Working in the area of film production, including videos of weddings, and the ruling on renting out videos

Making pictures with videos is permissible in some cases and haraam in others. If pictures are made of natural things like mountains, trees and rivers, then it is permissible, but if pictures are made of women, mixed wedding parties and songs then it is haraam. As that is the case, it is haraam for the one who makes the video, the one who produces the film and prepares it for distribution, the one who sells it and the one who buys it. 

In the wedding party the wife is wearing her full adornment, and so are the women who attend the party. It is haraam for non-mahram men to look at them, whether they look at them directly or via pictures or films. The mixing which happens in some parties is also haraam, and is an evil which must be denounced, so how can it be permissible to make pictures of that so that those who missed the party can see them? The same may be said of other haraam things which happen in wedding parties, such as dancing and music. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:  

Among the evil things which people have introduced in modern times is setting up a platform for the groom among the women, where her husband sits with her among the women who are unveiled and fully adorned. Other men from among his relatives and hers may also be present. Those who have sound common sense and a sense of protective jealousy towards their religion will clearly see the great evil that is involved in that and the evil consequences of allowing non-mahram men to see women in their adornment. It is essential to put a stop to such things so as to block the means that lead to fitnah, and to protect women’s gatherings from things that go against sharee’ah. 

Al-Rasaa’il wa’l-Ajwabah al-Nisaa’iyyah, p. 44 

In the answer to question no. 10791 it says: 

Among the evils that take place in celebrations is taking pictures of women. This is haraam whether the pictures are taken by video or with a camera, but using video is worse and more sinful. 

In the answer to question no. 32752 it says: 

If audio-video tapes are free of anything haraam, then it is permissible to listen to them, watch them, sell them and buy them. What is meant by haraam is if they include any obscenity, immorality, music, pictures of unveiled women, or if they include kufr and innovation, except in cases where the intention is to refute such notions and the speaker is qualified to do that. 

You may refer to these two answers for the evidence and scholarly fatwas. 

Thus the answer to your question is clear, which is that it is haraam to help in producing such DVDs that contain haraam material, such as what happens in those wedding parties. But this work is permissible if it has to do with the work of companies that do not deal in such evil things and there is nothing wrong in their advertisements such as women wearing adornment, music and singing, and the goods that they sell or make are not haraam. 

The same may be said concerning the ruling on renting out video tapes. The matter is discussed in detail in the answer to question no. 32752.  

We ask Allaah to make it easy for you to find halaal work from which you may eat halaal food and not incur the wrath of your Lord. We advise you to fear Allaah and be patient, for the consequences for those who are pious and patient will be good. Give up this work and seek Allaah’s help in looking for work that is halaal. 

And Allaah knows best.