Forbidden Images and Whether They Include Photographs and Video
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, people have spoken a great deal about the reality of forbidden images. Are they those that are drawn and made by hand, or do they include photographs, video cameras, and the like?
Answer:
This is a vast, barren, barren debate with no winner. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade images in general. A person would come trying to find a way out, claiming there is a difference between images, and he would specify the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is not a false statement, and it is not kohl; this is called seeking benefit. This is what is called seeking benefit.
The Messenger forbids images, or a fashion forbids the image-maker. A person comes and says, "No, photography is lawful," or "Photography is forbidden, but a dispensation may be granted out of dire necessity." If a dispensation is granted for the forbidden out of dire necessity, if it befalls him, he takes the amount of the dire necessity. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forbade carrion and blood, so we abrogate, and He said, "except what you are driven to."
Except the time that followed it,[Al-Baqarah 2:173]. So if he is driven to an image, he does it from the perspective of the difficult time. If he says he intends forgiveness, and the default in image-making is that it is all forbidden.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, people have spoken a great deal about the reality of forbidden images. Are they those that are drawn and made by hand, or do they include photographs, video cameras, and the like?
Answer:
This is a vast, barren, barren debate with no winner. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade images in general. A person would come trying to find a way out, claiming there is a difference between images, and he would specify the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is not a false statement, and it is not kohl; this is called seeking benefit. This is what is called seeking benefit.
The Messenger forbids images, or a fashion forbids the image-maker. A person comes and says, "No, photography is lawful," or "Photography is forbidden, but a dispensation may be granted out of dire necessity." If a dispensation is granted for the forbidden out of dire necessity, if it befalls him, he takes the amount of the dire necessity. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forbade carrion and blood, so we abrogate, and He said, "except what you are driven to."
Except the time that followed it,
But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Source
شرح قرة عيون الموحدين في تحقيق دعوة الأنبياء والمرسلين، باب ما جاء أن سبب كفر بني آدم وتركهم دينهم هو الغلو في الصالحين — islamhouse.com (1:10:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.