Exegesis of the Qur'an through drawings and images
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Fatwa No. ( 18828 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the Deputy Director of the Cooperative Office for Da'wah and Guidance in al-Qaw'iyyah , with number (5\17\K) and date 15\1\1417 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, with number (894) and date 9\2\1417 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is: What is the ruling on drawing images that represent verses, such as drawing camels and writing beneath them the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ghashiyah 88:17] and so on. We hope for the issuance of a fatwa on this matter.
After studying the inquiry, the Committee responded as follows: Interpreting the verses of the Qur'an through drawings and images that depict events from the stories of people, whether they are the prophets and messengers of Allah - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon them - or the righteous among His servants, or the disbelievers and devils, and what is included in them of mentions of groups of trees and the like, all of this is an innovated interpretation that is forbidden, and it is not permissible to do it, print it, or distribute it. One must refrain from it and prevent its circulation, no matter how good the intention of its creator may be, such as the claim of making the understanding of the verses easier for children, or for those new to Islam, or other reasons; this is due to the religious prohibitions contained in this method of interpreting the Book of Allah the Exalted, including: 1- That this work, whether it involves drawings of things with souls or trees and the like, is an innovation in interpreting the Book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, which contradicts the methodology of the scholars of the Ummah, both past and present, and is not among the known methods of exegesis with them. 2- That this work involves belittling the sanctity of the Book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and taking its great meanings lightly. 3- That this work is a means of manipulating the interpretation of the Book of Allah - the Exalted - by methods that He has not prescribed. 4- In this work, there is a representation of the prophets and messengers, exposing them to mockery
and belittling and taking them lightly, so its doer is in great danger, and mocking and belittling a prophet is a great disbelief by the text of the great Qur'an. 5- Drawing imagined images of the prophets is an apparent cause for the fitnah of shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah the Exalted and the negation of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), as Allah has related to us the story of those who took Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr, and He said the Exalted:[Nuh 71:23-24] , so shirk occurred among the people of Noah when they depicted these righteous ones and erected their images in their gathering places, until their condition led them to worship them. 6- That depicting beings with souls is haram (forbidden); due to the indication of many authentic hadiths from the Prophet - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him - in the Sahihs, Sunans, and Musnads regarding the prohibition of depicting every being with a soul, whether human or otherwise, tearing off curtains containing images, ordering the erasure of images, cursing the image-makers, and clarifying that they are the most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection. We mention for you a collection of authentic hadiths in this chapter. In (the two Sahihs) from Abu Hurayrah - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: The Messenger - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him - said: Sahih Muslim 2111a, b This is the wording of Muslim . And in both, from Ibn Mas'ud may Allah be pleased with him, he said: The Messenger of Allah - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him - said: Riyad as-Salihin 1682 , and from both, from Ibn 'Umar - may Allah be pleased with them both - he said: The Messenger of Allah - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him - said: Sahih al-Bukhari 5951 This is the wording of al-Bukhari . . Narrated by Muslim. And other numerous hadiths. Knowing that this method, just as it is forbidden to do in interpreting the verses of the great Qur'an, is also forbidden to do in explaining the hadiths of the Prophet - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him -; due to the inclusion of these same religious prohibitions. And success is from Allah, and may Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. And after: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the Deputy Director of the Cooperative Office for Da'wah and Guidance in al-Qaw'iyyah , with number (5\17\K) and date 15\1\1417 AH, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars, with number (894) and date 9\2\1417 AH. The questioner asked a question, the text of which is: What is the ruling on drawing images that represent verses, such as drawing camels and writing beneath them the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Then do they not look at the camels - how they are created?
أَفَلا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْAfter studying the inquiry, the Committee responded as follows: Interpreting the verses of the Qur'an through drawings and images that depict events from the stories of people, whether they are the prophets and messengers of Allah - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon them - or the righteous among His servants, or the disbelievers and devils, and what is included in them of mentions of groups of trees and the like, all of this is an innovated interpretation that is forbidden, and it is not permissible to do it, print it, or distribute it. One must refrain from it and prevent its circulation, no matter how good the intention of its creator may be, such as the claim of making the understanding of the verses easier for children, or for those new to Islam, or other reasons; this is due to the religious prohibitions contained in this method of interpreting the Book of Allah the Exalted, including: 1- That this work, whether it involves drawings of things with souls or trees and the like, is an innovation in interpreting the Book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, which contradicts the methodology of the scholars of the Ummah, both past and present, and is not among the known methods of exegesis with them. 2- That this work involves belittling the sanctity of the Book of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, and taking its great meanings lightly. 3- That this work is a means of manipulating the interpretation of the Book of Allah - the Exalted - by methods that He has not prescribed. 4- In this work, there is a representation of the prophets and messengers, exposing them to mockery
and belittling and taking them lightly, so its doer is in great danger, and mocking and belittling a prophet is a great disbelief by the text of the great Qur'an. 5- Drawing imagined images of the prophets is an apparent cause for the fitnah of shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah the Exalted and the negation of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), as Allah has related to us the story of those who took Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr, and He said the Exalted:
(23) And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr. (24) And already they have misled many.
وَقَالُوا لاَ تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلاَ تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلاَ سُوَاعًا وَلاَ يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا (23) وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًاAllah, the Glorious and Exalted, said: Who is a more wrongdoer than one who tries to create creation like Mine creation. Let him create an atom or a grain of wheat or that of barley.
قال الله عز وجل: ومن أظلم ممن ذهب يخلق خلقًا كخلقي، فليخلقوا ذرة أو ليخلقوا حبة أو ليخلقوا شعيرةThose who will receive the most severe punishment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be painters (of living objects).
إن أشد الناس عذابًا يوم القيامة المصورونThose who make these pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them. 'Make alive what you have created.'
إن الذين يصنعون هذه الصور يُعذبون يوم القيامة، يقال لهم: أحيوا ما خلقتمAnd from 'A'ishah - may Allah be pleased with her - she said: The Prophet - may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him - entered upon me, and I had covered a niche of mine with a curtain containing images. When he saw it, he tore it and his face changed color, and he said: "O 'A'ishah, the most severely punished people by Allah on the Day of Resurrection are those who compete with the creation of Allah." 'A'ishah said: So we cut it up and made from it a cushion or two cushions
وعن عائشة - رضي الله عنها - قالت: دخل عليَّ النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - وقد سترت سهوة لي بقرام فيه تماثيل، فلما رآه هتكه وتلوَّن وجهه، وقال: يا عائشة ، أشد الناس عذابًا عند الله يوم القيامة الذين يضاهئون بخلق الله. قالت عائشة: فقطعناه فجعلنا منه وسادة أو وسادتين
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.