Praise be to Allaah.
Electronic
games in general include many evils aspects with regard to belief and
behaviour, and the games are accompanied by music, and young and old become
so attached to them that they make them forget their Islamic duties and
distract them from the rights of their own selves and of others.
With regard to
selling these games, if the haraam elements outweigh the halaal in the way
it is made and the way it is used, then it is not permissible to sell them.
With regard to
using them, that depends on the type of game, because some of them contain
excessive violence, some of them are about pursuing prostitutes in the
street, and some of them are about venerating the cross and raising the
dead. They should also be free of evils such as indecent pictures and music,
and they should not distract players from obligatory duties. The games
should also be free of gambling and you should not play it a great deal. The
shar’i ruling is based on the above. If you find these things or some of
them in it, then it is not permissible to play it, but if it is free of all
these things, then it is permissible.
We should
advise parents and those who are in authority that it is essential to
examine and watch the game before allowing children to watch it. I have
found out that some games include indecent sexual scenes, such as Grand
Theft Auto and Tomb Raider and many others. Some of them insult Islam badly,
such as First To Fight, in which cities are cleansed of bearded men and
mosques are bombed whilst the sound of the adhaan is coming form them, and
shots are fired at Mus-hafs, and you cannot move on to the next level unless
you cleanse the city of Muslims and their mosques!
You can see
some scenes from this game at the following links:
http://216.219.88.100/upload/a/17/1163433948.jpg
And
http://216.219.88.100/upload/a/17/1163444563.jpg
In these
scenes you will clearly see them destroying mosques and looking for those
whom they call Muslim terrorists.
In the answer
to questions no. 2898 and
39744 we have stated the evils of
electronic games, especially Playstation. In the second question you will
find the ruling on buying and selling it.
In the answer
to question no. 46203 you will
find the ruling on one who asked about working in a video game store.