Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Ali Nahavandi has, for over twenty years, made art and media one of his primary areas of focus. This began when he took charge of the Khorasan Broadcasting Center about two decades ago and continued during his years in Qom, where he served as the director of the Islamic Media Research Center and began teaching advanced lessons in the jurisprudence of media. He has published over ten books on the subject of art and media and has numerous articles to his name. A member of the Academic Council of the Jurisprudence of Culture, Art, and Media Group at the Institute for Contemporary Jurisprudential Studies, he has spoken about the jurisprudential ruling on la‘b (play) and its role in the prohibition of artistic works. The director of the Jurisprudence of Art, Media, and Communications Group at the Jurisprudential Center of the Pure Imams (peace be upon them) believes there is no evidence that absolutely prohibits la‘b. The full text of the exclusive interview by Contemporary Jurisprudence with this professor of advanced jurisprudence at the Qom Seminary is as follows:
Contemporary Jurisprudence: What is la‘b (play), and can it be applied to various forms of art?
Nahavandi: Naturally, you are not asking about the literal meaning of la‘b but rather its technical connotations. La‘b refers to play, amusement, or recreation. The term malā‘ib refers to a place of play. These terms can be applied in this sense. Typically, the Holy Quran uses these terms together, equating them to play, and pairs the words lahw (amusement) and la‘b (play). Lahw and la‘b refer to amusements that lack a rational purpose.
In the Quran, whenever these two terms are used together, a negative connotation is intended. However, when the term la‘b or yal‘ab is used independently, it generally refers to permissible forms of amusement. For example, in Surah Yusuf, we read that the brothers of Yusuf requested from Prophet Ya‘qub: “Send him with us tomorrow that he may enjoy himself and play” (Yusuf, 12:12), indicating that Yusuf should accompany them to have fun and play. This shows that these two terms, when used together, carry a specific connotation that they lack when used independently. When la‘b is paired with lahw, it takes on a negative connotation, meaning indulgence in whims or frivolous play, whereas when used alone, it refers to permissible games.
In the Quran, the stages of material and worldly life are also described with this term: “Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement, adornment, boasting among yourselves, and competition in wealth and children” (Al-Hadid, 57:20). This verse outlines five stages of worldly material life, stating that in the period of childhood, a person engages in aimless play. Then comes the stage of purposeful play, followed by the stage of adornment in late adolescence, then the stage of boasting in middle age, where one says, “I have this, and I have that,” and finally the stage of competition in wealth and children. These are the stages mentioned in the Quranic verses.
Thus, I would like to emphasize that the terms la‘b and yal‘ab, as found in the Quran and within our religious sources, have various meanings. Therefore, applying the term la‘b in its independent sense to artistic programs is not possible. In other words, artistic activities such as dance, music, theater, painting, and so forth are not considered instances of la‘b in its narrational sense. That is, dance is not called la‘b, nor is music called la‘b. Rather, arts that are indulgent and cause a person to become heedless of God are instances of la‘b as mentioned in verses and narrations, carrying a negative connotation. Lahw (amusement) similarly carries this negative connotation, and thus, not all arts are instances of lahw.
Based on these points, the answer to your first question—whether arts can be considered instances of la‘b—is negative, unless we strip away the negative connotation associated with it in the verses and narrations, in which case they could be considered instances of la‘b.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: Is there any religious evidence that absolutely indicates the prohibition or lack of preference for la‘b?
Nahavandi: We do not have any verses or narrations that absolutely prohibit la‘b, unless we consider la‘b in the negative sense used in the verses and narrations.
In jurisprudential texts, however, the term la‘b is frequently used. For example, in discussions about mosques, regarding income derived from winning and losing, which is considered gambling (qimār or maysir), jurists have used the term la‘b. Similarly, the term lu‘ba (toy) appears in jurisprudential texts, referring to playthings, and related discussions are raised there. In the context of testimony, regarding the conditions for accepting testimony, la‘b is used to indicate a sign of immorality (fisq). The late Kulayni, in his book Al-Aṭ‘ima wa al-Ashraba (Food and Drinks), refers to forbidden games as la‘b. Additionally, in jurisprudential texts, games such as chess, backgammon, and similar activities are referred to as la‘b. Chapters such as “Music and Instruments of Amusement” and “Heedlessness, Amusement, and Excessive Joy” appear in works like Jawāhir and Bihār al-Anwār by the late Majlisi. The point is that we see these keywords in various contexts, but they do not indicate an absolute prohibition of la‘b unless la‘b constitutes an act that is vain or leads one astray from the path of God. Otherwise, it is not inherently forbidden.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: Is there any form of art that, by its very nature, constitutes la‘b, or does it become la‘b due to accompanying factors such as the mixing of men and women, inappropriate or misleading content, and so forth?
Nahavandi: When we speak of art as art, we must note that in the era of Imam Ali and the Prophet, that is, the era of the Lawgiver, we did not have anything akin to the arts referred to today as fine arts. In the past, arts were solely practical arts, meaning arts used in daily life, such as the zilu rugs that were used as floor coverings or carpets. Later, these were categorized as artistic crafts or handicrafts. In that era, even sculpture and music were not considered arts. Interestingly, activities such as permissible children’s games, horse-riding competitions, archery, or pigeon racing were referred to as la‘b, yet none of these were regarded as art. Indeed, under secondary rulings, if they constitute something vain or lead one astray from the path of God, they become forbidden. Therefore, what matters is whether the art constitutes something that “leads astray from the path of God” or is vain. Otherwise, terms like la‘b do not, in themselves, render an art forbidden.
Contemporary Jurisprudence: Is determining whether or not something constitutes la‘b the responsibility of the jurist, general custom, or the obligated individual?
Nahavandi: First, determining the concept of la‘b in our era is a complex task. It is not the case that one can clearly discern its meaning by referring to general custom. Just as la‘b had various meanings in the era of the Lawgiver, it does so today. In other words, if you ask the general custom today about the meaning of play, no one would consider art as an instance of play. Some might regard certain arts, such as performing arts, as play, but this is not the case for arts in general. Therefore, it seems appropriate to refer this matter to specific customs and experts in the field.
The notion that jurists are not responsible for determining the subject matter is also incorrect. The late Martyr Sadr has extensively discussed the roles of jurists and jurisprudence, concluding that, in addition to determining rulings, determining the subject matter is also the responsibility of the jurist, especially for such complex and specific subjects. However, determining instances is the responsibility of the general custom, while the subject and its concept must be determined by the jurist. For example, regarding ghinā (forbidden singing), the jurist must both define ghinā and determine its ruling, but identifying instances of ghinā is the responsibility of the obligated individuals.