Ismail Kamdar – Having Fun the Halal Way

			Under the
		

			nominee who understand you know, the stuff you want me to be here to work on your holiday, you want
to only be learning in Cerulean, Cosina warming see at Yama, you know, we have the healer who
further Padilla will make, you know for the Hadith.
		

			At this time of the year, I want to just go through a brief reminder on the Islamic position towards
having fun.
		

			And it's for multiple reasons. Number one, obviously the World Cup is going on at the moment. And
some people are enjoying it. Other people are saying It's haram, everyone's fighting with each other
at some time and keeping us apart, right. The other thing is school vacation holidays just started.
And the kids want to have fun, right. And hopefully, we all have some ideas of Halloween fun our
kids can enjoy and do. So this this could power a choice of multiple purposes to and a variety of
different arguments that we have around this time of the year. And I just want to focus on some of
the fundamentals, some of the key points related to recreation or entertainment or fun in Islam. To
		

			begin.
		

			Islam is a religion that caters to basic human needs and desires. Right? It is the religion of the
fitrah the natural way of life. And generally when we talk about Islam being a natural way of life,
we talk about the natural beliefs of the world. But there are other aspects to Islam being a
religion of the fitrah. And one of those aspects is that it caters to basic human desires.
Therefore, everything a human desires, all legitimate and healthy desires. They are halal ways to
engage those desires in Islam, right and the halal tends to outweigh the haram for most things. So
for example, eating and drinking, the amount of things you are allowed to eat.
		

			Many, and the amount of things that are around it are very few you can list them in, you know in one
page. It's the same with things to drink. Right aside for intoxicants, we can drink almost anything
else. So when it comes to our basic desires, Islam has left things Halal until proven haram. And
it's only made haram that which is bad for us that which is harmful for us. And we take the same
principle, and we apply it to entertainment, we apply it to recreation. And we can draw from that.
The Justice Islam caters for every other basic human need. It also caters to the for the human need
of entertainment, the human need of recreation, which is for many of us and need, right the many of
		

			us actually need
		

			downtime, we need fun time, we need need relaxation time. And this differs from person to person and
even from age group to age group. So maybe you know, a child may need a lot more entertainment, a
teenager may need a certain amount. As you get more into adulthood. You know, you get more caught up
in your work, you just need one or two hours a day. But everyone needs downtime and everyone needs
time to relax. And there's a misconception that some people have that to be a good Muslim, you have
to be doing acts of Ibadah 24/7 right that you have to be in engaged in worship 24/7 And if you're
not engaged in worship, then you're wasting time you're wasting time is haram. Right? Yes, a lot
		

			wasting time is haram. So they expect people to be on the go 24/7 And this is unrealistic. And this
was not the lifestyle of Rasulullah sallallahu, alayhi, wasallam, or the sahaba. And there are many,
many generations about this. We know for example, that on the day of Eid, they were girls in the
house of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who were singing and playing with the drums. And
when Abu Bakr RadiAllahu tried to stop them, he said let them continue let the kuffaar see that we
also have fun let them see that we also have fun, right and we know all through the DVD the the
display with the spears in the masjid which the prophets loathsome took his family to watch. Right.
		

			And there are many other examples of this the famous story of a Buddha Rajala on when Salman al
Farsi when Salman al Farsi went to visit the home of Abu Salah and he notices that omega does not
happen. And so he asked her why and she explained that a Buddha is 24/7 worship, right what people
expect us to be right these days. He says 24 hours worship. What's the problem with this? neglecting
his wife, he's neglecting his health. His wife is not happy. Her knees are not taken care of. So
Salman al Farsi sits down by Buddha and he explains to him a very important principle. He says your
Lord has rights over you. Your wife has rights over you. Your body has rights over you. So give each
		

			of them their rights. I would add that goes and complains to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
and Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam tells him Salman is right. Salman is right. Allah has
rights over you. Your family has rights over you and your body has rights over you. So give each of
them
		

			They are right. And this shows us that in Islam, we are supposed to be taking care of our dunya as
well. Taking care of our business, taking care of our family, taking care of ourselves. And part of
taking care of yourselves is enjoying a little bit of halal. So this is something that that's dear
to our, our history and we see even with the second generation of Muslims, one of the great scholars
from the second generation was asked about Abdullah ibn Omar. Now if you know Abdullah bin Omar, he
was the strictest of the Sahaba gave him all of the Sahaba Omar and he said Abdullah with the
strictest of the sahaba. So someone asked about Abdullah bin Omar, he asked that he used to have
		

			fun. These are the questions they asked, Did he do anything for fun? And the students are of good. I
even said he was human like you and I, he was human like you and I wouldn't just mean used to have
fun like everybody else. So this shows us even the strictest of Sahaba did certain things for fun.
And we know that they had wrestling, they had archery, they had swimming, they had competitions
between each other, there were certain days when they would sing certain occasions, people who were
known for the poetry. So it wasn't a society that was just 24/7 worship, there was this taking time
for each aspect of human life. And this is something that we all need to understand. Now, when it
		

			comes to the exact ruling on entertainment or recreation, the general rule that applies is the same
rule that applies to almost anything else of the dunya of this world. And that is the principle of
IQ that I assume Phil Usha he will EBA the original state or the original ruling on anything is a
Baja permissibility right this is a maximum of FIQ across all of the main hubs. All four miles hubs
today agree on this maximum Fick that the original ruling on anything is permissibility. In the
early years, the Hanafi madhhab had some disagreement, but later on they also accepted this
principle. So whichever of the four month hubs you follow, this is the general ruling when it comes
		

			to things of this world. Unless there is explicit evidence that it is haram or you can see something
haram in it like some kind of elements to it that are haram or you can find some genuine hominid
then the general rule is that things of this world are halal. Now we take that same ruling and we
apply it to entertainment. You do not need a Mufti to go and try out every type of entertainment in
the world and tell you this one is halal. This one is haram. Right? That's a waste of his time and
waste of his efforts. And really, this is too many there's always new ones being invented. Some
people you know they go to an extreme for every single video game or movie they want a fatwa. You
		

			think the movie is gonna watch the movie and and tell you guys I watched his Hara. They're not gonna
do that. Right? That's a waste of their time. So we need to be a bit more proactive when it comes to
these things. What we need to do is we need to have basic principles that we apply when we are
dealing with entertainment. Number one, things are allowed until proven haram. Number two, certain
things are explicitly haram by Quran and Sunnah, right? Certain things are explicitly haram by Quran
sunnah, like what? recreational drugs, right intoxicants,
		

			in decent music, you know, the kind of music that that has vulgar, valgus need and quality people
towards evil, right? These kinds of things are by consensus prohibited. But beyond that, almost
anything else can be permissible. You have to use your inner conscious that the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa salam in the authentic IDC said that if you feel bad about something in your heart, and
you don't want people to know that you did it, then it is a sin. Take that same principle and apply
it to entertainment. If you're watching something that makes you feel dirty inside that you don't
want people to know that you watched it. Don't watch it, it's probably haram. Right? This is the
		

			inner moral compass Allah has given us so you use your common sense to navigate the world and have
entertainment and only do that which is halal, right. So certain things are clearly haram. And most
of the things will be halal. The majority of things out there that people do for fun playing sports,
playing board games, playing video games, or having competitions with each other, reading a book,
taking a hike, whatever it is, majority of things are halal, but you have some areas where there's
going to be difference of opinion. Right? And this is the area where we tend to get into the most
arguments about we tend to get heated about that there are certain aspects of having fun, where they
		

			are differences of opinion. So basically, people invent something new and Obama will look at it and
some will say it's halal, some will say It's haram. What do you do in that case? What do you do if
if one person if one Alim is telling you something is halal, and somebody else is telling you that
it is haram? Let me give you a basic example. Right what's going on at the moment soccer, right? You
ask some people this talk is halal. You asked me soccer is halal. It's a sport like any other sport,
it's fine. But there is a fatwa from Allah ma that is reputable. What we're saying that it's haram
right and the justification for saying it.
		

			Haram is that it wastes time, it causes nationalism. It causes people to get drunk to behave badly
and men's owners are exposed. Right? All of these are legitimate points. Right? I don't think
they're strong enough to make the sport itself haram but the legitimate point do you understand
where they're coming from? Right? So what's going to happen is the average Muslim may ask someone is
soccer halal. One ally might say yes, one ally might say no. What do you do in that case? This is
the key point. What do you do when you have a difference of opinion on whether something is halal or
haram? Right? Very simple. You follow the fatwa that makes more sense to you while respecting the
		

			other opinion. You see this see where many of us can't do with can't respect the other opinion. We
need to learn to respect the other opinion that they will be things that you think is halal, and
someone else thinks you haram. And as long as both are following proper he had to arrive at their
conclusions. Both opinions should be respected. And you're going to find this for most forms of
entertainment. Right? That some people are gonna say it's halal. Some people are gonna say It's
haram, because there are certain elements where people differ on whether it's strong enough to make
it haram or not. So for example, the most common
		

			reason given why certain things are haram is the waste time might. Now I personally don't think
that's a good enough reason to make something haram to saying that wasting time makes it haram
because you're wasting time is haram. Then if you daydream for five minutes, and reach this at work
is that haram did you waste time? Right? It's not wasting time is not necessarily haram. It's not
the best course of action. It's not the highest level of piety. It's not what we should strive for.
But it's something that's human and normal, right to wasting time is not automatically haram, we
could say it's my crew, it's this like to waste our time. Right. But if, for example, someone did
		

			all their work, and you know, they spend time with their family, and everything's taken care of, and
they're spending one and a half hours doing something fun, I don't necessarily see that as a waste
of time, if it helps them to recover, and to be strong and productive the next day, and it's not a
waste of time. So even these points like something being a waste of time, these things are
		

			these things, you know this there's even a difference in how we perceive it. That what one person
looks at and says that's a waste of time, somebody ought to look at it and see there's something
productive. So we can't even agree on whether these things are a waste of time or not. So how can we
pass fatwa based on their point? So one last point, on the issue of entertainment, and this is the
main one that we all need to apply to our lives when it comes to having fun, right? This is the main
thing to keep in mind. Islam teaches us to prioritize, to always look at what's most important and
to prioritize that. So
		

			if you are praying your Salah five times a day, fulfilling your obligations to Allah, fulfilling
your obligations towards your family, getting your work done, then there is nothing wrong with
enjoying some holiday fun. Right? There has to be priorities. Now today we have a problem. Some
people are addicted to entertainment. We have people in the 20s who are video game addicts. They
don't work. They don't study, they just play video games all day. This is a problem. He doesn't make
video games haram it means that person has a problem and that person needs counseling. Right? You
don't make the whole thing haram because one person has a problem, right? Otherwise everything.
		

			Everything is addictive. Anything you do for fun is addictive. It's all about learning balance. And
for parents, we have to teach this to our children, teach them balance, teach them to prioritize,
teach them to prioritize the salah to prioritize family time to prioritize the studies, and then
after that they can enjoy on the side, right anything that is halal. And this is the main point that
we all need to keep in mind when it comes to entertainment. So to summarize what we said today, we
said that Islam is a religion that caters for all basic human desires and this includes the desire
to have fun. So there are 1000s if not hundreds of 1000s of Halal ways to have fun and a handful of
		

			ways of having fun and a haram and those things. There are always reasons why they are haram right
things are gambling and intoxicants and drugs. It's obvious why they are haram. Just Just look at
statistics. Just look at what happens when people indulge in these things. Allah only made haram
those things that are going to harm you. Right? So number one, it's within our nature to enjoy
things of this world. So Allah has made a religion that caters for that. Number two, the majority of
forms of entertainment are halal, except that which is prohibited or has elements of prohibition in
it, right or that which is harmful.
		

			Number three, do everything in moderation and prioritize your Ibadat and your family over
entertainment. Do not become an addict to entertainment do not make it your life. Don't make it like
the main thing your life is all about. It should be aside
		

			Getting the last thing you do at the end of the day after everything else, it shouldn't be something
that consumes your life and consumes your day and becomes all life is about because Allah did not
create us for that. And number four, when there is a difference of opinion, follow the opinion that
makes sense to you, but respect the other opinion, understand that even those who have a different
opinion from you, they are coming from from a place of of proper HDR of concerns that are valid,
right? It's just that they arrived at a different conclusion from you and Allah will accept our
opinion Allah will accept their opinion. We need to learn to respect these differences of opinion.
		

			We ask Allah to guide us to the path of moderation Subhana rahbek Erbil is at your mercy funa salam
ala mousseline Al hamdu, Lillahi Rabbil aalameen.
		

			In Al Hamdulillah Anna whoo hoo en esta you know, there's still fear we're not gonna be there. What
color do you want to be la him in Cerulean fusina Woman Crtl Marlena Miyagi Hilah who for them with
the Lola will be used to heal for the Hardy Lama bad for inner circle Howdy sikita Bula waka you
howdy howdy Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was shared with a more emotional side to a cooler
more desert and with a little bit at the end dadada for Kulu Dalton for now.
		

			There is a Hadith that's often quoted to shut down any conversation on this topic and it's a
misunderstood Hadith. And that is the Hadith in which the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said
that all forms of recreation are battle besides archery, swimming and horse riding, authentic hadith
where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, all forms of recreation are battle besides
horseriding swimming and archery and another version of the Hadith he mentioned wrestling and a
different version of the Hadith. He mentioned spending time with your wife, right? These things are
not party I mean, these things are good. Right? Now this Hadees is misunderstood by some people too.
		

			And they use it as a basis to say all forms of entertainment are haram besides the ones listed in
this hadith, and this is incorrect understanding of the Hadith. Imam Al Ghazali Rahim Allah He
explains this hadith, and he says the word battle means it's a waste of time, and there's no reward
for it. It does not mean haram. Battle does not mean haram. It just means there's no reward for it.
So when the prophets Allah exam said there is no that every act of entertainment is bottled. Besides
these three, he means anything you do for fun, you do not expect to reward for it. And this we're
doing these things. And this makes sense. None of us are watching soccer and expecting reward for
		

			that right now for us. Playing video game and expecting reward for that we know these things are a
waste of time we do it just for fun. But those things specifically mentioned in this Hadees,
archery, horse riding, swimming, you know, fighting skills, and spending time with your wife, these
things are things that you are actually rewarded for. They are fun, and you are rewarded for them.
Why are you rewarded specifically for those four skills, swimming, horseback riding, archery, and,
and fighting these four skill generally, the prophets, why some would encourage people to choose
those over other forms of sports, because they will train a man to be capable of defense, right?
		

			Because men are the defenders and the protectors of the communities. You cannot fulfill this, this
position in your family or your community if you're weak. So if you're going to entertain yourself,
what is recommended in Islam is something that makes you stronger, something that makes you better
at defending your family. So that's why the prophets are some highly recommended that we focus on
things like archery, which today would include shooting, horse riding, and fighting and swimming
because this these were all self defense skills that help you to protect yourself and your family.
Right. So you're actually rewarded for doing these things. It doesn't mean other things are haram,
		

			as explained by Imam Al Ghazali. And one final point, one final point to conclude.
		

			One of the problems we have today in our Islamic discourse in how we present Islam specifically to
young people, is that too often we expect a level of perfection from others. That is unrealistic,
right? I mean, other people are not being perfect. You know, we look for reasons to condemn them to
look down on them. So we be like a stuffy ruler, you're wasting time. Right? And this could be a
small child who's like things soccer. Right? It'd be like a stuffy Lala didn't treat you for this.
Why are you wasting time. But that's not the correct approach to have to other people. If Sun
perfection, which is the highest level of spirituality is something you get after a lifelong journey
		

			of worshiping Allah is something you only attain late in life, early in life, you know, especially
for children and teenagers and young adults, they need more entertainment. As you get older, you
probably need less and less as you if you are increasing impiety but you expect every single Muslim
to be at the level of Hassan, this is unrealistic. Rather this concept of a facade of perfection in
worship. You focus on yourself, you fall
		

			focus on on getting yourself to that level for the rest of the Muslims make life easy for them. Make
life easy for them. Don't expect everyone to be perfect. Don't expect every Muslim you need to be
praying the Sunnah Salah and praying tahajjud avoiding anything they waste time. No, you need to be
realistic in how you deal with people. And this was the methodology of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi
wa salam and the Sahaba when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam sin was even traveled to Yemen,
he taught him a very important principle of Dawa, he told him yes, 0120 make things easy for the
people don't make it difficult for them, as the adoptee as the teacher, as they move to make things
		

			easy for them, don't make it difficult for them. And this is the role of the teachers of Islam,
whether you are parents, whether you're an Islamic Studies teacher, whether you are part of the
Obama or move the whatever it is, if you have a role in influencing somebody else Islamically you
should make things easy for them Don't make things difficult for them. What this means is, you
expect people to try their best, you don't expect people to be perfect, right? You don't demand
perfect of the perfection of the average person. This is this is how you're supposed to deal with
people. And you see this nowadays, specifically in the issue of entertainment, that too often,
		

			people are making that high highest level of piety as the only level that Muslims can be at, right
and if you're not at that level, then you're outside the fold of Islam or your ability or your
coffee or or your you know, a waste of time, or whatever it is, you know, it's like you're either
perfect or you're nothing at all. And that's not how it is Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
dealt with every type of Muslim and he treated all of them. You know, according to their level, he
didn't expect everyone to be perfect. There was a man who came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam and said that if I pray five times a day, and for the month of Ramadan, and avoid the Haram
		

			when I go to Ghana,
		

			and he said if I don't do anything else will I go to Ghana? And the prophets voice I'm said yes, you
will agenda. And so there's a hub ostomate while you were this mess, don't even read the Sunnah he's
not gonna preta hydrated. He's not even his force. We don't even mentioned anything about Xiao Hai
genre, just Salah fasting and avoiding haram, just three things. And the prophets have said yes, if
he does that he will go to gender the party agenda is easy. We make it difficult. We make it
difficult. We all you know, bring the 100 You know, the good Muslim tahajjud is not compulsory.
Inshallah, one day we'll get to the spiritual level where we pray to 100. But you don't force it on
		

			others. You recommend it, you advise it, you encourage it, you make it sound beautiful, but you
don't force it to expect it of others. Right? And the same principle goes back here when it comes to
entertainment. Yes, the highest level of piety and Hassan is where you become so pious, such a value
Allah that you don't need entertainment in your life, right? This is the highest level of IoT. And
if you have reached this level, Alhamdulillah Masha Allah, may Allah allow us to reach a level two.
But for the average Muslim, don't expect this off them. Don't expect this off them rather, treat
people in a way as based on the Hadith that make things easy for them to make it difficult for them
		

			and treat people according to their level and understand everybody's at a different part of their
journey towards Allah. Some people need more of the dunya than others. Some people have more
weaknesses in others. We are here to help people to get closer to Allah not to push them away with
demands of perfection. And this is a message even to parents, because sometimes we expect too much
from our teenagers. Right? So we need to be a bit more realistic from what level of spirituality we
expect from a teenager. So may Allah subhanaw taala guide us all to the best understanding of Islam
and to practice his religion properly. May He make our children and our descendants righteous
		

			leaders of this ummah. Robin Artina for dunya Hasina, fulfill the Huseynov working at Gabbana,
Robina hub land I mean as watching Kurata
		

			mama Subhana rahbek Robin is at the mercy foon was salam ala mousseline with hamdu Lillahi Rabbil
Alameen