{"id":39903,"date":"2025-12-10T13:59:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daruliftabirmingham.co.uk\/home\/?p=39903"},"modified":"2025-12-10T13:59:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:59:45","slug":"ruling-on-income-from-writing-a-screenplay-and-its-subsequent-use-in-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/daruliftabirmingham.co.uk\/home\/ruling-on-income-from-writing-a-screenplay-and-its-subsequent-use-in-films\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruling On Income From Writing A Screenplay And Its Subsequent Use In Films"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fatwa ID: 08613<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Answered by: Maulana Sakib Shadman<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Question:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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My question is regarding screenwriting or screenplay writing and the ruling on potential income that it can generate. I will try my best to write the question as comprehensively as possible, as I understand that “the jurisconsult is the prisoner of the questioner.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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A screeplay is simply a fictional story written in a particular format, it is considered intellectual property. The exercise of writing a screenplay is called screenwriting. The format is such that it assumes that the story will be presented on a screen. How exactly that is done is mainly upto the director, my question is not about directing, only about screenwriting. Thus, my question is not about filmmaking or movies as a whole. I shall be assuming an ideal screenplay that does not have any haram elements, by which I mean if it was written in a fictional story book’s format it would be halal, and I shall also be assuming that the only involvement the screenwriter had, was writing the screenplay, nothing more. Now, there are numerous ways someone who wrote a screenplay could end up getting paid:<\/span><\/p>\n

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First, is simply that the screenwriter sells the screenplay for a particuar sum of money and writing credits. After this agreement is done, that’s it, the screenwriter is no more involved with the screenplay and what is done with it. It may be possible that the new owner changes the screenplay to include haram elements, and then makes a movie out of it. The caveat is that the original screenwriter had sold the screenplay for writing credits, so, if the new owner adds haram elements and makes a movie out of it, the name of the original screenwriter would be present somewhere in the credits. Would the original screenwriter’s income generated from the original halal screenplay (sans haram elements) be halal?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Second, the screenwriter could enter a contest. If the screenplay wins, they are awarded prize money. Some contests have entry fees, some do not. Would this prize money be halal\/haram in both types of contests (paid to enter\/free to enter)?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Third, a screenwriter could review the screenplay of another screenwriter. If that screenplay gets sold, sometimes the reviewer get a percentage of the money.\u00a0 Would the money that the reviewer got be halal? What if the screenplay he reviewed in this case had some haram elements? What would be the ruling on the money in both cases?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fourth, a screenwriter could enter an agreement where he knows that the screenplay will be made into a movie, and then whatever money the movie makes, he will recieve a percentage of that. Again, in this case the screenwriter originally wrote a halal screenplay but what happens with it afterwords is out of his hand. Also sometimes there are elemetns that might not be haram in a story but could be haram when they are presented in\u00a0 a movie (for example a woman combing her hair). In this case the screenwriter knows the screenplay will become a movie (unlike in the very first case where he simply sold the screenplay). Would this income be halal?<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Answer:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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First and foremost, writing fictional stories in any format is only permissible as long as there is some benefit (e.g. educational or historical content), advice, or a moral lesson attached to the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Furthermore, there should be no lewdness, immodesty, nor UnIslamic\/Haram content inside the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As for screenplay writing, Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Quran:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u0648\u064e\u062a\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0627\u0648\u064e\u0646\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0649 \u0671\u0644\u06e1\u0628\u0650\u0631\u0651\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0671\u0644\u062a\u0651\u064e\u0642\u06e1\u0648\u064e\u0649\u0670\u06d6 \u0648\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0627 \u062a\u064e\u0639\u064e\u0627\u0648\u064e\u0646\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0649 \u0671\u0644\u06e1\u0625\u0650\u062b\u06e1\u0645\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0671\u0644\u06e1\u0639\u064f\u062f\u06e1\u0648\u064e\u200a\u0670\u2060\u0646\u0650\u06da \u0648\u064e\u0671\u062a\u0651\u064e\u0642\u064f\u0648\u0627\u06df \u0671\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064e\u06d6 \u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e \u0671\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064e \u0634\u064e\u062f\u0650\u06cc\u062f\u064f \u0671\u0644\u06e1\u0639\u0650\u0642\u064e\u0627\u0628\u0650 }<\/span><\/p>\n

[Surah Al-M\u0101\u02beidah: 2]<\/span><\/p>\n

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And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear All\u0101h; indeed, All\u0101h is severe in penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a difference of opinion between Ulema whether film making is permissible or not in the first place due to the prohibition of creating images (\u062a\u064e\u0635\u0652\u0648\u0650\u064a\u0631), and due to the high likelihood that the film will contain Haram elements. As a screenplay writer, you are assisting film makers to produce films which as you mentioned, may contain Haram content. Allah Ta’ala orders us to assist one another in righteousness and piety, as opposed to sin and aggression. As a screenplay writer, you could potentially facilitate the production of Haram films by providing film makers with the initial blueprint they require to create a story. For this reason, it is advisable to find a career which allows you to contribute to society in a more fruitful manner.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Even if we consider the more lenient opinion, which allows the production of films which only contain permissible content;<\/span><\/p>\n

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