Using angel, devil emojis is forbidden in Islam, says Muslim preacher

Akkari says the angel with a halo is a Christian interpretation of the entity and therefore 'haram'

News Desk | May 08, 2016

Wajdi Akkari says it was ‘haram’ or forbidden for Muslims to use the ‘angel’, ‘devil’ and ‘prayer’ symbols. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

An Islamic preacher has warned Muslims not to use certain emojis on messaging apps as they are forbidden in Islam.

Wajdi Akkari, who is based in Saudi Arabia, said it was ‘haram’ or forbidden for Muslims to use the ‘angel’, ‘devil’ and ‘prayer’ symbols.

“You have to be selective in these emojis. Not everything is halal [permissible] to share,” Akkari said in a video.

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The angel with a halo was a Christian interpretation of the entity and therefore 'haram', Akkari says in the video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“When someone wants to share their innocence or say, ‘I'm a good boy’, they send that yellow smiley face with a halo. No! Do we believe that angels in Islam are like the angels in Christianity... Absolutely not,” he said.

Akkari, who has a Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies and now lectures in Saudi Arabia, claimed using 'devilish' emojis is also prohibited in Islam. “We don't know what Satan and the devil look like. Therefore, we are not allowed to draw him. These emojis that are devilish in their nature are not allowed, even if you are trying to say that ‘you are being a bad boy or a bad girl’.”

Wajdi Akkari says it was ‘haram’ or forbidden for Muslims to use the ‘angel’, ‘devil’ and ‘prayer’ symbols. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

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The preacher also urges people not use the prayer symbol. “This one - many people send it as a prayer and this is, again, used among Buddhists and Christians. In Islam, how do you make du'a [prayer]? You have your hands facing heaven like this... Maybe they do it in karate or something too.”

Wajdi Akkari says it was ‘haram’ or forbidden for Muslims to use the ‘angel’, ‘devil’ and ‘prayer’ symbols. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB

Further, he warned against the use of ‘devil hands’ hand gesture used by revellers at heavy metal concerts. “Do you know this one? This is also a symbol of the devil. These are the two horns of Satan. This is one of the hand symbols on WhatsApp. People don't know what it means. They just send it. You cannot send this one.”

According to Daily Mail, Akkari said in 2011 that saying 'Merry Christmas' was worse than 'killing someone', 'fornication' and 'drinking alcohol'.

“It is the concept that God was born on December 25. That's as polytheistic and heretic as you can get,” he is claimed to have said in a YouTube video.

The Lebanon-born preacher moved to the United States and joined a rap group when he was 18. He later relocated his wife and children to Saudi Arabia where he teaches Arabic, delivers Friday prayers and holds lectures in some hospitals.

Watch the video here:

This article originally appeared on Daily Mail