Watching cinema

Question

The cinema and the like that have appeared in the present age, in which images of humans and animals are shown by means of musical instruments and which is called the talking and singing film — spending money on it and watching it: what kind of sin is this according to the Sharia? Is persisting in it a major sin? And does it entail kufr (disbelief)?

Answer

Watching the cinema and similar spectacles is a waste of time, idle play and amusement (lahw wa laʿib), and a sin. Spending money on it is extravagance (israf), which is forbidden by a categorical text (nass qatʿi): [ar]وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ[/ar] “…and do not be extravagant; indeed, He does not love the extravagant” (Surah al-Aʿraf, 7:31)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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