Images in da'wah books to assist in establishing rulings
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Fatwa number ( 17315 )
Q: We are in an expatriate community office, and it is not hidden from you, O honorable Shaykh, what the office calls for, and what books are printed in the path of Allah; so that a large number of people may enter
this religion, but there are images of women and men in some of the books that call for getting to know the ties of the Muslim family, in states of prayer, entering mosques, and the gathering of the Muslim family. What is your opinion from the perspective of the Shari'ah ruling? And is it permissible to display images in any field in da'wah matters in general?
A: Depicting beings with souls is absolutely forbidden; due to the generality of the hadiths in this regard, and what is mentioned is not a necessity, but rather it is from the matters of perfection to increase clarification, and there are other means of clarification by which images can be dispensed with, and people have passed through centuries being in no need of them in da'wah, education, and clarification, and they became stronger in faith and more fortified than us, and the leaving of images did not harm them in their understanding and in making people understand, nor did it diminish their precision and philosophy in grasping and acquiring knowledge, and on this basis, it is not permissible for us to commit what Allah has forbidden of depicting a being with a soul; because of the assumption that what you mentioned is a necessity, and reality has witnessed that it is not so, as mentioned. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: We are in an expatriate community office, and it is not hidden from you, O honorable Shaykh, what the office calls for, and what books are printed in the path of Allah; so that a large number of people may enter
this religion, but there are images of women and men in some of the books that call for getting to know the ties of the Muslim family, in states of prayer, entering mosques, and the gathering of the Muslim family. What is your opinion from the perspective of the Shari'ah ruling? And is it permissible to display images in any field in da'wah matters in general?
A: Depicting beings with souls is absolutely forbidden; due to the generality of the hadiths in this regard, and what is mentioned is not a necessity, but rather it is from the matters of perfection to increase clarification, and there are other means of clarification by which images can be dispensed with, and people have passed through centuries being in no need of them in da'wah, education, and clarification, and they became stronger in faith and more fortified than us, and the leaving of images did not harm them in their understanding and in making people understand, nor did it diminish their precision and philosophy in grasping and acquiring knowledge, and on this basis, it is not permissible for us to commit what Allah has forbidden of depicting a being with a soul; because of the assumption that what you mentioned is a necessity, and reality has witnessed that it is not so, as mentioned. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.