body because the
other half is behind a wall or a curtain, then it is unlawful or, let
me say, it is still subjected to be unlawful as compulsory precaution.
On the other hand, an incomplete statue which shows part of a man such
as a head or the upper part in a way that is generally considered a
statue of an incomplete body, then this incomplete statue is not
unlawful. What
about drawings, photographs, and the Islamic carves which include
Quranic verses and the names of God? All kinds of
photographs are legitimate simply because they are not mentioned among
the unlawful acts . As for the carves, they are not considered
photographs and they are not at the same time, prohibited. It is widely
spread among teenagers, nowadays, that they are daring enough to
either show their sympathetic feelings and admiration to the artists
or keep the artists’, photos with them. What is your opinion
concerning this phenomenon? Although I
don’t encourage them, I can say that if there is neither promotion
nor support to any prohibited deed, we do neither encourage nor
prohibit such issues simply because the passionate feelings, which are
directed to the artists who are making illegal deeds, may turn to the
prohibited deed itself. Needless to say that the believer should
enjoin the good and forbid the evil and one of the means of forbidding
evil is apparently showing its rejection. This rejection should, at
the same time, lead to showing rejection even to the ones who dare to
do it, Doubtlessly by showing our admiration to such people, we
sympathize with and support their work, and people are usually
associated with the singers or the artists via the way they sing or
act, so if this way consolidates the prohibited deeds, then, talking
positively about the artist or the signer or keeping his/her photo
means that we do really support the illegitimate. What
is your opinion concerning the action taken by
some artists , for they arrange parties and donate their
profits to either charitable deeds or to help relief
certain miserable circumstances? It is not
allowed to do the good via illegitimate means. If singing is
prohibited, then it is absolutely not allowed to be used as means to
do the good “God should not be obeyed by means of disobeying Him” However, if
the type of singing is legitimate and its content is not associated
with any illegitimate or dissolute act, then it is allowed, whether
this party is intended for a charitable institution or it is a
confirmation for certain charitable demands which that song expresses. The
Phenomenon of the artists’ repentance and their commitment to the
veil is widely spread nowadays (in the Arab countries). Yet some
people are doubtful about this phenomenon while others do not take
their repentance seriously. Where do you stand? What is lawful about
either looking at them or watching their previous photos or films
before their commitment? As to being
skeptical, the Islamic view confirms that any Muslim who has just
repented and taken the right Islamic path should be regarded as a
pious person, for the goodness of the outer appearance reflects what
is hidden in this case. For instance, the jurists confirm that the
person’s justice is apparently evaluated in the way he behaves
“Whosoever fairly treats others, doesn’t oppress or lie and keeps
his promises should be regarded as a pious person and therefore his
fraternity becomes a must; thus it is prohibited to slander him.” Since there is
no negative Islamic view concerning this phenomenon and since a person
can suddenly wake up and realize the life of falsehood he was leading,
we should, in this case, not only support and encourage this
phenomenon, but we should also sympathize with the artists for their
return to God.. With respect
to the question of seeing their previous photos before their
commitment, I can say that it has two points. First, as Muslims, we
are forbidden from seeing any indecent photo which leads to corruption
or excitation whether it belongs to the repentant artists or to the
unrepentant ones. Next, If these photos, which are taken before the
commitment, are decent and don’t lead to either corruption or
excitation and if the look helps in appreciating the changes they have
made in their life, then it is allowed, yet a look of disgrace and
dishonor to them is prohibited. Q:
What is lawful about listening to their songs? Listening to
immoral, licentious, and dissolute songs is prohibited whether the
singer is a repentant or unrepentant. Q:
What is your opinion concerning women’s participation in the field
of theatres and movies and what are your instructions to the
conservative families in this domain? At the first
level, we don’t see any illegitimacy so long as this job doesn’t
contradict with our Islamic path. Furthermore, I don’t only
encourage such activities, but I see them as a must since they help in
enlightening our people on
all levels politically, socially and morally as well. Therefore, I
encourage the Muslim women to take part in this important field due to
its greatest advantages to the Islamic situation and at the same time
due to the greatest role the Muslim Women could be performing. Q:
According to the Islamic conception, what is meant by singing? From the
Islamic point of view, singing is not forbidden, simply because
anything around us such as the sound of water falls, the singing of
birds, and any other piece of art can provide delight and enchant us,
however, once this song pours in the channels of corruption and
injustice and once it leads to the excitation of desires then it is
prohibited. On the other hand, the songs that praise prophets, sing
justice, curse savagery, and draw the awareness towards any political
corruption are legitimate. Q:
The Sufi’s rituals are similar to what you have mentioned; do you
think that these rituals are a kind of an Islamic art which should be
both encouraged and supported? Since such
rituals are neither mentioned in the
Quran nor in the traditions of the Prophet, they should be
re-considered in agreement with the legal principles and rules.
Although there is no evidence of their illegitimacy, I think that
these rituals even in moments of inspiration to God, might give an
impression of ignorance to our Islamic law and consequently this is
not allowed. Q:
What is your opinion concerning certain ritual practices such as
inserting a skewer in the person’s body? As a matter of
fact, such irrational practices affect negatively the Islamic cause.
They depend on stimulating both the senses and the passions without
depending on the reason and the mind in persuading others. The mind is
much more important in convincing people than anything else. Q:
What is your opinion concerning both the embroidery of the word
“ALLAH” (God) and the Quranic Ayats? It is not
rejected for some embellishing means might be more deeply and
positively affective in the soul. As for
touching such words, its legitimacy is not different from any other
unornamented holy words. Q: What is your
opinion concerning the new way they recite the Quranic verses and the
new means they resort to in order to have a greater effect, such as
the recitation that resembles other singing forms? All kinds of Quranic recitation,
even the ones accompanied by music, are allowed, simply because we
allow the kind of musical songs which include words of justice and
right, so how about the Quranic verses which contain the words of God?
Indeed, what is not legitimate in this sense is the kind of music,
which might not suit the holiness of the Quran. My viewpoint in this
respect is that music increases the affects on the soul and the
spirit. For this reason, we prohibited the musical songs, which
support injustice in order that such words might not penetrate into
the people’s minds, while we deemed lawful the songs whose words
call for justice and fight oppression and tyranny. Most importantly,
we encourage the Quranic reciting competitions, which take place
everywhere, provided that they do not violate the Quranic atmosphere
of piety. Q: Is it allowed for
a man or a woman to take either singing or dancing, which abides by
moral obligations, as his/her profession? Indeed, the jurists’ opinions
about singing and dancing vary; some religious thinkers prohibit these
two arts because they are considered a kind of play or fun; while
others believe that the kind of singing, which doesn’t arouse
temptations and which at the same time encourages moral obligations,
is lawful. For this reason I do not consider the profession of dancing
and singing, which preserves moral obligations, to be prohibited. My
teacher, Ayatullah Sayyed Al-Khouee, also authorized this. Needless to
say in this sense that although we allow certain things for the lack
of evidence that prohibit them, we at same time take into
consideration the social restrictions. We believe that these two
professions are not socially accepted, for throughout
our Islamic history, we haven’t witnessed so far a Muslim
woman or a Muslim man who has taken either dancing or singing as his
profession. Consequently and due to these social restrictions, such
kinds of professions are subjected to the secondary considerations of
prohibition. Meanwhile, I think that when Muslims’ conditions change
and many unfamiliar habits become familiar, such issues, especially if
people distinguish between legal art and the illegal one, might become
familiar to them, that is why we find ourselves so far cautious about
these professions trying to figure out what benefits Islam. Q: What is the
Islamic ruling regarding the performance, the presentation and the
display of the incidents of Ashoura’a? It is natural that any memory
similar to Ashoura’a has its spiritual relation with the people’s
passions, religion, educational mentality and political movement as
well. Accordingly, this memory usually develops in accordance with the
development of the means of communication, which help in the process
of convincing and clarifying the holiness of the memory of Ashoura’a.
In the light of the above mentioned ideas, not only do we encourage
the commemoration of Ashoura’a, but we also call for developing the
means of portraying it. We believe that the performance of the
incidents of Ashoura’a on a primitive theatre via primitive means is
too poor to lead to a good effect simply because the observer loses
this lively and spiritual interaction which the commemoration of
Ashoura’a aims at. For this reason, we aim at making Ashoura’a an
occasion that does not only concern the Shiites but also a universal
occasion that concerns all the people due to its human dimensions.
Thus, we need a very well developed technical means and very creative
playwrights and artists who compose, direct, and perform the incidents
of Ashoura’ on a well-developed modern theater. Q: It is possible
for a famous actress who has played so many different roles to play
the role of the holy Zainab(Imam Hussein’s sister) (a.s.)? Or do you
ask for certain types of personalities to play this role ? Why not, especially if the actress
is a Muslim woman who possesses all the human affections, and who, at
the same time, understands the personality of Zainab (a.s) and knows
how to play her role. Q: You have recently
called for acting and performing the Husseini tragedy of the Imam’s
martyrdom on both theatre and television. Don’t you think that so
many objections from different jurists will be facing you since what
you ask for is something unfamiliar to people and to jurists as well? I don’t think that well educated
and open-minded jurists who are fully aware of the modern technology
and its impact on the modern man would be irrational enough to reject.
Indeed, the jurists and I are fully aware that the modern man is
capable of using such technical devices as his means to deliver his
messages. Similarly, Islam is in need of such technical means so as to
be widely spread and universally understood. I know that there are certain types
of people who usually fear the new… they are complicated from any
new idea thinking that this newness would smash their habitual
traditions. However, I believe that swimming against the current is
risky and needs patience. So. I advise those, who are creative by
their nature and are always looking for the best, to endure the
difficulties that will be facing them. We all agree that the conventions do
neither mean the end of the world nor do they possess any sense of
holiness. For this reason, God (swt) in His Holy book, the Quran,
orders us to liberate ourselves from the constraints of blind
traditions and conventions. God wants us to observe, to contemplate
and to think about such customs in a way that makes us accept what
suits our Islamic concepts and reject what doesn’t. “We
have found our fathers following a certain religion; we are merely
walking in their footsteps. Each (apostle) said: What if I bring you a
better guidance than that which you found your fathers following? But
they replied: We deny the message you have brought”. (Surah 43,
Ornaments of Gold (Al-Zukhruf) Aya 23,24). Q: The changes we
have made so far in the way we celebrate Ashoura are so important that
they fit the mentality of this century. But don’t you think that
this step will be followed by many other and more influential changes
to several other Islamic concepts and issues in the coming
generations? Since the Islamic concepts and
thoughts are constant in their original and real content, we usually
talk about changing the types of expressions and not about the
content. However, we have, after a thorough understanding and
contemplation to this content and to the issues that might arise, the
right to come up with many interpretations. For this reason, we
don’t usually fear the changes we have made or we are still making
due to our realization that there are open minded and watchful jurists
who understand the content of the Islamic conception, the mentality of
our generations, thus they constitute a guarantee against any
deviation. Q: The technique of
a dramatist requires both a dramatic buildup towards a climax and a
skillful plot. These two technical devices might lead to a change in
the text. Yet, here the author might face the difficulty of either
changing the historical text or technically weakening the plot. How
can we solve this problem? We allow the process of change, on
condition that these changes help in the invigoration of ideas but
which at the same time do not lead to the violation of the content and
the spirituality of the text. Q: In the past,
Jurists used to prohibit the act of acting, but now you do allow it.
Does this mean that the past Jurists were wrong? I don’t think that the Jurists
meant acting in itself for the Arabic meaning of the word Acting (tamtheel)
might have confused them. Indeed, in Arabic “Acting” (Tamtheel) is
taken from (Timthal), a sculpture, and some Sunna and Shiite jurists
prohibit the sculptures because they represent paganism. As for
acting, I don’t think that they prohibited it. Q: What do you say
if a director commits an error in his choice of the actors and the
roles they play? I mean if the most skillful and professional actor
plays the role of a wicked character, he might stimulate and affect
the audience more than any average actor who plays the role of a
reformer. Yet this affects negatively the personalities they are
representing. Whenever we talk about the Karbala
theatre, we mean that all the technical devices, including the
theatre, the actors, the text, the content and its spirituality should
lead to a positive result. That is, the director must take everything
seriously and into consideration. Q: You are calling
for understanding the spirit of the twenty first century and for being
open to the new civilization. In the light of this call, how can you
explain the Prophet’s saying “What Muhammad deemed lawful is
lawful until the Day of Judgment, and what he considered prohibited
will remain prohibited until the day of Judgment”. Doubtlessly, what Muhammad (P.)
considered lawful was, is and will still be lawful till Doomsday, and
what he considered prohibited was, is and will still be unlawful till
Doomsday. However, the idea is how to determine and diagnose what is
lawful and what is not. For instance, the process of legislation
differs and develops from one jurist to another according to their
understanding to the text itself. Another point is that things usually
vary whenever any new idea or event occurs. When this variation occurs
many new subjects come into existence; accordingly, the legislation
changes due to the changes of the subjects. For clarification, we all
know that water is not only allowed but it is also essential; however,
once it becomes dangerous to our health, it immediately becomes
prohibited. For this reason, I think that there is flexibility in the
text through which the jurist can tell; thus, it is not strange to
find that there is certain degree of diversity of opinions among
jurists. Q: In the Islamic
theatre, what are the lawful limits of the actresses and what if the
roles they play require shaking hands and exchanging words of
compliments and flirtations? Abiding by the Islamic law is a
must. For the actress is prohibited from behaving against what the
Islamic law necessities. For instance, the actress is prohibited from
appearing unveiled, from shaking hands and from having seductive
clothes and make up. As exchanging words of compliments and
flirtations, I don’t see any prohibitions, on condition that they
don’t exceed the normal limits.
* Taken from: www.bayynat.org
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