The Ruling on Selling Statues and Images

Question:
Is it permissible to sell statues, given that they are prohibited items?

Answer:
Prohibited items are not permissible to sell, such as statues. It is not permissible to sell them because they must be destroyed, for these statues are the origin of idolatry and the cause of the idolatry that occurred among the children of Adam, and the cause of that was statues, may Allah protect us from it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Therefore, it is obligatory to obliterate and destroy them; it is not permissible to sell them. It is not permissible to sell images, whether statues, photographic images, or drawn images of living beings. As for images of things that have no soul, such as paintings depicting mountains, rivers, valleys, gardens, or trees, there is nothing wrong with these from the perspective of adornment, or forests, from the perspective of adornment; there is nothing wrong with this. However, images of living beings are not permissible, whether they are statues, drawings on paper, or photographic images; it is not permissible to sell them because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the painters and informed that they are the most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection. He also informed that the angels do not enter a house in which there is an image or a dog. Therefore, images must be destroyed, except for those necessitated by dire necessity, and what is necessitated by dire necessity is not sold, such as a photo for an ID card, a personal identification card, a passport, or a driver's license. These have become obligatory and necessary; if a person did not have them, his interests would be hindered, from the perspective of dire necessity. You do not keep them out of love for them, but rather you keep them because you are compelled to need them. Likewise, desecrated images that are trampled, such as images found on the ground that people walk over and trample and desecrate, there is nothing wrong with these; they are desecrated. Yes.