Video Games
Fatwa No: 86146

Question

Is playing video games like foot ball games allowed or not? The players look like the real ones.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Having some time for amusement or entertainment is permissible in the Sharee’ah, if it is restricted to the rulings of the Sharee’ah. For example, the amusement should not divert the person from the remembrance of Allah. It should be free from gambling and betting, should not lead to any dispute or groupism, and finally it should be free from music and all other prohibitions. However, it is better to seek the amusement through useful activities such as physical or mental exercise or learning any useful profession, etc. As for the pictures, there are three kinds of pictures some of them are permissible.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 83351 and 83249.

Therefore, if the video or computer games consist of pictures of living beings which are made by drawing or sketching then they are not permitted except if there is some religious, moral, educational or the like advantages for the child. However, if the pictures are taken by camera then the matter is less harmful than the above pictures since many contemporary scholars permitted such pictures.

Allah knows best.

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