Muslim playing role of non-Muslim in films

9-11-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

My friend was a Muslim who used to act in movies. I saw him portray a non-Muslim in some of the films which he acted in. I told him to repent for that, but unfortunately he died accidently without repenting. My question is: was my friend still a Muslim at the time of his death? His intention was pure, as he told me that he only did this for the sake of acting.

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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 is His slave and Messenger.

Please accept our condolences upon the death of your friend, and we ask Allah to forgive him, to have mercy upon him, and to raise his degrees in Paradise.

That man is not ruled to be a non-Muslim just because he played the role of a non-Muslim. The one who reports Kufr (disbelief) is not a Kaafir (disbeliever), as we have already highlighted in fatwas 283123 and 169195. We have clarified in these two fatwas that it is forbidden to play the role of a non-Muslim in T.V. series, movies, and the like, so please refer to them.

Finally, it should be noted that issuing a ruling on a Muslim that he is not a Muslim is not an easy matter. Rather, it is a very serious matter, and the Shariah warned against it.

The scholars have laid down the conditions for declaring someone to be a non-Muslim, and you may refer to them in fatwas 87963 and 8106.

Allah knows best.