Publishing videos as part of game reviews

2-1-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum. I want to ask: I am a youtuber and I publish videos of reviews of mobiles, games, pc's, and so on. I give some benefits and some demerits. For games, I advise not to play them at the end of the video, and I do not publish videos about games in which there is nudity and such things. So my question is:
1. Can I publish videos like this?
2. Are the earnings from this halal for me?
3. If it is not halal, can I use the earnings in things like games and waste them?
Please, if you give a reference, then please say 'yes' or 'no' at the end of the given answer.

---

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

If the contents of these reviews that you publish are legitimate and serve an interest by clarifying what is beneficial so that people would benefit of it and what is harmful so that they may avoid it, then there is no harm in publishing such reviews and earning money through them.

However, if they contain something that violates the Sharia, then it is impermissible to publish them. The ruling on the earnings obtained through them differs according to the situation. If the prohibited benefit is not intended in itself, such as music, it does not affect the lawfulness of the earnings. If the prohibited benefit is intended in itself, then you should estimate its value in the price of the games and give out this value for the benefit of the Muslims or pay it to the poor and the needy. Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “When Allah makes something unlawful to eat, He also makes its price unlawful.” [Ahmad]

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 87149.

Allah knows best.