Answered by: Maulana Mohammed Kamran Abid
Question
Assalaamu Alaikum,
I wanted to ask a question concerning writing stories about the Sahabah. Would it be permissible to write a story where the characters of a story witness an incident from the lives of Sahabah? They would be “present” in the sense that they would see the incident happen and feel the environment. But they would not have any contact with the Sahaba, of course, just witness the incident unfold.
Would this be ok to write? Or would that be interfering with the story of the Sahaba, because of the thoughts of the characters, trying to make sense of the incident?
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
When it comes to narrating stories about the Sahabah from narrations from the Prophet (saw) and Sahabah, the scholars permit Riwayah bil Ma’na (Narrating the meaning of a story or incident).[1] Therefore, it would be permissible for you to write from another person’s perspective of an incident from the life of the Sahabah.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Mohammed Kamran Abid
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] وأما الرواية بالمعنى: فالخلاف فيها شهير والأكثر على الجواز أيضاً، ومن أقوى حججهم الاجماع على جواز شرح الشريعة للعجم بلسانهم للعارف به، فإذا جاء الابدال بلغة أخرى فجوازه باللغة العربية أولي. (Nuzhatu an-Nadhar Fi Tawdeehi Nukhbatul al-Fikr, pg. 97, Maktaba al-Bushra)