The Ruling on Hanging Pictures and Statues Placed for Decoration
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Another listener from Sudan, named Sa'id Uthman Faisal, asks: Is hanging pictures forbidden? And are statues placed for decoration also forbidden?
Answer:
Yes, it is forbidden to hang pictures, whether they are printed or drawn on paper, or whether they are statues, and the latter is more severe. This is because of the hadith:Sahih Muslim 2106f, 2107a When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to enter the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), he saw a curtain on the wall with a picture in it. His face (peace and blessings be upon him) became angry, and he refused to enter that place until that curtain was removed and the picture was torn down. He said: "O Aisha, the people who will be most severely punished by Allah on the Day of Resurrection are those who imitate the creation of Allah." Therefore, it is not permissible to hang pictures on walls because of the imitation of Allah's creation involved in it.
And because of the means it provides to shirk (associating partners with Allah). If these pictures are of people who are revered, such as kings, presidents, scholars, and other revered people, then this leads to their worship. This is what happened to the people of Noah when they hung the pictures of the righteous on their seats; their affair ended with them worshipping them instead of Allah.
And when the Prophet of Allah, Noah (peace and blessings be upon him), came to them forbidding this shirk with these pictures,[Nuh 71:23], these are the names of righteous men whose pictures were made and erected, becoming gods to be worshipped instead of Allah in the future. It is obligatory for Muslims to prevent this bad phenomenon, which is hanging pictures, or keeping them in their homes for the sake of memories, or for beautification, or for what they call art. All of this is among the severely forbidden things that Muslims must be aware of, and they must remove them from their homes, shops, and establishments in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Yes.
May Allah reward you. Another listener from Sudan, named Sa'id Uthman Faisal, asks: Is hanging pictures forbidden? And are statues placed for decoration also forbidden?
Answer:
Yes, it is forbidden to hang pictures, whether they are printed or drawn on paper, or whether they are statues, and the latter is more severe. This is because of the hadith:
that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) had said: Angels do not enter the house in which there is a picture or a dog
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لا تدخل الملائكة بيتا فيه كلب ولاAnd because of the means it provides to shirk (associating partners with Allah). If these pictures are of people who are revered, such as kings, presidents, scholars, and other revered people, then this leads to their worship. This is what happened to the people of Noah when they hung the pictures of the righteous on their seats; their affair ended with them worshipping them instead of Allah.
And when the Prophet of Allah, Noah (peace and blessings be upon him), came to them forbidding this shirk with these pictures,
And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr.
وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5742- حكم تعليق الصور والتماثيل الموضوعة للزينة - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.