Doubts Regarding Photography and Their Refutation
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
In what you mentioned, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you, regarding the defenders of these photographic images, they acknowledge that image-making is forbidden in the law of Allah and that there is a severe warning against it. However, they do not come from this angle. They do not deny this ruling; rather, they say that these photographic images are not images and that the work involved is not image-making. What is your view?
The Shaykh:
Oh, glory to Allah! They call them images, they call them images, and they call this work image-making. And if the photographer and photographers are mentioned, what takes them out of the general scope? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saidMishkat al-Masabih 4498 and did not exclude photography or anything else. The Messenger came with general principles that cover from his mission until the Day of Resurrection. His law is general and comprehensive. And by their own admission, these are images; they call them images, do they not?
The questioner:
Perhaps one might say this is the very eye of the photographer and not an image of the self.
The Shaykh:
No, it is not the eye of the photographer. This is a lie. It is not the eye of the photographer; it is an image of the person, not the person himself. It is an image of the person. You call it an image, and you call the one who takes it and captures it with the machine a photographer, and you call his work image-making. So what takes this out of the general texts? Texts are not restricted except by evidence, and there is no evidence. As for rationalizations, these are not accepted if they contradict the evidence; they are not accepted.
The questioner:
Now, another aspect: some of the common people and the good-hearted, and others as well, may find it difficult to accept such rulings. If they see what people have fallen into, how is this objection addressed? They say: Now, everyone has drowned in the sea of image-making. How can you say, "Leave off image-making," when image-making is forbidden and everyone has fallen into it?
The Shaykh:
He says: Legalization and prohibition belong to Allah, not to people.
The questioner:
It is not taken from reality. Nor from its customs.
The Shaykh:
The people: Have you seen if everyone did it, if they all consumed riba (usury or interest), would you say it has become lawful now?
The questioner:
Leaving it is difficult.
The Shaykh:
Leaving it is difficult? It is not difficult. Whoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he does not expect. So legislation is not for people,
The questioner:
Nor is reality considered in it.
The Shaykh:
Nor the customs of people. Rather, evidence is considered. So whatever agrees with the evidence, it is obligatory to follow it, even if most people contradict it. And whatever agrees with the evidence, it is obligatory to follow it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
In what you mentioned, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah reward you, regarding the defenders of these photographic images, they acknowledge that image-making is forbidden in the law of Allah and that there is a severe warning against it. However, they do not come from this angle. They do not deny this ruling; rather, they say that these photographic images are not images and that the work involved is not image-making. What is your view?
The Shaykh:
Oh, glory to Allah! They call them images, they call them images, and they call this work image-making. And if the photographer and photographers are mentioned, what takes them out of the general scope? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said
Everyone who makes representations of things will go to hell
كل مصور في النارThe questioner:
Perhaps one might say this is the very eye of the photographer and not an image of the self.
The Shaykh:
No, it is not the eye of the photographer. This is a lie. It is not the eye of the photographer; it is an image of the person, not the person himself. It is an image of the person. You call it an image, and you call the one who takes it and captures it with the machine a photographer, and you call his work image-making. So what takes this out of the general texts? Texts are not restricted except by evidence, and there is no evidence. As for rationalizations, these are not accepted if they contradict the evidence; they are not accepted.
The questioner:
Now, another aspect: some of the common people and the good-hearted, and others as well, may find it difficult to accept such rulings. If they see what people have fallen into, how is this objection addressed? They say: Now, everyone has drowned in the sea of image-making. How can you say, "Leave off image-making," when image-making is forbidden and everyone has fallen into it?
The Shaykh:
He says: Legalization and prohibition belong to Allah, not to people.
The questioner:
It is not taken from reality. Nor from its customs.
The Shaykh:
The people: Have you seen if everyone did it, if they all consumed riba (usury or interest), would you say it has become lawful now?
The questioner:
Leaving it is difficult.
The Shaykh:
Leaving it is difficult? It is not difficult. Whoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he does not expect. So legislation is not for people,
The questioner:
Nor is reality considered in it.
The Shaykh:
Nor the customs of people. Rather, evidence is considered. So whatever agrees with the evidence, it is obligatory to follow it, even if most people contradict it. And whatever agrees with the evidence, it is obligatory to follow it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، شرح زاد المستقنع (حلقات إذاعية)|22 من 194|كتاب الصّلاة|باب شروط الصلاة|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (24:46)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.