In any case, jurists issue fatwas based on religious sources. Now, if a filmmaker wants to make a woman without a hijab the main character or one of the characters in the film, the jurist cannot issue a fatwa permitting such a thing; because this act itself is the spread of prostitution. Of course, some artists believe that we should reflect the realities of society as it is; but from the point of view of religion, if reflecting the realities of society leads to the spread of prostitution and aiding sin and weakening the moral foundation among individuals and families, it will not be permissible. Therefore, the principle of the belief that we should reflect the realities of society is absolutely unacceptable.

Note: Mr. Ja’far Najafi Bustan has been teaching one of the best courses Kharij al-Fiqh and principles at the Qum Seminary for many years. In recent years, he has shown great interest in entering into emerging jurisprudence. He has also been a member of the Scientific Council of the Culture, Art, and Media Jurisprudence Group of the Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Center for several years. On this pretext, we talked to him about the assumptions and foundations of art jurisprudence. During this conversation, he also expressed his own specific definition of art, which is being published for the first time. The details of the conversation with this teacher of the course al-Bahth al-Kharij and principles at the Qum Seminary, from your perspective:

– What is art jurisprudence and how does it differ from media jurisprudence and communications jurisprudence?

Sir Najafi Bustan: To answer this question, we must first ask and answer the terms of the question. What is meant by jurisprudence is the same meaning as the derived noun; that is, what is the Islamic view on these issues? Certainly, jurisprudence does not mean religious knowledge, but we want to know the opinion of the Holy Lawgiver in these cases and topics such as art, media, and communications. There are many definitions of art. I will not go into the existing definitions for now, and I will only present my own opinion. In my opinion, art is an act that causes amazement in the viewer and listener. The source of this amazement can also be the rarity of the object; because if an object is abundant, it cannot be astonishing. Now, if the source of that rarity is also the delicacy and elegance of the object, we interpret it as art, whether in the form of poetry with specific measures of prosody, content, and rhyme; and if it is a new poem, if it causes amazement in people under its own conditions, we consider it art. If it is prose, it must include eloquence and observance of original crafts and observance of the requirements of the present, and be free from distracting brevity; in this case, it will be a work of art. In other than poetry and prose, such as painting, it is the same. If it causes the viewer to marvel, and the source of the marvel is rarity, and the source of rarity is the delicacy and elegance of that object, it is considered art. For example, if it paints nature or reflects human thoughts in the form of a painting in a precise and delicate way, in such a way that it causes the viewer to marvel.

In general, in any work of art, if its conditions and requirements are observed, it will sit on the minds and hearts, have tenderness and cause admiration. In this case, this act is called art, whether the subject of this work is God Almighty or not. When man looks at the earth, he sees strange subtleties in the creation of God Almighty that truly cause admiration for everyone. Man also sometimes draws paintings of God-given nature that if they cause admiration, it will be a work of art.

In communications and media, what is most desired is to convey the content to the listener, whether this communication is through television or radio or newspaper or cyberspace and… So if the purpose of inducing the content is involved, it is related to media and communications; but the quality of explaining this content to others can be accompanied by works of art, otherwise simply inducing the content to others is not art; rather, the quality of induction is important. For instance, if one wants to express an epic story, the quality of the sound must be in harmony with that epic story. For example, in television, lighting and other issues have an effect on the quality of the insinuation; therefore, the insinuation of the story itself is not art; rather, art is in the quality of insinuation of the story for others.

The discussion of the jurisprudence of art, media and communications is a discussion of the rulings of these subjects. For example, art should not be such that it leads people to sin and causes the spread of immorality and the weakening of people’s will towards religion and religious beliefs; rather, art should not cause the veneration of rituals. A work of art should not weaken morality in society. Art should move in the direction of human exaltation, not in the direction of human degradation and fall into the mire of sin. Art should be in this direction and therefore many issues must be observed. If we want to discuss the jurisprudence of art and the rulings of art, we must consider all these issues and then discuss the rulings of the five pillars on different subjects. We must not promote forbidden and abominable things in society, and the artist’s actions must be within the scope of obligatory and recommended acts, and ultimately within the scope of permissible acts.

In short, the purpose of art jurisprudence is to express the rulings of all artistic activities in their full scope, since they are intended to be issued by humans and human actions are subject to these rulings. Like other professions and industries that have their own rulings, art is the same. All artistic subjects have rulings. It is not true that some people delude themselves that Shari’ah has no rulings in artistic subjects; rather, making people cry and laugh, and everything related to art, has rulings. Art jurisprudence is responsible for expressing these rulings.

– What are the most important principles of art jurisprudence?

Teacher Najafi Bustan: In art jurisprudence, in terms of principles, we must refer to jurisprudential rules. For example, the rule of no inconvenience or no harm, which can be adhered to in many cases. Not spreading prostitution and promoting high moral qualities, which is the main goal of man, is admissible. The discussion of the prohibition of aiding in sin, which many jurists accept, must be observed. Works of art should not be in a way that leads believers astray. Leading believers astray is forbidden. A Muslim is dear. Works of art should not be in a way that intimidates and frightens believers. Works of art should not be accompanied by backbiting, slandering, and destroying the reputation of others. These issues should be observed especially in comedy programs, because not every laugh is desirable in the eyes of the Holy Lawgiver. There are several rules here.

Some have proposed a rule called expediency in the jurisprudence of art; that is, the interest of society must be taken into account in all works of art. Some have proposed the rule of justice as an artistic rule here and say that in all works of art, justice must be observed and the basis for the growth of all members of society must be observed equally, all possibilities must be divided between individuals and everyone must be able to grow, not to discriminate, in such a way that privileges are considered only for a specific group.

So, all jurisprudential rules that are involved in the realization of an art and all matters that must be observed are involved in the discussion; that is, both the requirements of religious art must be known and the obstacles to creating religious art must be examined. In this case, the principles of the jurisprudence of art will be observed.

– With the existing assumptions and principles, is there a possibility of changing the existing fatwas in the jurisprudence of art? Why?

Teacher Najafi Bustan: If the question is that those who create artistic programs, especially the current generation, have their own assumptions that produce all their artistic programs based on these assumptions and expect jurists to go along with their demands and assumptions, this is absolutely unacceptable. Religion is not in the hands of the jurist to change the foundations at the whim of others; rather, the jurist must examine and analyze the artists’ assumptions based on religious sources and express the ruling of Allah wherever there is a violation from the perspective of the Holy Lawgiver.

For instance, one of the artists’ assumptions is that they say that the media and the radio and television must reflect the realities of society, even if that reality is against the sacred Shari’ah. Filmmakers of this type are pursuing the same issue. This is while the jurist cannot go along with the artists in all cases and issue a fatwa on halal; Because many of the realities that exist in society are wrong and cannot be reflected; because aiding and abetting sin and this cannot be corrected by Shari’ah.

So if the purpose of the question is to change the beliefs of the jurists in this regard so that they match the beliefs of the artists, this is not possible; but if the purpose of the question is something else, the purpose must first be clarified.

In any case, the jurists issue fatwas based on religious sources. Now, if a filmmaker wants to make a woman without a hijab the main character of the film or one of the characters in the film, the jurist cannot issue a fatwa permitting such an act; because this act itself is the spread of prostitution. Of course, some artists believe that we should reflect the realities of society as it is; but from the point of view of religion, if the reflection of the realities of society leads to the spread of prostitution and aiding and abetting sin and the weakening of the moral foundation among individuals and families, it will not be permissible. So the principle of the belief that we should reflect the realities of society is absolutely unacceptable.

According to the Shari’ah, jurists must first examine the issues in a customary manner and then state their Shari’ah ruling. A jurist does not have a specific belief in concepts and applications. The concept is related to custom. Application, if it is without tolerance, is the responsibility of custom. For example, in the concept of fun and games, which is involved in art, its limits and limitations must be clarified so that we can have art that is far from Shari’ah prohibitions. The concept of fun and games is customary; therefore, the beliefs of jurists cannot be changed; rather, we must see to what extent the beliefs of artists can be corrected by Shari’ah standards.

– What suggestions do you have for increasing the efficiency of art jurisprudence?

Teacher Najafi Bustan: One of the ways that is available and possible to achieve is to explain the detailed questions that artists have and want to know the ruling on that issue in terms of the subject and then ask the jurist. The jurist must work on the issue and examine the aspects of the issue and then issue the ruling. If we collect the opinions of all jurists on the questions asked in this area, a very excellent collection will be created in this area that will be a strong support for the development of art jurisprudence. Also, in addition to various fatwas, various foundations of jurists are also available, and by achieving the foundations, art jurisprudence becomes more efficient and art jurisprudence gradually becomes more fruitful.

This conversation is part of the electronic magazine “Principles of Art Jurisprudence” which was produced in cooperation with the School of Art Jurisprudence and the Ijtihad Network website.