Is it permissible to narrate fictional stories to children featuring real characters, such as "your neighbor's son did such-and-such" or "your brother did such-and-such," even though these events did not occur, for the purpose of entertainment?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Fictional stories are permissible if they are for the purpose of parables, admonitions, or teaching courage and the like, not for outright lying, such as the tales featuring Al-Harith ibn Hammam and Al-Saruji in Al-Hariri's Maqamat. Among the permissible fictional stories are those whose falsehood is not certain, intended for entertainment. However, stories in which fabricated actions are attributed to real people, this is a forbidden lie, and it has educational harms.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 175796
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Read the full answer on Ftawy