Q. Some agents provide pilgrimage with tents within the vicinity of Muzdalifah instead of Mina, saying that the overcrowding is the reason for that. I wonder whether it is appropriate for pilgrims to stay the nights of their two or three days in that area instead of Mina.
Abd Al-Kader
A. The place to stay these two or three days is Mina. Many scholars consider the stay in Mina, which means spending most of the night there, to be a duty. However, many others including the Hanbali school of thought consider it to be a Sunnah. Thus, according to the latter view, missing out on staying in Mina does not require compensation, although it is against the proper practice.
Moreover, the standard rule that applies in all situations is that people are not accountable for what they are forced to do. If Mina is all taken up to the extent that one cannot find a place there, and as a result one stays in the adjacent area, intending to fulfill his duty of pilgrimage, then God may be pleased to accept his action as though he stayed in Mina. He will do well if he comes within the vicinity of Mina at night and stay there whatever time he can, without going into too much trouble. On the other hand, if he tries hard to stay in Mina and in the process he causes harm or inconvenience to other Muslims, then he is wrong because it is forbidden to cause harm to another Muslim.
Taking Acting as a Career
Q. Could you please explain whether acting is acceptable from the Islamic point of view. I am wondering whether a Muslim can take up acting so as to become an actor in Hollywood films. I know that certain things, like kissing, must be avoided, but if one avoids these can one be an actor?
S. Jawed
A. In principle, acting is permissible, provided that the viewers are aware that what they see is acting, not reality. If the purpose of acting is to deceive the viewers, then it becomes forbidden. Having said that, we should also say that what is involved in a certain action could change its verdict from being permissible to being obligatory or forbidden, as the case may be. As far as acting is concerned, the profession involves, in the overwhelming majority of cases, doing things that cannot be approved by Islam. If a Muslim actor is to refrain from these, he will find that producers will not assign to him any meaningful roles.
To succeed as an actor, he will need to compromise on his Islamic values. If he does, then he commits what is forbidden. In this case, acting becomes forbidden to him.
Moreover, a role in a particular film may not involve doing anything forbidden, but the film itself may promote an action, a principle or a value that is contrary to Islam. In this case also taking part is forbidden.
Until there is a film industry that abides by Islamic standards, a Muslim who has a talent for acting is better advised to keep that as a hobby, taking part in local productions where he can have a say in what is involved so that he would take part only in what is acceptable from the Islamic point of view.
Arab News Islam 19 May 2003
