Story Writing in Islam

4-1-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is writing fictional stories permissible in Islam? Is permissible to write a modern day story based upon real life with an Ayah or Hadith included to emphasize a moral point?
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 sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

It is lawful to write fictional stories, if those who would read them know that they are fictional, not true stories, and provided their aim is noble, like instilling good manners and warning against bad manners, and the like. There is no objection to your using some Hadeeth or verse to achieve the above objective. However, you should beware lest disrespect is shown to such novels as they contain references from the Quran and Hadeeth in them. If you mean by "real life" using characters like the companions of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) or known Imams, …etc., then this is unlawful as it is a lie upon these people. But if by "real life" you mean issues using symbolic characters, then there is no objection to that if it is within the boundaries of calling to goodness and warning against evil.

Allah knows best.

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