How should parents respond when friends gift their child a game with explicit or un-Islamic themes? 

Parenting Perspective 

Navigating a gift that clashes with your family’s values requires a delicate balance of politeness, clarity, and conviction. The goal is to uphold your principles without causing unnecessary offence. 

Acknowledge the Kind Intention First 

Before addressing the gift itself, teach your child to appreciate the gesture. You can say, ‘How lovely of your friend to think of you and get you a gift’. This separates the act of kindness from the item, modelling good manners and preserving the friendship. 

Explain Your Values Clearly and Privately 

In a private conversation with your child, explain why the game is not suitable for your home. Be specific but gentle: ‘This game has themes that are not in line with our Islamic values, so it is not something we can keep’. This is a crucial moment to teach them that your family’s principles are non-negotiable, even when it is awkward. 

Offer a Positive ‘Swap’ Instead of a Loss 

To prevent the child from feeling punished or deprived, immediately offer a positive alternative. You could say, ‘Since we cannot keep that one, let us go and choose a new game together that is both fun and wholesome’. This frames the decision not as a loss, but as an opportunity to choose something better. 

Prepare Them for Future Situations 

Use this as a teaching opportunity to build their own discernment. Encourage them by saying, ‘If you ever receive something or see something that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable in your heart, always know you can come and talk to me about it’. This empowers them to trust their own moral compass in the future. 

By handling the situation with this blend of grace and firmness, you teach your child how to navigate social pressures with confidence and integrity. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam guides us to be grateful for kindness but firm in rejecting anything that promotes sin, and to always choose the path that brings clarity and peace to the heart. 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Maaidah (5), Verse 2: 

‘…And participate with each other to promote righteousness and piety, and do not collaborate in the committal of any sin or moral transgression…’ 

This verse provides a clear principle. While a gift is an act of kindness, accepting and playing a game with haram content would be a form of assisting in, or at least normalising, sin. Politely declining to keep such a gift is an act of refusing to cooperate in what is displeasing to Allah. 

When faced with uncertainty, the path of piety is to choose what is clear. 

It is recorded in Sunan Nisai, 5711, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.‘ 

This is a perfect guide for this situation. If a game’s themes are spiritually “doubtful” or problematic, the path to a clear conscience and peace of mind is to leave it for something that is clearly wholesome and permissible. It teaches a child to prioritise their spiritual safety above a questionable gift.