An Islamic preacher has warned fellow Muslims not to use certain emojis on messaging apps because they are blasphemous.

Saudi-based preacher Wajdi Akkari, 36, said it was 'haram' - or forbidden - for Muslims to use the angel, 'anything devilish' or even the prayer symbol.

In a video seen by MailOnline, a very animated Akkari told his audience: 'You have to be selective in these emojis. Not everything is halal [permissible] to share.'

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Islamic preacher Wajdi Akkari (pictured), 36, said it was forbidden for Muslims to use a number of emojis including the angel with a halo

The Lebanon-born preacher also said it was not Islamic to use any 'devilish' symbols on WhatsApp because Muslims 'don't know what Satan and the devil look like'

The Lebanon-born preacher moved to the United States and joined a rap group when he was 18.

He later relocated his wife and children to Saudi Arabia where he teaches Arabic, delivers Friday prayers and holds lectures in some hospitals.

When someone wants to share their innocence or say, 'I'm a good boy', they send that yellow smiley face with a halo. No! Wajdi Akkari

In a video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), he said the angel with a halo was a Christian interpretation of the entity and therefore 'haram'.

He added: 'When someone wants to share their innocence or say, "I'm a good boy", they send that yellow smiley face with a halo. No!

'Do we believe that angels in Islam are like the angels in Christianity... Absolutely not.'

Akkari, who has a Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies and now lectures in Saudi Arabia, claimed using any 'devilish' emojis are also out of bounds for Muslims.

He said: 'We don't know what Satan and the devil look like. Therefore, we are not allowed to draw him.

'These emojis that are devilish in their nature are not allowed, even if you are trying to say that "you are being a bad boy or a bad girl".'

Pressing both palms together, Akkari said it was also forbidden to use the prayer emoji because it denotes a Christian or Buddhist practice

Akkari said the angel symbol (right) was a Christian interpretation of God's messengers and Muslims should not use anything 'devilish' because no one knows what Satan looks like

Akkari also took issue with the 'prayer' emoji. Pressing both palms together, he said: 'This one - many people send it as a prayer and this is, again, used among Buddhists and Christians.

'In Islam, how do you make du'a [prayer]? You have your hands facing heaven like this... Maybe they do it in karate or something too.'

People send it as a prayer and this is, again, used among Buddhists and Christians... Maybe they do it in karate or something too Wajdi Akkari

He then invited his audience to fact check what he was telling them on Google, saying it was 'halal' to do.

Finally, he introduced the 'devil hands' hand gesture once used by revellers at heavy metal concerts.

He demonstrated the gesture and asked: 'Do you know this one? This is also a symbol of the devil. These are the two horns of Satan.

'This is one of the hand symbols on WhatsApp. People don't know what it means. They just send it. You cannot send this one.'

In 2011, Akkari extraordinarily claimed that saying 'Merry Christmas' was worse than 'killing someone', 'fornication' and 'drinking alcohol'.

He said in the YouTube video: 'It is the concept that God was born on the 25th of December. That's as polytheistic and heretic as you can get.'

The preacher, who was once an underground rapper, also demonstrated a symbol used by rockers at heavy metal concerts and said it actually illustrated the devil

Akkari went on to say the 'devil hands' symbol (left) was forbidden and so was the prayer symbol (right), because it was again practiced by Christians and Buddhists, not Muslisms

On his website, 'One way to paradise', Akkari credits Islam for saving him from a life of self destruction and 'humiliation'.

As a young man in America, he joined an rap group called 'Scums of the Earth' with whom he 'got into all kinds of Hollywood-like situations'.