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Fatwa CenterMaking dress-up game for hijabi girls
Question
Assalaamu alaykum! I would like to make a dress-up game for hijabi girls (suitable for all ages). In order to do this, I will need to draw a girl (a doll), but the body of the doll will not be revealed, and the principles of the hijab will be fulfilled (i.e. the clothing will be loose, not transparent, and not resemble men's clothing). My intention is to provide Muslim girls with something that will help them see the hijab as something good and beneficial and, in a way, prepare them for the time when they will be obligated to wear it. Since a lot of children nowadays spend their time playing online games, I thought that this might be a good thing to do for the Ummah (community). Is drawing the body of a girl allowed in this case, or would it be considered competing with the creation of Allaah? May Allaah reward you for your answer!
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The basic principle is that any form of drawing living beings falls under the category of the prohibited image-making. However, many scholars excluded the drawing or image-making for children for educational purposes and the like, based on the following hadeeth: ‘Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and I had friends who would play with me. When the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, entered, then they would hide from him, and he would call them to come and play with me.” [Al-Bukhari]
Though they are for educational purposes, they are also given legal concession for serving any prevalent interest. The Encyclopedia of Fiqh reads:
“Image-making for a benefit, such as educational purposes and the like: We have not come across any jurists who addressed this issue with the exception of what they mentioned in regard to children's toys, that the reason for their exclusion from the general prohibition is training the girls in bringing up children, as stated by the majority of the jurists, or training children and making them happy for the sake of improved growth, as stated by Al-Haleemi, and that making images is permitted for this benefit, while the reason of it being forbidden still applies, which is the fact that they are images of living beings. Making images for educational purposes and the like is not different from this (i.e. it is permitted for this benefit).”
Hence, if this game is made for beneficial education (preparing girls for the hijab) as you mentioned, then there is no harm in making it, Allah willing.
Allah knows best.
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