Can girls play with dolls?

 

Can girls play with dolls?

 

It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Aisha Siddiqua (May Allah be well pleased with her), she says:  In the house of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), I would play with dolls.  There would some friends with me as well.  When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would come into the house, my friends would leave the house (out of modesty).  He would send them to me and they would play with me.  This is related by both Bukhari and Muslim.

 

It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Aisha Siddiqua (May Allah be well pleased with her), she says:  When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) returned from the Battle of Tabook or the Battle of Hunain, He saw that in a corner of Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her), there was a shelf which was covered by a curtain (it had dolls and other toys).  A gust of wind revealed the dolls and toys of Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her).

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) asked her:  ‘Aisha!  What is this?  She said:  These are my dolls.  The Prophet saw a horse among the dolls.  It had wings of cloth on it.  He asked:  What is that that I am seeing among the dolls.  Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her) answered:  It is a horse.  The Prophet asked:  Do horses also have wings?  She replied:  Did you not hear that Hadhrat Sulaiman (May peace be upon him) had horses which had wings.  On this, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) laughed, so much so that I saw His blessed teeth.  This is related by Abu Dawood.

 

In this Hadith, (girls’) playing with dolls is mentioned.  Dolls are cloth idols, which girls make, marry them, etc.  This is how kids play.  They are not complete idols, so the rulings of visual representations don’t apply to them.  Thus, girls’ playing with dolls has been adjudged permissible.

 

Apart from this, Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her) was too young.  It were the flawless manners of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) that He would be affectionate with children and wouldn’t stop them from playing, etc.  This is the reason that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not stop the playmates of Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her) from coming and playing with her.  Imam Nawawi (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) has said that girls learn many things by playing with dolls.

 

An opinion about this is that this is that maybe this was before visual representations were forbidden.  When they were forbidden, this also was forbidden.  (Haashiya Mishkaat)

 

To be continued….

[Excerpted from Noor Ul Masabeeh Vol. 8]