My girls love reading and we encourage them to read a variety of books: biographies, fiction, self help, classical literature, etc. Recently, I am getting criticism from some people, [note, “some”], that we shouldn’t allow our children to read fiction such as Harry Potter Series as such topics can sway muslim kids from religious fundamentals and promote haram concepts.
Hay yay yayyyyy yayyyyy yaaah!
So I had it with this person who told me that I, the mother, am answerable to Allah for exposing my girls to such rubbish. Of course I realize that everyone has their opinion and honestly I do have mine as well so at the end of the day I don’t care. BUT, just for the sake of discussion on GS, let’s talk about this for a minute.
I give you example of the famous Kitāb alf laylah wa-laylah (One Thousand and One Nights) which is compiled during Islamic golden age (750 AD to 1250 AD). That compilation has stories like Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.
How is Harry Potter any different than flying magic carpet, genie in the lamp, a door that opens through some magical words and all?
People are stupid. When they have nothing good to contribute, they start criticizing.
Here is a hadees which clearly shows that even prophet used to tell stories that were super natural in nature
Masrook transmitted from Aisha, may God be pleased with her, she said, “One night, the Messenger of Allah told his wives a story. One of the women said, “O Messenger of Allah! The story is a fairy tale (Khurafa). He said, “Do you know what the meaning of Khurafa is? Khurafa was a man of the people of Uthra. He was captivated by the Jinn in the pre-Islamic age. He stayed with them for a long time. Then, they brought him back to the human world (and again he became an ordinary man). He told the people about the strange things he witnessed when he was with the Jinn. So, since that time, the people said, “It is a tale of Khurafa”.
Number 1 reason is that its hard to find illegally downloadable copies of his books and movies. These damn people expect us desis to spend money to read a book or watch a movie - them horrible infidels.
ah
well I still found it amusing.
Americans are the entertainment for the world especially the republicans.
I don't see the harm in letting kids read books that are appropriate for their age group.
A month or so ago, a friend of mine who has a 13/14year old daughter told me that she was looking through her daughters ipod touch and saw that she downloaded a ebook sample of "Fifty shades of gray" I nearly burst out laughing. She said that her daughter downloaded it because the story was based in Seattle. I was thinking "I hope so because thats pure erotica"
She said that she always keeps an eye on what the girl purchases but when they download samples they don't get notified or something.
Moral of the story keep an eye on what your kid is reading and ask questions about it. If you want it to be educational get them to write an essay/book report about it.
