Video Games that Contain Elements of Shirk and Kufr

Question: what is the ruling on video games that contain elements of shirk and kufr such as idols or gods, but the person does not believe in them? The answer, may Allah reward you for your concern for the correct creed, and guardians must take care of this matter.

Summary:

Haram if the game: 1. Contains idols or gods that are venerated. 2. Requires the player to perform acts of shirk, such as prostration, prayer to other than Allah, or offering sacrifices. 3. Displays the beliefs of the disbelievers in a way that beautifies or promotes them. • Permissible with dislike or partial prohibition if they are only drawings that can be avoided and do not contain shirk rituals or praise of kufr, with caution against becoming accustomed to images of idols.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and may Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

First, the general ruling:

1. The basic principle is that a Muslim is commanded to avoid everything that involves shirk or a call to it or approval of it or imitation of it, even if it is for entertainment, if it contains veneration of falsehood or acts of worship directed to other than Allah.

    2. If the game contains idols or mythical gods that are venerated or worshipped in its context, or the player is asked to perform actions resembling worship to these gods, then this is haram, even if the player does not believe in them, because it involves imitating the polytheists, approving falsehood, and accustoming the soul to evil.

      3. But if they are only shapes not intended for veneration, and the player can avoid the prohibited scenes, then the ruling differs according to the extent of the evil and its effect.

        Second, the evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah:

        From the Sunnah:

        • Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4031 and Graded Hasan Sahih by al-AlbānīNarrated by Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
          The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who copies any people is one of them.
        • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5954, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2107Narrated by Abdullāh ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
          Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) returned from a journey when I had placed a curtain of mine having pictures over (the door of) a chamber of mine. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw it, he tore it and said, "The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to make the like of Allah's creations." So we turned it (i.e., the curtain) into one or two cushions.

        From the Qur'an:

        • al-Furqan: 72
          "˹They are˺ those who do not bear false witness, and when they come across falsehood, they pass ˹it˺ by with dignity."

          Some of the Salaf interpreted "falsehood" as shirk, falsehood, and prohibited gatherings of amusement.

        From the Sunnah:

        • Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 49aNarrated by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him):
          "...He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith."

        From the Scholars:

        • Majmoo‘ Fatawa Ibn Baz (6/490
          Shaykh Ibn Baz رحمه الله He said, "It is not permissible for a Muslim to amuse himself with what contains a call to shirk or mockery of the religion or veneration of disbelievers and their gods, because that is among the means of fitnah, even if it is as a joke or entertainment."
        • Liqaa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh (Meeting 17)
          Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen رحمه الله He said, "Games that contain evil, or prohibition, or a call to shirk, are not permissible even if the player does not intend it, because committing the prohibited is prohibited in itself."
        • Tahdheer al-Saajid min Ittikhaadh al-Quboor Masaajid (p. 119)
          Shaykh al-Albani رحمه الله He strongly warned against media or games that promote shirk or magic or superstition, and considered that among false amusement that corrupts the creed.
        • Tuhfat al-Mujeeb (p. 213)
          Shaykh Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi‘i رحمه الله He said, "It is not permissible to occupy oneself with what distracts from the remembrance of Allah or leads to imitating the disbelievers or beautifies shirk in the souls."
        • Al-Muntaqa min Fatawa al-Fawzan (3/289)
          Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan حفظه الله He said, "These games that contain the rituals of the disbelievers or their idols and gods or their symbols, are prohibited, because they promote kufr even without intention, and the Muslim is commanded to avoid them."

        important note: Even if the player does not believe in what is in the game, actual participation in rituals or symbols of shirk is prohibited in Islam, because the Shari‘ah forbids imitating the disbelievers in their actions, not only in their beliefs.

        And Allah knows best.

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