Is It Permissible to Watch Anime or Cartoons in Islam?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
Is it permissible to watch anime or cartoons in Islam?
Answer
I pray you are well. The permissibility of watching videos, in general, are something which contemporary scholars differ on. Anime and cartoons would fall under this ruling. (Usmani, Takmila Fath al Mulhim)
If you do watch something or allow your children to do so, then choose content which is wholesome, and that which does not promote clearly haram practices or values. Something which promotes or glamorises extra-marital relationships, for example, would be impermissible.
For children, content which preserves their innocence should be the way to go. Repeated exposure to the immoral will make it seem normal to children. They do not grant nuance as well as adults do, so anything they are exposed to should have clearly refined, proper moral values.
Maintaining a sense of modesty is very important in our times. One of the companions was telling another off for his ‘excessive’ modesty. It may have been that he had not been a Muslim for long, and therefore, had not imbibed this value.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) heard him and said, “Leave him, for, truly, modesty is from faith.” (Bukhari) We would do well to preserve this. May Allah protect us all.
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital. He was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.
