Popular Malaysian Preacher Says Sleeping With Stuffed Toys Is 'Haram' For Adults
"Ini haram, itu haram, semua pun haram," remarked one netizen.
In a recent religious talk, celebrity preacher Ustaz Azhar Idrus sparked a debate by declaring that sleeping with stuffed toys, such as teddy bears and dolls, is considered 'haram' or forbidden for adults
He also cautioned parents and guardians, advising them not to allow their children to sleep with toys like teddy bears, reported Kosmo yesterday, 8 January.
"Nowadays, many young girls sleep with dolls, which is forbidden. These toys are meant only for children to play with. Why do our daughters, aged 18 to 20, sleep with teddy bears or dolls?
"They put bears or Adu Du on their heads because they see it being done by celebrities. Fathers, check your daughters' rooms; if there are such toys, it is considered forbidden," he reportedly said.
Adu Du is a Malaysian movie character from the BoBoiBoy franchise.
Image via Pinterest
Elaborating further, Azhar mentioned that houses with such toys would not be visited by the angels of mercy
He also said that these toys were only permissible for children who had not reached the age of maturity.
"Another thing is hanging toys in cars, like hanging two monkeys in front of a spider or a cow. All of this (hanging toys in cars) is not allowed.
"What is allowed is placing them on the seat so that children can play without disturbing us while driving," explained the preacher, who has millions of followers on his verified TikTok and Instagram accounts.
The preacher's remarks have ignited discussions among the public
On Malaysian subreddit group, r/Malaysia, many chided the preacher for his comments.
"Ini haram, itu haram, semua pun haram. So scared to go [to] hell, end up making current life hell," said one Redditor, while another replied, "Haram haram here haram haram there, here haram there haram everywhere haram, Old MacDonald had a farm ee aiii eee aii yoooo!"
One remarked sarcastically, that after living through hell, you won't need to go to hell.
However, others defended Azhar, saying if preachers say something is haram, then it is haram, as they have spent their lives studying Islam.