Do Video Games with Animated Beings Fall into the Category of the Hadith in Which Angels Do Not Enter?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
In my previous question, I asked if video games are permitted, and you responded they are, therefore, I wanted to know if that included video games with animated beings.
Also, I read a hadith that said that angels do not enter a house that has dogs or images of animated beings, so do video games come into that category, or are they still permissible because I play video games on my TV?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Video gaming, when it is devoid of obscene content, gambling, and other haram elements, can be a halal and wholesome avenue for bonding. The content, to a large degree, determines the ruling.
Video games do not come into the category of the hadith. There is a valid difference between animated and moving images, such as in videos and video games. Many scholars distinguish between drawn images and video. However, mindfulness (taqwa) is always to refrain in this case. [Usmani, Takmila Fath al-Mulhim]
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
