Ruling on reading fiction an watching animated movies

[ghulamRasool]

السلام علیکم۔
Before going ahead with the questions. I want to say that, naudhubillah, I am not challenging Mawlana abu hasan sahab. I could never even think of AlHumdulillaah. It is simple, he is an alim and I am not. But I did have a few queries which, If hazrat could please shed some light on, it would be very helpful.
جزاک اللہ خیرا۔
I was reading one of the threads on the forum about "Harry Potter and the deathly hollows" and was very surprised by the discussion that had taken place. I had always thought that it was impermissible to read such books, and borderline kufr, since there is a great chance of the reader being pleased with the kufr within the books.
A while ago, I read this answer by a deobandi. May Allah forgive me. And this is what he said

There is another fatwa which I read back then, before i knew the truth (May Allah forgive me).

And of course, it is known that to be please with kufr is kufr so the ulama say that to watch movies with kufr in them is haram since it might lead a person to inadvertantly or suddenly be pleased and his iman will be gone before he knows it: due to the great risk. May Allah protect all muslims from kufr.
The second screenshot which I sent, although I can understand why watching films like thor (based on polytheistic mythology) could have a serious hukm. He included movies with "spirits", "resurrection", I am sure he would say that reading lord of the rings also has a serious hukm because you ask "help from a ring" (I don't know much about lord of the rings but assuming this is true).
This is the reason that I kept thinking that Dickens' A Christmas Carol is also kufr because it has the three spirits (past, present and future). He would apply a serious ruling, for sure, on reading this because of what I mentioned and how they show him his potential future if he doesn't change.

I am really confused now. 1) Is it permissible to read fiction, or watch animated movies with such elements.
2) For example the most recent popular animate movie "The wild robot". I mean that all of these movies have some kind of theme which is not accepted in the islamic theology. For example, the 9 lives concept in the lastest Puss in boots film where he LITERALLY fights off death (which is in the form of a wolf) after losing 8 lives, fortune telling using orbs in a lot of movies, magic in harry potter, and in the wild robot they show a robot as having conscienceness (sha'oor) and being motherly to a gosling, in some they have concepts of souls flying about (or even lost souls) etc?
3) Aren't all of the above ghair islamic narratives?
4) May I please ask why the ruling of permissiblity was given on things like reading harry potter, I read other comments about narnia, lord of the rings etc and even the Shaykh mentioning books by Dickens, Tolkien, Stevenson etc in the following manner (I am not sure whether hazrat is incentivising the reading of these or they were just given as examples).

I really do apologise for any gustakhi that I did. I hope you will overlook in sha Allah.

 

[Noori]

simply reading a fiction book does not make someone a kafir, even if the book contains elements of kufr. If that were the case, then reading fataawa or aqidah books, which sometimes also discuss kufr, would also make a person a kafir, which is an incorrect idea.

what constitutes kufr is being pleased with such content or engaging with it purely for entertainment. however, when the purpose is educational, such as improving one’s language skills, certain books might still be recommended despite containing elements of kufr or profanity.

similarly, the dars-e-nizami curriculum includes the study of pre-islamic philosophy and literature, which may (or indeed do) contain kufr and profane ideas. these are taught not for endorsement, but because understanding the cultural and linguistic context of the Quran’s revelation is essential. without such a background, many Quranic words and expressions may not be fully understood.

therefore, reading books like harry potter or the lord of the rings does not make one a kafir in and of itself, unless the reader endorses, believes in, or finds pleasure in the elements of kufr presented in them.

as for animated movies, they are typically watched for entertainment. watching them is generally impermissible due to the waste of time, presence of music, vulgarity, and other harmful elements. if such a movie contains kufr, yet the viewer neither endorses it nor finds it pleasing, and is, in fact, disturbed by it, then, imo, they should not be declared a kafir. however, watching such content remains haram because it serves no legitimate purpose and falls under entertainment involving prohibited elements.

 

[ghulamRasool]

therefore, reading books like harry potter or the lord of the rings does not make one a kafir in and of itself, unless the reader endorses, believes in, or finds pleasure in the elements of kufr presented in them.

جزاک اللہ hazrat
I really appreciate you taking time to answer here.
This is the thread I am talking about
https://sunniport.com/index.php?threads/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-book-7.3938/

what constitutes kufr is being pleased with such content or engaging with it purely for entertainment. however, when the purpose is educational, such as improving one’s language skills, certain books might still be recommended despite containing elements of kufr or profanity.

But how can they be recommended to the normal people? When most likely, a layperson will not be able to distinguish kufr not not kufr a lot of the times.

what constitutes kufr is being pleased with such content or engaging with it purely for entertainment.

But with all due respect hazrat, the thread gives an impression that the book was being read just for fun in that thread (though not sure about mawlana abu hasan sahab though since he regretted reading it because it is a waste of time). They also interacted with the magic aspects of harry potter. It is also clear that the discusssions on it were not for educational purposes (again, not sure about mawlana abu hassan)

A normal person is definitely not going to read it to improve their vocabulary.

if such a movie contains kufr, yet the viewer neither endorses it nor finds it pleasing, and is, in fact, disturbed by it, then, imo, they should not be declared a kafir. however, watching such content remains haram because it serves no legitimate purpose and falls under entertainment involving prohibited elements.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't mawlana saying that it is a fun read but it also has some side benefits such as improving one's vocabulary.

Secondly, if one is reading a book whose entire premise is based on kufr and they talk about the magic and the plot as being great and praise the book. How could they (the layperson not mawlana) not be being pleased with the kufr. I can't understand how one couldn't be pleased with the magic lore and find it fun whilst reading this.
If improving one's vocabulary is the main goal then why harry potter? There are lots of other sources with no magic.

Basically, I am not comprehending why these books which are filled with kufr and only kufriat (hyperbole) are recommended to read (especially to the general public) considering the great risk of the person reading going through the following

yet the viewer neither endorses it nor finds it pleasing, and is, in fact, disturbed by it, then, imo, they should not be declared a kafir.

since a book is read in a flow. A person, when reading is not going to read kufr and say Astaghfirullah every time. Your "imo" also implies the severity of the hukm on the person having this phase (despite not being kufr).

what constitutes kufr is being pleased with such content or engaging with it purely for entertainment.

Are you saying that to read harry potter just for entertainment is kufr: to read it for lahw is kufr? Please can you clarify this, I didn't quite understand. Majority of the people are going to be reading for this purpose.

similarly, the dars-e-nizami curriculum includes the study of pre-islamic philosophy and literature, which may (or indeed do) contain kufr and profane ideas.

But hazrat, isn't that due to necessity. There isn't any necessity here.
Here, the things being read about or watched (in case of movies) have magic, clear kufriat, spirits, losts souls, fortune telling. Why should the normal awaam be exposed to this, just for literary puposes? In fact, non fiction probably has more realistic and relatable and kind of language one would need in real life when writing, and so more practical to read.



Please overlook if I did any gustakhi.

 

[ghulamRasool]

I also wanted to say that it isn't for anyone to read the bible, including the ulama because of fear of endagering their iman. If reading the bible isn't allowed, where one would be much more vigilant to the kufr in there, then how can it be allowed to read fiction books with the aforementioned concepts where the kufr might be that much more subtly placed?
Please, I am not challenging the fatawa of you and mawlana abu hassan sahab. I just feel like there is something which I am misunderstanding but not 100% sure what it is.
I do apologise if it came across that way.

 

[abu Hasan]

the tales of amir hamza and arabian nights is stuffed with magic, genies and everything else. shakespeare's work has its own share of witches and magic (many later ones copy some plots, including in harry potter).

yes, in an ideal world for a muslim - these books should not be read as noori bhai commented back then and i accepted it, that it is a waste of time.

you picked a thread of 18 years ago, and a casual conversation was converted it into a "abu hasan promotes harry potter" version. the next logical question would be "how much money did he make in this promotion?" which should lead to "hah! sunniport makes money by promoting anti-islamic literature".. and so on. people are quite creative in this department.

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if i remember well, i hadn't read HP until there was this hype and i was curious to see what was in it; eBooks were only spoken of in 1999 and most literature was on ink and paper. it was a common routine of some people to go to bookshops, browse books and buy them. on one such sojourn, i picked up a few titles and HP as well. in fact, a muslim shopkeeper chided me for buying it: "you look like a maulvi but you are reading this". it was awkward, but i shrugged it off. because i was not a 'fanboy' - and i would read fiction anyway - apart from business books, politics, business, tech, philosophy, biographies, psychology and anything esle that i could lay my hands on; for me it was another book.

does it reflect poorly upon me? perhaps yes. may Allah forgive us.

and when the next books in the series came along we read them - it was nothing specific. one among many other books to read.

--
harry potter does have its dose of kufriyat - and at one point i thought of annotating why certain things are kufr and how certain things are sharayi or aqli muhal. things like splitting the soul - which is not possible are outright kufr. but such stories - as the magicians soul in the heart of a parrot have been around in the east and no one said that merely reading or narrating such a story would make one a kafir.

They also interacted with the magic aspects of harry potter. It is also clear that the discusssions on it were not for educational purposes (again, not sure about mawlana abu hassan)

you will do yourself a service if you focus on reading and comprehension, instead of asking questions and letting your imagination go wild.

this is ridiculous. "interact with magic aspects.." i can assure you that neither was asif practicing his spell with his wand out, nor was i trying to give him tips on how to wield the wand (al iyadhu billah). you haven't understood the deep discussions we had and technical analysis of the "magical aspects" of harry potter. i think you should pick up the etymological dictionary of english and another dictionary of idioms. identify all the pagan expressions such as: the achilles heel or herculean task and refrain from using any such expression lest you be accused of "interacting with the pantheon of the greek and roman paganism..."

===

If improving one's vocabulary is the main goal then why harry potter? There are lots of other sources with no magic.

fair point. don't read it.

if one has not read the book, one should not comment on it. and if one has read the book and still thinks the book is about 'magic' they need to read some more books, as it indicates an abject failure of comprehension.

HP is a well written book. magic is only a device for story telling - the main plot of the story is about courage, friendship, sacrifice, fighting for what one believes to be right etc. and that is weaved in a framework of an imaginary 'magical community' and of course magic. i do not think that any 12 year old will believe that the spells are real or practice his expelliarmus regularly.

to the best of my knowledge, it is not a handbook on magic and sorcery.

authors use varied plots, imaginary and fantasy worlds to explain their worldview, philosophy or social commentary. orwell's 1984 is one such book. animal farm is another. kafka's stories are a medium to expound his philosophy. tolkien was a linguist and had a hobby of creating artificial languages and it is said that he wrote LOTR, and created races and peoples who spoke these artificial languages. virginia woolf expressed her feminist activism by way of her stories. other than pulp fiction every serious and celebrated author uses story-telling as a mechanism to explain his views or commentary. shakespeare has an amazing insight into human psychology and his sonnets are thought provoking. ayn rand's novels were meant to describe her philosophy. to kill a mockingbird is an essay on race relations and the legal system.

heard of hayy ibn yaqzan?

iqbal was once criticised for poorly written lines and he shot back saying: 'poetry for me is a vehicle to express my thoughts. i do not aspire to be the greatest poet of the day' (search the forum).

i needlessly labour the point.
----

we live in a different world than that of alahazrat. in today's world, a good grasp of english is necessary to succeed in almost all worldly affairs. and degrees from colleges and universities are necessary for most of us to be eligible for a job - even a menial job requires basic qualifications. and en route, one has to read many things, including kufriyat, to pass the exams and obtain degrees.

if one aspires to write in english, it is necessary to read varied literature and hone one's language skills. and since most literature in english - especially fiction is written by kuffar - you can expect a fair amount of unislamic stuff; thus it is not limited to HP.

mother by maxim gorky is not magic but it is heavy on atheism and communism. one has to be sharp to notice the subtle propaganda for communism and atheism. crime and punishment and brothers karamazov is heavy on the philosophy of good and evil and very very depressing. i doubt you would last a fifty pages.

the point of reading good literature is that passively improves our expression, especially fiction. because the author has numerous tools at his disposal and has to use words to describe situations, emotions, pretty much everything, it is the top of the pile of descriptive writing.
business books, technical books, history or non-fiction writers cannot avail of this luxury. those who think that they can improve their english language skills by reading webster's dictionary or norman lewis or noam chomsky are deluding themselves.

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it is years since i have read a book of fiction. reading is a luxury for people in our age group. i can still squeeze out a good number of hours, though in my youth i had impressive runs. i do not know if my translations have an audience beyond the forum referrals, but like all authors, i try to be at least a good writer; if i happen to be mediocre, it is must be the lack of talent - not the effort. and one of the activities towards that end is to read various english books.

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the thread gives an impression that the book was being read just for fun in that thread (though not sure about mawlana abu hasan sahab though since he regretted reading it because it is a waste of time).

a book like HP or LOTR with a storyline and subplot is bound to be interesting. and it is inevitable that a good book is enjoyed. perhaps you must write an essay on how to read a book like HP without enjoying it.

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Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't mawlana saying that it is a fun read but it also has some side benefits such as improving one's vocabulary.

frankly, i did not read HP for improving my english. it was a general observation for those who do not read. as for me, it was just another book to read - and this will resonate with book lovers, that when you pick up a book - whether it is don quixote or tom friedman or chomsky, you tend to read through it. people who are not bookworms will not understand this foolishness of being unrelenting, irrespective of the book/reading material being interesting, useful, frivolous or boring.

Secondly, if one is reading a book whose entire premise is based on kufr and they talk about the magic and the plot as being great and praise the book.

maybe if you read a few books, your comprehension will improve. try sherlock holmes, perhaps it may improve your ability in drawing conclusions.

---

Here, the things being read about or watched (in case of movies) have magic, clear kufriat, spirits, losts souls, fortune telling. Why should the normal awaam be exposed to this, just for literary puposes? In fact, non fiction probably has more realistic and relatable and kind of language one would need in real life when writing, and so more practical to read.

as if normal awaam sits in a khanqaah 24/7 and is not exposed to anything unislamic. as if the innocent awaam just sits doing dhikr and reading ghazali. as if there is no facebook or isntagram or other SM and it is only HP that will "corrupt" them.

 

[abu Hasan]

I also wanted to say that it isn't for anyone to read the bible, including the ulama because of fear of endagering their iman.

how many muslims became witches and warlocks after reading HP?

If reading the bible isn't allowed, where one would be much more vigilant to the kufr in there, then how can it be allowed to read fiction books with the aforementioned concepts where the kufr might be that much more subtly placed?

because reading the bible will not help you improve your comprehension. reading fiction is one engaging way to enhance that ability, and it is self-evident from your objections.

in fiction - the main plot, sub plot, characters, statements - all have relation to one another; finally, they start to converge individually and together. by climax all parallel lines and subplots come together. if you ignore the 'fun' or 'enjoyable' part of the book, it makes your mind work on how does this relate to that and why did this happen etc. i do not want to write a thesis here on how fiction improves comprehension. i am sure there may be studies or research papers out there on the topic - though i have not read any.

there was a time in my life, in my youth when i would not read anything but islamic literature - for a few years i abstained from reading anything that was not related to islam. i had stopped reading everything else. i still miss those days -

jee chahta hai phir wahi fursat kay raat din
baythay rahen tasawwur e janan kiay huway

----
but we are worldly folk [duniyadaar] who have to go out in the world, interact with all sorts of people, suffer humiliation (i.e. zillat o khwari), to make a living even if it is to survive in this world and feed our families. the harsh realities of life forced me back terra firma:

behtar toh hai yahi kay na duniya say dil lagay
par kya karay jo kaam na bey dillagi chalay...

khayr that is not an excuse for reading fiction. i had agreed with noori bhai 18 years ago that it was a waste of time. but you put a different spin on that - i was discussing magical aspects. right.

gham agarchay jaan gusil hai, peh kahan bachay kay dil hai
gham e ishq gar na hotaa, gham e rozgaar hotaa

 

[ghulamRasool]

salam hazrat.
I do apologise for everything. Especially my poor choice of words. I want to offer my unconditional apology, without any excuse. I honestly, shouldn't have spoke like that with the wurasa of Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wasallam. Please forgive me for the sake of the status granted to you by Allah ta'ala.
As you can tell, I have never read an enitre book in my life (other than the ones taught in schools) except for billionaire boy by david walliams: whether that be fiction or non fiction. I tried reading a non fiction book a few ago (John Pilger's the new rulers of the world) but stopped after the first 3 pages because I read either something which was doubtful in its aspect of being kufr or not, or sareeh kufr. I had this fear that what if I don't realise or know something is kufr and inadvertantly end up laughing at a joke or nodding to a statement or enojoying it, and the khuda na khwasta... I don't even want to say the rest.
It is just that I found the article to be a bit different to my perception of book reading (which I am not saying is correct, but I had a perception nonetheless) and the following thread was an offshoot of that, not because I wanted to do the following:

you picked a thread of 18 years ago, and a casual conversation was converted it into a "abu hasan promotes harry potter" version. the next logical question would be "how much money did he make in this promotion?" which should lead to "hah! sunniport makes money by promoting anti-islamic literature".. and so on. people are quite creative in this department.

I really do apologise for this if it came across this way. It is definitely my fault for giving wrong impression. I did not mean to accuse you of taking money (though I know that is not what you are saying but just want to clarify).

this is ridiculous. "interact with magic aspects.."

I also want to apologise for this. My mistake on the poor choice of wording. I don't know why I chose the word "interacted". My apologies.

i do not think that any 12 year old will believe that the spells are real or practice his expelliarmus regularly.

You see, the question I wanted to ask was that for one to fall into kufr, it is sufficient for them to enjoy and be pleased with kufr regardless of whether they believe in it or not. I asked that question because a queries arose in my mind about saying "expelliarmus" in a casual coversation as a fan of the book in a moment of excitement. My brain was going "would be kufr since it is kufr to say kufr delibrately regardless of one's intention. Expelliarmus is a spell (though a fictional one but a spell nontheless) which is related to magic and ..." You can probably guess the rest of what I was thinking. That is why I asked the question, but still I admit my fault for the wrong choice of words. Apologies for that.
I don't know if it is just wasawis or something, or the my old and current perception (which I have had for a long time) which is hindering a novel perception.
apologies for everything.

 

[abu Hasan]

I did not mean to accuse you of taking money

bro, you didn't get that quip. i didn't say you accused me - and honestly i suggest you take up reading to understand such expressions. especially sarcasm.

I also want to apologise for this. My mistake on the poor choice of wording. I don't know why I chose the word "interacted". My apologies.

no need for apologies - i was neither hurt nor disturbed and didn't feel you were being insolent or insulting, even for a moment. though i felt a bit frustrated on your take.

I do apologise for everything. Especially my poor choice of words.

no need to apologise - i quite understood that you did not understand what you understood was understood about my understanding of the matter. relax.

that with the wurasa of Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wasallam. Please forgive me for the sake of the status granted to you by Allah ta'ala.

astaghfirullahi'l azeem. i will take it as a prayer by a sincere brother - though i am not worthy of that status, which you expect of me. may Allah ta'ala forgive us. do not be deceived by a few posts that sound knowledgeable.

I have never read an enitre book in my life

you should. another thing about HP i would like to mention is that profanity and romance is minimal compared to contemporary english literature. LOTR does not have romance at all. for a long time, use of swear words and profanity was limited to titillating literature - unfortunately, it has become mainstream. therefore i recommend classical english literature which is largely free from profanity. even unislamic themes like adultery etc not explicit.

one cannot possibly read everything and given that time is limited, we must not aspire to read everything. besides, i have already stated that there is an ocean of islamic literature that needs to be read. thus, reading english fiction will be with an objective to improve reading and comprehension and in sha'Allah, will be forgiven with the right intention.

I had this fear that what if I don't realise or know something is kufr and inadvertantly end up laughing at a joke or nodding to a statement or enojoying it, and the khuda na khwasta... I don't even want to say the rest.

which is necessary. i always make it a point to say the kalimah or astaghfirullah, when i come across such kufri phrases. i went to a supermarket and among various merchandise, my eyes fell on an idol, and i said laa ilaaha illa'Allah waHdahu laa sharika lah. and this becomes a habit. it is a good thing. one ought to worry for one's iman..

You see, the question I wanted to ask was that for one to fall into kufr, it is sufficient for them to enjoy and be pleased with kufr regardless of whether they believe in it or not.

i think the misstep here is the definition of "being pleased with kufr."
suppose one reads the ramayana or mahabharata and laughs at the silliness or senselessness of the plot or how illogical the whole thing is, it is not 'being pleased with kufr'. 'being pleased' means that one considers it to be a good thing and likes it without caring about its being kufr.

Expelliarmus is a spell (though a fictional one but a spell nontheless) which is related to magic and ..." You can probably guess the rest of what I was thinking. That is why I asked the question

in the book it is a spell to disarm; asif used it to mean: go away don't give me spoilers.
when he said that someone would be killed i asked was it with avada kedavra (it is a silly thing but within the context of the book - people will understand). nothing to do with magic spells.

apologies for everything.

no need for apologies. you can be unburdened of the vexation that you might have offended me. no offence taken.

 

[ghulamRasool]

جزاک اللہ خیرا

 

[Noori]

phew! i think i should read HP, lols

 

[ghulamRasool]

salam I do have a question for Mawlana Abu Hasan. Hazrat are you actually Indian, in the sense of being born and brought up their and lived your entire life there or did you do like a moving type of a thing. I am just curious because I always thought you were an england born alim until just a few weeks ago, mainly because your english is better than most native english speaker's. Honestly, the fact that you can understand shakespeare's original works is astonishing ma sha Allah, I don't know if even my english teachers would be able to understand him fully. When you write, you are not always formal and your jokes are not like the jokes that a non native would make as well, neither the sarcasm. This isn't me doing khushamad.

 

[Ikhwaan]

salam I do have a question for Mawlana Abu Hasan. Hazrat are you actually Indian, in the sense of being born and brought up their and lived your entire life there or did you do like a moving type of a thing. I am just curious because I always thought you were an england born alim until just a few weeks ago, mainly because your english is better than most native english speaker's. Honestly, the fact that you can understand shakespeare's original works is astonishing ma sha Allah, I don't know if even my english teachers would be able to understand him fully. When you write, you are not always formal and your jokes are not like the jokes that a non native would make as well, neither the sarcasm. This isn't me doing khushamad.

"brought up their"... there.

This may sound harsh but without intentionally causing offense I believe this proves shaykh Abu Hasan's point.

 

[ghulamRasool]

"brought up their"... there.

This may sound harsh but without intentionally causing offense I believe this proves shaykh Abu Hasan's point.

To be fair though. That was a type-oh. Probably caused due to trying to write quickly, or perhaps took a break to ponder whilst writing.
Not speaking against against Mawlana abu hasan's point but rather to say that these type of tiny errors can be overlooked, since they can be made due to several reasons: rush, overlooking whilst breaking mid-way and pondering , type-oh etc. Especially when it is a casual forum like this and "there" and "their" have been used correctly in the rest of their writings: this thread in this case.
For example

I also wanted to say that it isn't for anyone to read the bible, including the ulama because of fear of endagering their iman

 

[AbdalQadir]

"brought up their"... there.

Bro, I've seen actual English language teachers, white and western, have no clue of their, there, and they're OR your and you're OR weather and whether; and with autocorrect making people lazier, you routinely see silly mistakes in news articles too, in respectable sites like the bbc or cnn! Writing was a lost art, and now typing is too!

 

[ghulamRasool]

salam.
I did also reaslise that there was a type-oh in previous quote which I sent, but oh well. That one isn't as prone to being interpreted as being delibrate. BTW, please I am not trying to get personal, though perhaps there is a tad bit of small, little bit of mild intention in my heart trying to "defend my honour", but it is more just for general presenting forth of ideas.

 

[Talib-al-Khayr]

I think a few questions come to mind reading this discussion.
What actually is the shar'ī definition of 'magic'?
Does the 'magic' being displayed in these TV shows/movies come under that definition of magic and therefore, be considered kufr - in which case being pleased with it would be kufr?
In my view, there is no doubt that many who say they are Muslim are watching TV series and movies full of magic and they are enjoying these scenes.
It could be up for discussion whether Harry Potter is centered around magic, but there are many other shows that are centered around magic which people watch for entertainment.

Another useful addition to this discussion would be the ruling on playing video games which include 'magic' - these are all over the internet and are on gaming consoles.

 

[abu Hasan]

What actually is the shar'ī definition of 'magic'?

that is a good point.

magic could be just a fantasy - as in harry potter. or 'dark magic' or sorcery where occult practices and kufriyat are uttered.

i don't know if it was true, but i have heard stories of how a certain ritual requires chewing upon the raw shin of a newly buried corpse on a moonless night. and the tibia is used for some ritual. it is also said that if someone is buried on such a night a few people stand guard at the grave to ward off such grave diggers irrespective of the truth of such a ritual. this i have heard from people in my town - and i have not personally verified this. i am mentioning here only for illustration. Allah taala knows best.

does most of the claimed sorcery really work? i do not know. i think 99% of such sorcerers and aamils (who claim to ward off) are charlatans. a reliable aamil* who has now passed into the mercy of Allah ta'ala once told me that people are foolish - they simply run to a aamil whenever they have little trouble and claim that there is jinn or sorcery involved. 99% of these have nothing to do with jinn or sorcery. but it is a good opportunity for aamils to make money.

the rule is that if such an act involves kufr in action or in uttering a kufri word, it is kufr. else, it is extreme fisq.

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Allah ta'ala knows best.



* i have good opinion about him for a few reasons - he was adherent to the shariah and prayed five times in the jama'at, even in his advanced age, in his 90s, he would fast and pray tarawih standing. i have seen him reading books of tasawwuf - imam rabbani, masnawi - even in that age (when i happened to drop by at quiet hours). he was considerably learned and tried to follow sunnah in everything. and he was very simple and humble. in spite of the enormous age difference, he would put his hand on my shoulder and speak to me as if i were a friend. may Allah ta'ala have mercy upon him.

 

[ghulamRasool]

السلام علیکم۔
I also wanted to ask that whilst reading these types of book, can you just change the kufria plot into something non kufria and then read the story whilst substituting your just created plot for the plot created by the author. Because it is usual the overarching plot which is kufr but the main thing (like character development, most of the recurring thematic elements, etc are the things actually driving the story as mawlana sahab mentioned).For example, (if the superhero plot is a non-kufria plot) changing the harry potter magic plotline to be a superhero plotline where instead of a magic school, it is s uperhero academy and instead of spells, they have code-words to activate their powers and there are different creatures in there which are not due to magic but rather just for the sake of your created plot. If this is a non-kufr plotline, can one this kind of a thing whilst reading such books to perhaps avoid wasawis, or assurance etc?

 

[ghulamRasool]

you should.

was a reply to

I have never read an enitre book in my life

salam hazrat.
An update on the above. I finished my second proper book today: Matilda. But even reading this book, I found myself smiling at what the children were trying to do to Miss TrunchBull and the pranks they were pulling on her, or the pranks matilda was pulling on her parents, before realising what I am doing. After which, I would say to myself that "no this is all wrong" but kept reading. Even though I was considering the actions to be wrong, wouldn't this be considered being part of their deeds as I was also enjoying it? I am not saying this is kufr but wouldn't it count as enjoying or being pleased with another person commiting sins.

'being pleased' means that one considers it to be a good thing and likes it without caring about its being kufr.

Apologies for tmy ignorance hazrat. I am having a bit of difficulty understanding the defintion of "being pleased with kufr". Wouldn't considering any haram qatii act to be "good" be kufr and not just kufr? Wouldn't being pleased mean acually liking or enjoying the kufr taking place in there? For example, a person who considerd drinking alcohol to be good has commited kufr, and the person who watched a hindu perform part and enjoys it has commited kufr regardless of whether he considerd it good or not. Can you please provide guidance in this regard.
Also, whilst reading the book, there were instances where I didn't know whether a certian element of the book was kufr: using the word "miracle" to refer to some instances, matilda having those powers (because muhal e aadi act only occurs for the ambiya or teh awliya and Matilda is a kafir so can't happen with her) etc. So, as a precaution, I tried changing the plot to something like the following: matilda has found a special device (a machine which lets her move things, instead of her power) and other things.
Is all this okay or am I going a bit overboard?
جزاک اللہ خیرا۔

 

[غلام رسول]

I finished my second proper book today: Matilda. But even reading this book, I found myself smiling at what the children were trying to do to Miss TrunchBull and the pranks they were pulling on her, or the pranks matilda was pulling on her parents, before realising what I am doing. After which, I would say to myself that "no this is all wrong" but kept reading. Even though I was considering the actions to be wrong, wouldn't this be considered being part of their deeds as I was also enjoying it? I am not saying this is kufr but wouldn't it count as enjoying or being pleased with another person commiting sins

Are you ok