Art and artistic activities can perhaps be described as the most challenging section or topic within the discipline of jurisprudence. For a long time, the conflict between artists and jurists has been well-known, and numerous stories, poems, and writings have been composed about it. Resolving this challenge has one practical solution and one theoretical solution. The practical solution involves dialogue and creating normal and professional platforms for interaction between jurists and artists, such as joint academic sessions, conferences on the jurisprudence of art, collaboration in producing an artistic work like a film, series, or theater performance, and similar initiatives.
However, the theoretical and scholarly solution to this issue lies in analyzing the titles that have been applied to artistic activities and have led to their prohibition. By examining the fatwas of jurists and jurisprudential texts, it appears that, apart from titles specific to certain arts, there are general titles whose application to artistic activities has resulted in rulings of prohibition or at least their undesirability. These titles include amusement (lahw), play (la‘b), futility (laghv), misguidance (iḍlāl), corruption (ifsād), and falsehood (kizb).
Interestingly, almost none of these titles have been independently addressed as subjects of jurisprudential discussion in jurisprudential texts. They have either been left to their apparentness or have only been briefly and partially discussed—discussions that typically neither adequately explain the title nor thoroughly explore the evidence and theories surrounding its jurisprudential ruling. Such discussions create the impression among researchers that the subject has been sufficiently examined and thus does not require further comprehensive discussion. Moreover, due to this approach, various aspects of the title, its contemporary dimensions, and new nuanced considerations surrounding it remain unaddressed.
This situation prompted the Research Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies to dedicate one of the titles of its electronic journals to the topic of “Titles of Prohibition in the Jurisprudence of Art.”
The first section of this journal, like other journals, addresses the background of the topic, covering matters such as an index of articles and a bibliography. The second section discusses one of the most challenging topics in the jurisprudence of art over the past decade, under the title of the initial ruling on artistic activities. Following a statement nine years ago by Ayatollah Alidoust, who claimed that the baseline for artistic activities is desirability (istihbāb), proponents and opponents of this view entered the debate. In this section, we engaged in discussions with several supporters and critics of this theory.
The third section examines the titles of prohibition in the jurisprudence of art, addressing which titles lead to the prohibition of artistic activities in general (not specific to a particular art).
In the subsequent sections, we have analyzed each of the titles—amusement (lahw), play (la‘b), futility (laghv), misguidance (iḍlāl), corruption (ifsād), and falsehood (kizb)—with several jurisprudence professors. Each of these titles presents a challenge or a blind spot in the discussion. For example, regarding futility (laghv), its jurisprudential ruling is typically not analyzed. For misguidance (iḍlāl), the main challenge lies in its scope and the entity responsible for determining it. Regarding falsehood (kizb), the question arises whether the category of plays and literature falls under the realm of reporting (where truth and falsehood apply) or whether it belongs to the realm of composition, which is fundamentally not subject to truth or falsehood.
The final section discusses the approach of jurists toward art throughout history and whether the well-known accusation that jurists have not had a good relationship with art and artists is a valid claim that requires a solution, or whether it is fundamentally an incorrect and unrealistic accusation. It can perhaps be said that one of the most fascinating parts of this journal is the content in this section, which details the lives of jurists who, alongside their expertise in jurisprudence, were also considered first-rate artists.
This journal was produced in collaboration with the Research Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies and the School of the Jurisprudence of Art. We hope that these efforts meet the satisfaction of Almighty God and the Imam of the Age (may his return be hastened) and serve as a small step toward the development and deepening of the jurisprudence of the Family of Muhammad (peace be upon them). Amen.