Assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh
Jazakallah for taking the time out to answer this question.
I wanted to ask whether it is permissible to watch the TV show, ‘Dirilis Ertugrul’? It is a TV show based upon the history of what happened just before the ottoman empire. An episode comes out every week and each episode is about 2 hours long.
It includes many of the bad things that a normal film does such as music, love and romance scenes and attractive women. Similarly, we do not know how correct the show is from a historical perspective. The history must have been distorted for entertainment purposes. Despite this, many Muslims around the world watch it, often gossip about it and say it is good to watch it as it teaches you Islamic History. Some also say that you get to learn Islamic lessons and morals form the TV show.
Because of the Islamic topic/label this TV show has, does it become permissible to watch? Or is it still haram?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The tv series ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ is a historical tv series focused on the events leading to the formation of the Ottoman Empire.[1] A believer is passionate about Islamic dominance. There is a need to educate the masses on the establishment of the Ottoman Empire as it forms part of our rich history. However, in doing so, there should be no violation of Shariah. ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ involves music, intermingling of sexes and primarily aims to incite patriotism amongst Turkish Nationals. All this done in the name of Islam creates an impression that the un-Islamic activities in the show are permissible. Furthermore, TV Series in general are effectively time consuming forms of entertainment. The harms of the show greatly exceed its benefits. Accordingly, watching such a show is detrimental to one’s Imaan. There are many well written books on Islamic History and the Ottoman Empire. One may study those books to understand the history of the Ottoman Empire.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mohamed Ebrahim bin Ismail Abdullah
Student – Darul Iftaa
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
13-02-1441| 12-10-2019