Fatwa ID: 08938
Answered by Alimah Inayah Ahmed
Question:
Is it permissible for maktab children to act out the sirah or stories of the prophets?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In surah al-Fath, Allah says regarding his Prophet ﷺ:
لِّتُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةًۭ وَأَصِيلًا
“So that you believers may have faith in Allah and His Messenger, support and honour him, and glorify Allah morning and evening” (48:9).
Ibn Kathir translates Tuwaqqiruhu to mean respect, honour and high regard [1]. It is an obligation upon all Muslims to respect the prophet ﷺ and all those close to him, such as the other prophets and his companions.
While acting itself is permissible, it would be disrespectful and therefore impermissible to have anyone act out a Prophet, angel or Sahabah (Noble Companion). This is due to the obligation of preserving their sanctity, reverence and their high status in the eyes of Allah. Additionally, it would take utmost caution to refrain from anything that could offend their stature even slightly, and so it would be best to refrain.
However, you could find a creative way around this like having students act out situations that are similar to that of the seerah, perhaps play the role of unspecified characters from the Salaf or even have children do interpretive actions -like drawing an arrow- that don’t necessarily relate to an individual. The most important thing is to avoid acting as a specific person from the prophets and Sahabah.
Only Allah ﷻ knows best.
Written by Alimah Inayah H Ahmed
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References:
[1]
يقول تعالى لنبيه محمد ﷺ: ﴿إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا﴾ أي: على الخلق ﴿وَمُبَشِّرًا﴾ أي: للمؤمنين ﴿وَنَذِيرًا﴾ أي: للكافرين وقد تقدم تفسيرها في سورة الأحزاب (٢). ﴿لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ﴾ قال ابن عباس وغير واحد: تعظموه (٣) ﴿وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ﴾ من التوقير وهو الاحترام والإجلال والإعظام ﴿وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ﴾ أي: تسبحون الله ﴿بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا﴾ أي: أول النهار وآخره.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, page 669, Surah al Fath, Ibn al Jawzi edition, al Maktaba al Shamila – Accessed on 15/05/26