The act of taking the selfie has become such a major fixture of Malaysian youth culture (and certain Prime Ministers) that the word has even been included by the Dewan Bahasa Pustaka as an official part of Bahasa Malaysia. But the question remains: are selfies … halal?
At least, it was a question that was left unanswered. Aimidiyana Zuher from Bernama posed the question of how Islamic selfies are to Ustaz Dr Muhammad Lukman Ibrahim of Universiti Malaya’s Islamic Studies Academy, and his answer was a frankly pragmatic one.
According to Dr Muhammad Lukman, most Muslim scholars agree that taking selfies does not go against Islam, but he still reminded those Muslims who are into it that it all depends on the intent and circumstances.
If the selfie is meant to be shared with friends and family, it’s should be fine. And yet modesty should still be observed, and the selfie should not be an act of exaggerating or boasting of what one has, be it their physical attrtibutes, or wealth.
“When ‘selfie’ becomes a habit, where one wants to selfie anywhere and anytime, then this is an act that does not benefit one in anyway and thus strongly opposed in Islam,” he said.
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