The Hogwarts Express

Bringing the Nonmaterial to the Fore: Reading Harry Potter as a Muslim

Bilkis Bharucha

June 6, 2021 • 8 min read

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

“Indeed, God commands justice, excellence, and generosity toward relatives…” (Qur’an 16:90)

At the turn of the 21st century, Muslim hot takes on the Harry Potter series included censorship and online fatwas to preempt the corruption of young minds from what was then regarded as a suspiciously occult theme. Similar suspicions from Christian groups were quickly laid to rest as they discovered layers of Christian allegories woven throughout the series.  Although the series’ popularity is often attributed to its universal themes and the construction of a mythic hero, its most remarkable achievement is not just its ability to integrate universal themes — of love, heroism, and epic battles between good and evil — seamlessly with the hallmarks of modern life. In fact, the series primarily appeals to a global, modern, and multi-generational audience by incorporating key metaphysical concepts that respond to the existential angst of generations caged in a secular, materialist world.

Max Weber’s metaphor for modernity as an ‘iron cage’ aptly describes the constraining demand of secular discourse that, in its attempt to delineate a boundary between public and private life, requires us to dismiss or futilely rationalize any nonmaterial, immeasurable, or unprovable aspect of our lives.1 As a result, questions about deeper meaning have festered for several generations; just as philosophers of yore dedicated lifetimes to metaphysical inquiry, young minds today google: Do good and evil really exist? What is the meaning of life? How can free will and fate coexist? How do we understand death? In the Harry Potter series, responses to life’s ‘big questions’ are contextualized by a tangible and fantastical version of modern life that is embedded within a classic coming-of-age narrative, ultimately attracting a diverse modern audience.

Reality, Good, and Evil

An exploration of life’s big questions begins early in the series with an agent of evil, Professor Quirrell, explaining how his ideas on morality evolved: “A foolish young man I was… full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.”2 The prioritization of power dialectics in contemporary sociological theories similarly exchanges the attributes of ‘good/evil’ for the ‘oppressed/oppressor.’ Although deconstructing power dynamics can be a useful tool for exposing systemic injustices, Quirrell’s statement captures how a lack of objective norms leads to the materialist position in which you are either oppressed, or an oppressor. 

The erasure of a metaphysically grounded morality from the conception of justice provides justification for seeking/challenging power at any cost (in which case, both Grindelwald’s ‘for the greater good’ and Voldemort’s ‘magic equals might’ platforms become alarmingly reasonable). Remarkably, for Muslims, the worst injustice is to attribute one’s existence to anything other than a unified Creator because without an orientation of tawhid, no conception of justice, utilitarian or otherwise, is fully workable.

As Muslims, not only do we acknowledge that the concepts of good and evil are imbued with meaning from a higher source, but we simultaneously recognize human limits into understanding the unseen world. Ultimately, whether you pursue power, cooperate with it, or challenge it, you are evaluated by an objective moral code with large margins of error for intention and unseen elements (at the personal level); thus, power is relegated to its place.3 

The role of intention in actively shaping reality is also addressed in the series. For example, the Room of Requirement materializes only when presented with a particular intention or type of need; similarly, many advanced spells require strength of will and determination. For Muslims, intentions are paramount because we see actions are mere extensions of our inner resolve combined with inspiration from the Creator. Although naïve empiricism may dismiss the unseen or unobservable phenomenon as having no bearing on the ‘real world,’ as Muslims, our belief in the unseen should enable us to introspect, and interpret invisible, nonmaterial developments as being fully intertwined with, and shaping our reality.

Fate, Life, and Death

For centuries, humanity has struggled to understand the relationship between free will and fate. Although orientalist literature has often characterized Muslims as absolute fatalists due to our uncompromising belief that all is ordained by the Creator, Muslims have also puzzled over whether or not free will or, indeed, our duaa (prayers) can affect qadr (destiny). The question of free will emerges in the series when Harry reacts with anger and resentment toward a prophecy about his life. Eventually realizing the futility of raging at fate, he instead embraces it, noting the key difference between “…being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but … there was all the difference in the world.”4 Harry’s reflection challenges us to consider how we can live actively with full knowledge that our fate is already written. As Muslims, our belief in destiny and gratitude for existence neither paralyzes us nor creates a sense of entitlement; rather, our religious values — should we choose to act upon them —can empower and guide us to a better destiny.

Harry’s reflection echoes that of E.F. Schumacher, a German-Christian philosopher of the 20th century, who writes: “The difference between directed and captured attention is the same as the difference between doing things and letting things take their course, or between living and “being lived.”5  This distinction reminds us that a person only exercises their free will by acting upon their beliefs or values. Furthermore, action can be limiting or liberating depending on whether it is motivated by conscious, rational thought, or whether it is thoughtless and/or inspired by unexamined passion. Unlike a person who is dragged around only by obligations and alarm clocks, ensnared by social expectations and other compulsions of the material world, the truly free person prioritizes their life based on their values or purpose in life and is, therefore, frequently positioned in challenging situations in which they must withhold or act despite themselves. As Harry reminds us, our spirit, as we face these challenges, must not be one of an unwilling or resentful surrender to destiny but a conscious embrace of it.

In addition to exploring free will and fate, Rowling confronts the issue of death in a remarkably tangible and personal manner. In the Old World city of Edinburgh, centuries of human history — life, and death — are so integrated that a short walk around town takes you past stately churches and graveyards scattered with tombstones that inspired several character names. In contrast, cemeteries in modern New World cities are cordoned off in remote locations, distant in form and in mind, affirming our discomfort with death. For Muslims, visiting the dead is an important tradition that connects us to our personal or collective histories; the practice is wryly described by one author as a routine akin to “changing oil in your car: it ensures the smooth running of history.”6

Death is made tangible through Harry’s resurrection scene, and with Harry learning to engage with the cloaked figure of Death throughout the final books. Dumbledore, as always, imparts great wisdom: Death, to the well-organized mind, is but the next great adventure [or, perhaps, a less irreverent journey].”7 These positive representations of life and death contrast with the evil character of literal Death Eaters, who are consumed by a fear of death and obsessed with longevity and immortality. The Death Eaters’ essential evil spawns other social evils, including racism, apartheid, genocide, and eugenics. 

Family, Sacrifice, and Tolerance

The range of family relationships and friendships across races and breeds presented in the series highlights an inner reality that eludes Harry (and perhaps many readers) for much of his youth: the miraculous, irrational human capacity for love. From a semi-permanent falling out between two strongly-minded individuals (Percy and Mr. Weasley)  that eventually meets with forgiveness, to Mrs. Weasley caring for the orphan Harry like her own sons, we enter a world in which relationships deepen as a result of shared risks, and in which family truly matters. Despite occasionally fatal conflict between family members (e.g. Bella and Sirius), family relationships contain a sacredness that is frequently recognized through traditions and spells that bind families together—perhaps most obviously through the illogical yet powerful requirement that Harry must return to stay at his aunt and uncle’s home each year for protection, despite their mutual dislike and insecurities. While it may be easier to walk away from difficult personalities, we are reminded to maintain relationships.

Rowling uses family relationships to make a powerful statement against the allure of utilitarianism, or working for ‘the greater good’ at any cost. In their youth, the high-minded Dumbledore and his friend Grindelwald concoct a utopian plan to create a new world order, in which a powerful magical community rightfully rules over Muggles. During a fascinating argument about the morality of such a plan, reality painfully crashes down on Dumbledore through his role in his little sister’s accidental death. In another example, Barty Crouch, Sr., an ambitious politician, takes a ruthless approach in upholding the law and eradicating evil; yet, his apathy and neglect toward his son (and toward those under his care) generate a vicious rebelliousness in his son, ultimately undermining his life’s work. These stories illustrate that the ‘greater good’ is a dangerous trap, often used to justify intolerance and neglect of personal and family responsibilities. Ultimately, societal justice cannot be upheld without a simultaneous generosity in spending or sacrificing -your time, pride, money, or life- for your family and community.

The series also confronts the problem of identity, where people often fail to engage honestly with themselves and with others without labels: “The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on,”8 points out Sirius. This lesson is an important one for Muslims. We often associate faith-based labels with categorizing people as good or bad, perhaps in our enthusiasm to acknowledge that any action without a clear purpose is futile. However, these labels or judgments may obscure our ability to perceive the spiritual journey of each individual and the capacity for good or evil found within each of us. While an attitude of unbridled entitlement to life that rejects a Creator and is undirected in its gratefulness is inherently harmful and unjust, we often fail to realize the complexity of faith found even within born Muslims, as well as the entitlement and prejudice created by a worldview in which only your group is redeemable. The realization that religion may be inherited while faith is not is perhaps difficult for many Muslims who prefer cleaner labels.

Adequacy and Vigilance

A person who is fully immersed in real-world survival and is occupied with the daily grind of work and social and family engagements may find the metaphysical interpretations drawn from a fictitious book series to be irrelevant or nonexistent. However, others may discover a somber and affirming narrative of how humanity can succeed: Harry Potter reminds us that the only life worth living is one dedicated to a worthy purpose beyond yourself and your material needs. While many of us struggle to find that worthy cause, eventually we realize it is the same as what we find heroes fighting for in the pages of our books: justice, goodness, and love.

For a modern audience that has been forced to swallow the reductive pill of secular rationalism, this series allows us to envision how much more expansive and meaningful life can be when the nonmaterial and invisible comes to the fore. We experience it by cultivating bonds of friendship and actively struggling with the everlasting snarl of family ties, by cultivating an openness to the unseen realm (beyond the vocal declaration of faith), by recognizing that unseen events shape our material lives, by struggling with the good and evil forces within ourselves, and by working toward establishing justice. Therefore, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!


1. Smith, Steven. The Disenchantment of Secular Discourse. Harvard University Press, 2010. (p. 23)

2. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. (p. 211)

3. For example, spectral evidence is inadmissible in the application of Islamic law, but can play an important role in the personal and anecdotal realm.

4. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. London: Bloomsbury, 2010.

5. Schumacher, E. F. A guide for the perplexed. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. (p. 67)

6. Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. Travels with a Tangerine. London: John Murray, 2001. (p. 18)

7. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999.

8. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Vancouver: Raincoast Books, 2003.

Post featured image

Bilkis Bharucha

Bilkis is an aspiring writer who is developing her voice through personal and reflective writing. She works in environmental education and has a background in agricultural development. In her spare time, she studies Islam, reads classical texts, and re-reads the Harry Potter series every couple of years.