In the name of Allah most
gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa
rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu
The prohibition of image-making (tasweer) of everything which has a soul
- without consideration as to whether it iis human or otherwise.
Photographs which are essential are permitted - such as
those required for identity documents, or for identifying or pursuing criminals
[e.g. "wanted" posters and the like - translator's note], or for
educational purposes which cannot be achieved otherwise. The principle in
sharee'ah is that we should not exaggerate about what is necessary.
The
basic principle concerning making pictures of any animate being, whether it is
a human or any animal, is that it is haraam, whether the pictures are
three-dimensional or are drawn on paper, cloth or walls, etc., or are
photographs (taken with a camera), because of the reports in the saheeh
ahaadeeth which state that that is not allowed, and threaten the one who does
that with a painful torment, and because they may lead to shirk in the form of
standing respectfully before them, humbling oneself before them, drawing close
to them and venerating them in a manner that is only befitting for Allaah. They
are also forbidden because this is a kind of trying to match the creation of
Allaah, and because of the temptation inherent in some of them, such as
pictures of actresses and women etc
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.110 Narrated byAisha
(the wife of the Prophet) I
bought a cushion having on it pictures (of animals). When Allah's Apostle saw
it, he stood at the door and did not enter. I noticed the sign of disapproval
on his face and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I repent to Allah and His
Apostle. What sin have I committed?' Allah's Apostle said. "What is this
cushion?" I said, "I have bought it for you so that you may sit on it
and recline on it." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these
pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to
them, 'Give life to what you have created (i.e., these pictures).' " The
Prophet added, "The Angels of (Mercy) do not enter a house in which there
are pictures (of animals)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
8.130 Narrated byAisha
The Prophet entered upon me
while there was a curtain having pictures (of animals) in the house. His face
got red with anger, and then he got hold of the curtain and tore it into
pieces. The Prophet said, "Such people as paint these pictures will
receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection ."
Al-Muwatta Hadith 54.8
Malik related to me from Nafi
from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, that she bought a cushion which had pictures on
it. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw
it, he stopped at the door and did not enter. She recognised disapproval on his
face and said, "Messenger of Allah, I turn in repentance to Allah and His
Messenger. What have I done wrong?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "What is the meaning of this
cushion?" She said, "I bought it for you to sit and recline on."
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those
who make such pictures will be punished on the Day of Rising. It will be said
to them, 'Bring to life what you have created'. Then he said, 'The angels do
not enter a house in which there are pictures.' "
Make Pictures Of Trees And Any
Other Unanimated Objects Is Permissible
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
3.428 Narrated bySaid bin Abu Al
Hasan
While I was with Ibn 'Abbas a
man came and said, "O father of 'Abbas! My sustenance is from my manual
profession and I make these pictures." Ibn 'Abbas said, "I will tell
you only what I heard from Allah's Apostle. I heard him saying, 'Whoever makes
a picture will be punished by Allah till he puts life in it, and he will never
be able to put life in it.' " Hearing this, that man heaved a sigh and his
face turned pale. Ibn 'Abbas said to him, "What a pity! If you insist on
making pictures I advise you to make pictures of trees and any other unanimated
objects."
*Note:Picture making
profession is haraam,Photographs are haraam
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
1.419 Narrated byAisha
Um Habiba and Um Salama
mentioned about a church they had seen in Ethiopia in which there were
pictures. They told the Prophet about it, on which he said, "If any
religious man dies amongst those people they would build a place of worship at
his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in
the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
4.570 Narrated byIbn Abbas
The Prophet entered the Ka'ba
and found in it the pictures of (Prophet) Abraham and Mary. On that he said'
"What is the matter with them ( i.e. Quraish)? They have already heard
that angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures; yet this is the
picture of Abraham. And why is he depicted as practicing divination by
arrows?"
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
4.571 Narrated byIbn Abbas
When the Prophet saw pictures
in the Ka'ba, he did not enter it till he ordered them to be erased. When he
saw (the pictures of Abraham and Ishmael carrying the arrows of divination, he
said, "May Allah curse them (i.e. the Quraish)! By Allah, neither Abraham
nor Ishmael practiced divination by arrows."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.842 Narrated byAnas
Aisha had a thick curtain
(having pictures on it) and she screened the side of her house with it. The
Prophet said to her, "Remove it from my sight, for its pictures are
still coming to my mind in my prayers."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
1.371 Narrated byAnas
'Aisha had a Qiram (a thin
marked woolen curtain) with which he had screened one side of her home. The
Prophet said, "Take away this Qiram of yours, as its pictures are still
displayed in front of me during my prayer (i.e. they divert my attention
from the prayer)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.838 Narrated byAisha
Allah's Apostle returned from a journey when I had placed a curtain of mine having pictures over (the door of) a chamber of mine. When Allah's Apostle saw it, he tore it and said, "The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to make the like of Allah's creations." So we turned it (i.e., the curtain) into one or two cushions.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
3.659 Narrated byAl Qasim
'Aisha said that she hung a
curtain decorated with pictures (of animals) on a cupboard. The Prophet tore
that curtain and she turned it into two cushions which remained in the house
for the Prophet to sit on.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.834 Narrated byMuslim
We were with Masruq at the
house of Yasar bin Numair. Masruq saw pictures on his terrace and said, "I
heard 'Abdullah saying that he heard the Prophet saying, "The people who
will receive the severest punishment from Allah will be the picture makers.'
"
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.833 Narrated byAbu Talha
The Prophet said, "Angels
do not enter a house in which there is a dog or there are pictures."
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 5276 Narrated byAbuHurayrah
Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) said: Angels do not enter the house in which there are portrayals
or pictures.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
7.259 Narrated byAbu Juhaifa
The Prophet cursed the lady
who practices tattooing and the one who gets herself tattooed, and one who eats
(takes) Riba' (usury) and the one who gives it. And he prohibited taking the
price of a dog, and the money earned by prostitution, and cursed the makers of
pictures.
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 5262 Narrated byAisha
Aisha had a cloth having
pictures upon it and it was hanging upon the shelf and Allah's Messenger (peace
be upon him) said: Take it (away) from me (from my sight), so I removed it and
made cushions from that.
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 4146 Narrated byAbuHurayrah
The Apostle of Allah (peace be
upon him) said: Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to me and said: I came to you
last night and was prevented from entering simply because there were images at
the door, for there was a decorated curtain with images on it in the house, and
there was a dog in the house. So order the head of the image which is in the
house to be cut off so that it resembles the form of a tree; order the curtain
to be cut up and made into two cushions spread out on which people may tread;
and order the dog to be turned out. The
Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) then did so. The dog belonged to al-Hasan
or al-Husayn and was under their couch. So he ordered it to be turned out.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
4.449 Narrated byBusr bin Said
That Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani
narrated to him something in the presence of Said bin 'Ubaidullah Al-Khaulani
who was brought up in the house of Maimuna the wife of the Prophet. Zaid
narrated to them that Abu Talha said that the Prophet said, "The Angels
(of Mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a picture." Busr said,
"Later on Zaid bin Khalid fell ill and we called on him. To our surprise
we saw a curtain decorated with pictures in his house. I said to Ubaidullah
Al-Khaulani, "Didn't he (i.e. Zaid) tell us about the (prohibition of)
pictures?" He said, "But he excepted the embroidery on garments.
Didn't you hear him?" I said, "No." He said, "Yes, he
did."
*Note:Here the intended
meaning (of this exception) is if the designs (ar-raqm) are in a cloth or
something similar, which is laid out on the floor and in a degraded position.
This is like the pillow which is in a degraded/lowly position [sat upon or
leaned on] as has been pointed out in the Hadeeth of 'Aa'isha (may Allah be
pleased with her) previously mentioned her cutting up the curtain and making
one or two pillows from it.[ Also, the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased
with him) and in it the saying of Jibreel (Gabriel) to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him):" So, order that the head of the
image /statue (timthaal) which is in the house be cut off, so that it may become
like the form of a tree; and order that the curtain be cut up and made into two
pillows laid out, on which people walk... The Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) then did so..." .] such as images in carpets and
pillows which have semi pictures just like ummul mumineen ‘s made cushions
which had pictures which which divided parts of animated creatures.
So, whenever it is possible to show agreement or
reconciliation between various ahaadith, in a manner which is suitable, without
stretching their meanings, it becomes obligatory to do so.
Al-Muwatta Hadith
Hadith 54.7
Pictures and Images
Malik related to me from Abu'n-Nasr
that Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud went to visit Abu Talha
al-Ansari when he was ill. He said, "I found Sahl ibn Hunayf with him. Abu
Talha summoned a man and removed a rug which was under him. Sahl ibn Hunayf
said to him, 'Why did you remove it?' He said, 'Because there were pictures on
it, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said
what you know about them.' Sahl replied, 'Didn't the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "except for markings on a
garment?"' (A rug was considered a garment). He said, 'Yes, but it is more
pleasing to myself.' "
Do Not Leave A Picture Without
Obliterating It.
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 2115 Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib
AbulHayyaj al-Asadi told that
Ali ibn AbuTalib said to him: Should I not send you on the same mission as
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) sent me? Do not leave an image without
obliterating it, or a high grave without levelling it. This hadith has been
reported by Habib with the same chain of transmitters and he said: (do not
leave) a picture without obliterating it.
So
keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can…" [al-Taghaabun
64:16
1-
Those that are hung up to be
venerated and respected, as in the case of pictures of kings, presidents,
ministers, scholars etc. This is haraam because it involves exaggeration about
a created being.
2-
Those that are hung up for the sake of memory,
such as hanging up pictures of one's friends.
3- Those
that are hung up for the purpose of adornment
4- Those
that are treated with disrespect, such as images in carpets and pillows which
have semi pictures just like ummul mumineen ‘s made cushions which had pictures
which which divided parts of animated creatures.[just a face is also not
permitted unless and until in dire need] Hadeeth of
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) indicates that an image is
permissible to be kept in the house if and when its head is cut off. This is so
because it would then be in the form or shape of a tree.head was cut off ,while
the body appeared like tree.it was not done vice verse and head is not allowed.
5-
Those
that have unfortunately become widespread and are difficult to avoid, such as
images engraved on coins etc which have become a problem for the Muslim ummah.
It seems to me that there is no sin on the one who acquires these without
wanting to acquire images.
6.
There is nothing wrong if pictures taken at the scene of the accident include
people who are not involved. But if the pictures are taken by someone using his
own camera, in order to keep the pictures for himself, then this is not
allowed. It is haraam not in and of itself, but because of the purpose, which
is to keep the pictures for himself with no need to do so. The reason why you
are taking the pictures, on the other hand, is for a legitimate and necessary
purpose.
7.Pictures
of patients to study diseases taken -If this is done with the knowledge of the patient and serves the
interests of all, there is nothing wrong with it. But if it is done without the
patent’s consent, then it is not allowed.
If
the image is originally incomplete, such as a head-and-shoulders picture, etc.,
and there is removed from the picture that without which is could not live,
then it may be understood from the comments of many of the fuqahaa’ that this
is permissible, especially if there is a need for such partial pictures.
Whatever the case, one has to fear Allaah as much as one can, and avoid that
which Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden.
8) Drawings of inanimate objects and plants are halal except if
they are used for shirk. That is, if you draw a picture of a tree with the
intention of worshiping the picture of the tree, then that is haram. But
otherwise it is halal.
9) Drawings of animate objects such as animals and humans are in
general considered to be haram with the following exceptions:
a) If the image is partial or incomplete and not a full-body image, then this
is halal
b) If the facial features of the image have been erased even if it is a
full-body image, then this is halal
10) Photography and drawings both come under category of picture
making.
Allah knows best.