Is it permissible to play PubG and Candy Crush?

Wa Alaykumus Salaam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Respected brother in Islam,

The game PUBG (short for PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds) is clearly Haraam. In some versions of PUBG, a gamer prostrates before an idol and totems during gameplay. Whoever plays such a version of PUBG loses his Imaan.^[1] If he is married, his Nikah is broken. The only way to return to Imaan is to make sincere Tawbah from the Kufr and Shirk committed in PUBG and renew ones Imaan.

Every conscious Muslim should alert others on the Kufr and Shirk nature of PUBG to save the Imaan of people. Parents, in particular, should ensure their children do not play PUBG. It is Fardh on parents to stop their children from playing this game of Kufr and Shirk. Explain to our children the value of Imaan and what constitutes Kufr and Shirk.

Would you send your children to a temple to worship idols? Why then allow them to play the PUBG game where they worship idols? There is no difference between worshipping and prostrating to an idol in the PUBG game or in a temple. There are also many other elements that render PUBG Haraam besides the idol-worship in the game.

The game Candy Crush is also not permissible. It is highly addictive. Furthermore, there is no benefit in playing this game.

Allah ﷻ enumerates the qualities of the true believers in the Quraan saying:-

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ [المؤمنون: 3]

Translation: Those who avert themselves away from futile things.

Rasulullah ﷺ said:-

مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلاَمِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لاَ يَعْنِيهِ  [ترمذي 2317] ^[2]

Translation: A sign of the perfection of a person’s Imaan is he leaves out what does not concern him

There are also many other psychological and health harms in these types of games. ^[3]

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

^[1]

عمدة الرعاية بتحشية شرح الوقاية (5/ 263)

والرضى بالكفر كفر

^[2]

سنن الترمذي ت بشار (4/ 136)

2317 - حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ النَّيْسَابُورِيُّ، وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ، قَالُوا: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُسْهِرٍ، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ سَمَاعَةَ، عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ، عَنْ قُرَّةَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلاَمِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لاَ يَعْنِيهِ.

هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ، لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الوَجْهِ.

مسند أحمد ط الرسالة (3/ 259)

1737 - حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ دَاوُدَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ حُسَيْنٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ " حسن بشواهده، وهذا إسناد ضعيف لضعف عبد الله بن عمر- وهو العمري- وانظر (1732)

^[3] The world of gaming has far exceeded the boundaries of a past time and means of relaxation and light-heartedness, rather it has evolved into a culture. Medical and scientific studies have explained the numerous negative effects and harms of video games in great detail.

A few major harms include:-

Emotional and Mental Ill-Health

Video games suppress ones actual emotions and give one false feelings of joy, sadness, fulfilment and anger based on one's in-game progress. This is why many gamers use their gaming as an escape from having to deal with situations in real life. Excessive video gaming causes a person to forget how to deal with emotions, which then adversely impacts ones mental health as well. Because of this, relationship issues are common among those addicted to gaming. This escapism negatively impacts their bond with family, friends and loved ones. Gamers become socially disconnected from the world which in turn causes them to fall deeper into their addiction.

Physical Ill-Health

Avid gamers have even suffered physically due to their addiction.  Trigger Finger (A persons finger getting stuck in a bent position), Gamers Thumb (Painful inflammation of the thumb), eye-related problems (due to long hours of staring at a screen) and posture problems(becoming hunched, neck pains, spine-related illness due to sitting for long periods of time without moving) are just a few issues that gamers could suffer from.

Dopamine Addiction –

The human brain releases a chemical called Dopamine, which is basically responsible for causing a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. Video games are developed to tap into this supply and cause an overflow of this hormone. Therefore a person who is an avid gamer will find no joy or pleasure in simple daily activities, and will have no motivation to execute otherwise normal tasks. This gravely impacts every aspect of one’s day to day life.

Adapted from https://www.healthygamer.gg/10-negative-effects-of-video-games/