noun 

1. prose literature, especially novels, describing imaginary events and people. 
2. invention as opposed to fact. 
3. a false belief or statement, accepted as true for the sake of convenience.

If one looks carefully at the above definitions, it's quite obvious that when fiction is used in a literary sense, the first definition most certainly applies, and thus Islamic fiction would be defined as: Islamic prose literature, describing imaginary events and people, right?

Why then do some people insist that literary fiction - whether Islamically orientated or not - is more suited to fit into the third definition: a false belief or statement. Of course, it is known that fiction is not fact - no writer presents it as such - yet many place writers of fiction into the same boat as those who tell lies!

And funnily enough, a lie is: 1) an intentionally false statement. 2) a situation involving deception or founded on a mistaken impression - none of which a fiction writer does!

It's mind-boggling, to say the least. One can go round in circles for years, trying to work out why exactly people are afraid of fiction. Is it because the stories are not true? If so, that doesn't equate them to be useless, does it? From the many Islamic fiction books that I have read, they are extremely beneficial, alhamdulillaah. But yet... they are a pack of lies!

But what is defined as preaching? Is it where you’re reading more facts than an actual plot (is the story even fiction anymore?), or is it where characters are explicitly stating what is and isn’t allowed?

I’ve read Islamic fiction novels which I found to be informative and taught me a thing or two, however the Amazon reviews were screaming about them being preachy and looking down at other religions. Novels such as ‘The Minaret‘ by Lela Aboulela, which I absolutely loved reading, were far from being preachy in my eyes, still there remained people who felt there was a little too much Islam in it!

How far can the lines of disseminating information be stretched before the preachiness flags are waved, and is it at all subjective?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Muslims tend to think that Islamic fiction is of no benefit - they say it doesn’t increase a reader in anything good. We have found this to be the total opposite, so we’ve come up with a short list of 4 reasons why Islamic fiction is needed.

Here goes…

•   → Stories that are not preachy, do not have a predictable storyline, and do not condone acts that are contradictory to Islam are more beneficial for teens and the youth as leisurely reading compared to books that are the opposite. Don’t you agree?

•   → Islamic fiction is an illustrative form of art; it differs from simple fact, yet places fact into real-life scenarios - a mind-blowing imaginative way of showing how Islam is applicable to every area of our lives. It also has the potential of being an extremely powerful da’wah tool.

•   → Islamic fiction is a window to get a glimpse into the life of others - those who are Muslims in faith, yet different in character, and drives home how we can best avoid mistakes characters make. It’s not about telling you what to do with your life - no one wants to read fiction like that - but about giving you examples of mistakes so you don’t fall into them.

•   → Muslims are humans too, infallible yet striving, and Islamic fiction does not set out to make us more perfect than we are. Islamic fiction is about portraying real people, with all their goodness and infallibility too. Some people feel uncomfortable about Muslims’ bad side being shown, but it’s important to remember that Islam is the one that’s perfect, not necessarily its followers.

Now we’ve come up with our list of 4 reasons why Islamic fiction is important, can you think of any?