Is It Disbelief to Rate a Film Highly When It Contains Kufr?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question
I rate films publicly, and some of them contain disbelief (kufr), such as references to Greek gods or a blasphemous line from a character. If I rate one highly for its story, acting, and direction while rejecting its disbelief, is that itself disbelief? Would a low rating be disbelief, too?
Answer
Rating a film highly for its craft is not disbelief, and neither is rating it low. Contentment with disbelief (al-rida bi-l-kufr) attaches to the disbelief itself. The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia gives the case of a man who refuses to teach the word of Divine Oneness (Tawhid) to a non-Muslim seeking Islam: he “is a disbeliever, because he was content with disbelief.” [al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya 42:307] A score for story, acting, and direction says the work is well made. It says nothing about the truth of what a character says inside it.
Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) records what the Hanafi muftis work by, citing the Tatarkhaniyya: no one is declared a disbeliever on what is merely possible, “because disbelief is the utmost punishment, so it demands the utmost crime, and where there is only possibility there is no utmost.” What is settled is “that no verdict of disbelief is issued against a Muslim whose speech can bear a sound construal.” [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] You supplied that construal yourself, twice. What you intend by a score is what that score counts for. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Actions are but by their intentions.” [Nawawi, Riyad al-Salihin]
Two Things Worth Your Care
Neither touches your faith. Your score is public, and a high one sends people to the film. Keep that in mind. The other is a matter of company, not of creed. Imam Qurtubi (Allah have mercy on him) is speaking about sitting where the sacred is mocked, not about your verdict on a film’s craft. He held that avoiding open sinners becomes obligatory “when a wrong appears from them, because whoever does not avoid them has been content with their act.” [al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya 42:176] Where blasphemy is an incident, that is one thing; where mockery is the substance, leave the film unwatched and unrated.
Your Faith Was Never in the Rating
Your second question, whether a low rating would also be kufr, is the useful one. A fear that follows the number up and down is fastened to the rating, not to what you believe. So appraise the craft, and let this question rest. The heart that recoiled at that line is the heart Allah gave you.
And Allah knows best.
Faraz Rabbani
Related Answers
- Is It Disbelief to Say That Something Sinful Is Good? — Explains why calling a sinful thing good isn’t disbelief on its own, and why praising the acting in a scene isn’t the same as endorsing what’s said in it.
- Is It Permissible To Engage with Fictional Media Containing Imagery or False Beliefs? — Addresses when consuming fiction with false beliefs is fine and when the content itself is reason enough to step away from it.
- Is It Shirk to Watch Superhero Movies or Play Games That Involve Magic? — Covers the Greek gods half of your example directly: watching mythology or magic on screen isn’t idolatry unless you actually believe in it.
- Do These Scenarios Entail Falling into Disbelief? — Lays out what disbelief actually requires, and why everyday missteps and sins fall well short of it.
