The Scope of the Evidence for the Prohibition of Image-Making Extending to Photographic Imaging
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Was image-making in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by carving, by drawing, or by photography? And did all of these exist so that the evidence would cover them?
Answer:
The Messenger came with general speech, general speech that covers all times in all forms until the Hour comes. This optical imaging, all of this is called image-making. So if they call it image-making and call it an image, what takes it out of the text? We say to them, this is an image. We say to them, what do they call this?
They call it image-making. What takes it out of the texts of generalityMishkat al-Masabih 4498? Bring us evidence and we will act on it. If you bring evidence from the speech of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), no. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says the rule and the general speech covers what happens until the Hour stands. Everything falls under it, for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was given comprehensive words that encompass the details.
Does that mean all image-making had to exist after the Messenger? No. There are things that happened after the Messenger that cover many matters, because they fall under the rule and under the generality. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was given comprehensive words because his message is general until the Hour stands. So everything that happens until the Hour stands falls under the address of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); nothing is excluded from it. Now, travel in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a mount, but then the airplane came, and the car came, and the ships came. Does one say that this is not travel? I say this symbol is wrong; no one says this. The speech of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the speech of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and the speech of the Messenger is general in all circumstances and in all events until the Hour stands.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Was image-making in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by carving, by drawing, or by photography? And did all of these exist so that the evidence would cover them?
Answer:
The Messenger came with general speech, general speech that covers all times in all forms until the Hour comes. This optical imaging, all of this is called image-making. So if they call it image-making and call it an image, what takes it out of the text? We say to them, this is an image. We say to them, what do they call this?
They call it image-making. What takes it out of the texts of generality
Everyone who makes representations of things will go to hell
كل مصور في النارDoes that mean all image-making had to exist after the Messenger? No. There are things that happened after the Messenger that cover many matters, because they fall under the rule and under the generality. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was given comprehensive words because his message is general until the Hour stands. So everything that happens until the Hour stands falls under the address of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); nothing is excluded from it. Now, travel in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a mount, but then the airplane came, and the car came, and the ships came. Does one say that this is not travel? I say this symbol is wrong; no one says this. The speech of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the speech of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and the speech of the Messenger is general in all circumstances and in all events until the Hour stands.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 141/23 شرح زاد المستقنع/ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (1:10:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.