About the Game

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an open-world action-adventure franchise created by David Jones and Mike Dailly, developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. Gameplay centres on completing criminal missions — driving, shooting, heists, and assassinations — set in fictional cities modelled on New York, Miami, and San Francisco across different eras.

Since 1997 it has shipped nearly 470 million units — a design icon celebrated by the BBC and The Telegraph, and equally notorious for its violent content.

Core Ethical Violations in Gameplay

GTA's design mechanics normalise anti-social behaviour at a core level:

Glorification of Criminality: Progression requires assassinations, heists, and drug deals.
Trivialisation of Violence: Innocent pedestrians can be killed for amusement with no meaningful consequence.
Hyper-Realistic Cruelty: GTA V features unskippable, interactive torture scenes — waterboarding and electrocution.
Misogyny and Objectification: Women are largely portrayed as commodities or background caricatures.

The Counter-Argument: Satire and Catharsis

Defenders argue its radio stations and dialogue function as dark parody of consumerism and corruption. Characters like Niko Bellic and Franklin Clinton are flawed individuals trapped by circumstance — their stories do highlight criminal consequences. Some researchers argue the sandbox also offers a low-stakes outlet for stress.

Even so, the developers draw deliberate lines: children are absent entirely, and sexual assault is never depicted — proof that certain taboos remain uncrossable even here.

Against Islam

1. The Prohibition of Mockery (Al-An'am 6:68)

GTA is built on vulgarity and mockery of religion, institutions, and people. The Quran is direct: step away from such environments.

"And when you see those who engage in [offensive] discourse concerning Our verses, then turn away from them until they enter into another conversation..." — Surah Al-An'am, 6:68 · Read verse

2. Guarding Against Vain Deeds — Laghw (Al-Mu'minun 23:3)

Islam calls believers to purposeful living. Hours lost to activities with no spiritual, intellectual, or worldly benefit fall under Laghw — vanity. The Quran defines the successful believer by what they turn away from:

"...And they who turn away from ill speech [and vain tasks]." — Surah Al-Mu'minun, 23:3 · Read verse

3. Guarding the Gaze (An-Nur 24:30)

GTA's strip clubs and explicit content make the Quranic command to lower the gaze nearly impossible to honour in practice.

"Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do." — Surah An-Nur, 24:30 · Read verse

4. Glamorising Major Sins — Kabā'ir (Al-An'am 6:151 & An-Nisa 4:29)

The entire loop of GTA — theft, murder, intoxicants, gambling — maps onto what Islam categorises as Kabā'ir, the gravest sins. Scholars warn that repeated virtual practice erodes a person's instinctive aversion to sin.

"...And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right..." — Surah Al-An'am, 6:151

"O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly..." — Surah An-Nisa, 4:29 · Read verse

Sangam Literature vs. GTA

1. Mass Civilian Casualties vs. Strict War Ethics — Purananuru 9

In GTA, running over pedestrians earns points. In Sangam warfare, harming civilians was an unthinkable moral collapse. In Purananuru 9, the poet Nettimaiyar records a righteous king warning civilians before a single arrow is released:

"ஆவும், ஆன் இயற் பார்ப்பன மாக்களும், பெண்டிரும், பிணியுடையீரும்...எம் அம்பு கடி விடுதும், நும் அரண் சேர்மின்"

"Cows, gentle people with natures like cattle, women, the sick... seek places of protection! For our arrows are about to rain upon you!"

— புறநானூறு 9 · Watch

2. Ill-Gotten Wealth vs. Righteous Gain — Thirukkural 754

GTA's entire motivation is accumulating millions through heists and trafficking. The Thirukkural answers this directly:

"அறன்ஈனும் இன்பமும் ஈனும் திறன்அறிந்துதீதின்றி வந்த பொருள்."

"Wealth that is generated through capably righteous means, without causing any harm, will yield both virtue and joy."

— Kural 754 · Watch

3. Absolute Egoism vs. Living for Others — Purananuru 182

GTA rewards stepping over everyone to survive. Purananuru 182 by the Pandyan King Kadalul Maaintha Ilamperuvazhuthi declares the opposite:

"புகழ் எனின், உயிரும் கொடுக்குவர்; பழி எனின்,உலகும் உடன் பெறினும், கொள்ளலர்; அயர்விலர்;... தமக்கு என முயலா நோன் தாள்,பிறர்க்கு என முயலுநர் உண்மையானே."

"If it brings honour, they would give their very lives. But if it brings blame, they would refuse it, even if the entire world were given to them as a prize. They do not exert their powerful energies for themselves, but only for others. It is because such men exist that this world lives on."

— புறநானூறு 182 · Watch

GTA characters gladly take infamy for a small cash payout. Sangam literature holds that a true human would refuse the entire world rather than commit a blameworthy act.

4. Broken Justice vs. The Moral Fall of a Ruler — Silappatikaram

In GTA, a murder charge vanishes if you hide behind a building for two minutes. The Sangam epic Silappatikaram shows what justice actually weighs. When the Pandyan King realises he executed Kovalan without a fair trial, he cries:

"யானோ அரசன்? யானே கள்வன்!மன்பதை காக்கும் தென்புலம் காவல்என்முதற் பிழைத்தது; கெடுகவென் ஆயுள்!"

"Am I a king? No, I am the thief! The righteous protection of the people has failed for the first time through me. Let my life end now!"

The king collapses and dies from the spiritual weight of his unjust act. In the Sangam consciousness, even an accidental failure of justice breaks the cosmic order.

💻 Read the Quran — Not Just the Game

Every hour spent in GTA's world is an hour rehearsing what the Quran asks you to step away from. Spend even a fraction of that time with the Book instead.

Al-Quran Multilingual — free, ad-free, 90+ languages:

📱 Android: Download on Play Store
🍎 iOS/macOS: Download on App Store
🖥️ Desktop: Download on GitHub

Grand Theft Auto — A Game Against Ethics