BENEFIT: Ruling on Fictional Stories

Questioner: At our school now, we tell the children purely imaginary stories, but they contain educational lessons and may have religious benefit. Is this permissible or not? Sheikh Albani raḥimahullāh: It may—and I mean what I say—it may be permissible on the condition that it is understood and firmly impressed upon the student’s mind that it is a fictional story and not a factual reality. But to present fictional stories to students in a way that makes them imagine they are true and real stories—that is not permissible. This would train and accustom students, from their earliest years, to accept lies and believe them, without realising that what they heard was actually acting and imagination. So it is essential to attach a clarification of the truth whenever such a fictional story is presented—if it contains benefit and a moral lesson. This is entirely necessary. In fact, this ruling deserves even more emphasis than clarifying the weakness of a prophetic ḥadīth. If a ḥadīth contains wisdom and benefit, the teacher, preacher, or lecturer may cite it for that reason, but he must follow it up with a statement clarifying that the ḥadīth is weak, so that the listeners do not assume it is established from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. The point here is that a weak ḥadīth is one that has been transmitted, and—as some scholars say—it is possible that the Messenger ﷺ might have said it, but it has not reached us through a sound chain. In contrast, in the question at hand, the story is fabricated and invented, and it is being told to students with its false nature already known. Very well, welcome. Thus, it is necessary to provide clarification, even if indirectly. That is, when a student hears such a story, he should sense that the purpose of the story is the moral lesson, not to inform him that it actually happened. This is what I see regarding this issue. #tarbiyah@masjidsahabah