continued The idea of just having fun and enjoying life and making money is not an Islamic understanding of the world. The Islamic understanding, however, is not the opposite extreme. There are Muslims who go to the opposite extreme and say that we are here only to worship Allāh so there is no such thing as entertainment and there is no such thing as having fun, but this is a misunderstanding. This is a wrong understanding of Islam. The correct attitude of a Muslim is that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) created us upon the fiṭrah. He created us with natural inclinations towards good or evil. There is nothing in this religion which is against our fiṭrah. Anything that is part of human nature is accommodated for in Islam, and so to the human need for recreation is also accommodated. We find that Islam allows people to enjoy themselves but in ways that are wholesome, pure and ḥalāl. If you look at the principles of fiqh, one of the principles of fiqh when it comes to things of this world is that everything is permissible unless you have proof that it is prohibited. This applies to forms of entertainment as well. Those forms of entertainment which are clearly prohibited in the Qur’ān or in the Sunnah or by analogy are the prohibited forms, but everything else is permissible as long as they fulfill basic criteria. There is a narration that some people bring forth, and they say that this narration prohibits all forms of entertainment except three. There are two versions, and one says three and one says four. The narration is that all of the recreational things of this world are bāṭil (void) and a waste of time except for three (another narration says four). The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) described them as archery, horseback riding, and swimming. In the other narration the fourth one added is wrestling. Some scholars based on this narration say that these four are the only permissible types of entertainment. In his Iḥyā’ ‘Ulum’l-Dīn, Imām al-Ghazāli (raḥimahullāh) gives a very good response to this. Imām al-Ghazāli mentions that, “Just because these few are mentioned in one ḥadīth does not necessarily mean that other forms are all ḥarām because there are many other narrations that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the ṣaḥābah entertained themselves in other ways not mentioned in this ḥadīth.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to race with his wife on foot and used to watch people play with swords in the masjid. They used to have competitions with watermelon seeds, and they used to do many other things. Some of the children used to play with toys, and it goes on and on. There were many other things they used to do. This ḥadīth is not limiting what is ḥalāl. Furthermore, the word in the ḥadīth is not ḥarām. The word in the ḥadīth is “bāṭil,” meaning that there is no reward in it. If there is no reward in something, it does not make it ḥarām. It is still ḥalāl unless you have proof for it to be prohibited. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is telling us that these forms of entertainment are rewarding. If you ride a horse, train with archery, or are swimming, these are types [of entertainment] that are rewarding because they keep you physically fit and energized and this is something which is good in Islam. It does not necessarily mean that others are prohibited. We need to understand the primary principle is that when it comes to entertainment, everything is permissible unless we have proof for it being prohibited. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us in the Qur’ān, “Allāh wants things to be easy for you. He does not want to make things difficult for you.” Allāh says, “There is nothing in this religion which is a burden.” to be continued