Is it permissible to read romantic novels that are not deviant, and is it permissible to imagine romantic stories or adventures before sleep, given the inability to sleep without these imaginations?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Reading romantic stories and watching anime are prohibited. Fleeting thoughts that cross the heart without being sought or settled are not held against a Muslim. However, actively seeking out and settling thoughts in the heart and deriving pleasure from them: if they are related to a forbidden matter, such as thinking about a Muslim's flaws, then they are forbidden. Imagining yourself as a married girl with a love story, or imagining parents other than your own, might be considered imagining forbidden things. Drowning oneself in trivial fantasies is blameworthy.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/180017
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 180017
- 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.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy