Ilham Shaheen’s Controversy: A Professor’s Perspective

Published on Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Al-Azhar University Professor Weighs in on Ilham Shaheen’s Criticism

Dr. Saad Al-Din Al-Hilali, a professor of comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, has commented on the controversy surrounding artist Ilham Shaheen. Shaheen had criticized the director of one of his works for stopping filming to perform prayer.

According to Dr. Al-Hilali, Ilham Shaheen was subjected to “legal bullying.” He cites a verse from Surah Al-Ma’idah, which states, “O you who believe, He Himself is responsible for any one of you who goes astray. It will not harm you if you go astray and He will inform you of what you do.”

In an interview with the “Al-Heqayya” program on MBC Egypt, Dr. Al-Hilali added, “The artist Ilham Shaheen has a view that what he does is to earn a living, so we can make concessions about the prayer and do it at the end of it, because time is enough.”

He also quoted a hadith narrated by the Prophet Muhammad, which states that he used to gather prayers without the excuse of travel or rain using a valid license.

Dr. Al-Hilali explains that those who criticize Ilham Shaheen’s actions see prayer as an obligation that takes precedence over fun and games. However, he argues that this perspective is not entirely accurate.

A hadith narrated by Al-Tabarani on the authority of Abu Huraira quotes the Messenger of Allah as saying, “Sins include those for which fasting, prayer, or charity do not atone, but they are expiated by striving for their dependents.”

In another hadith, Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu Anhu said, “The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Whoever takes care of widows and the needy is like the person who strives in the way of Allah – and I think he said: – the person who stands and does not kneel does not break his fast.”