Photography with a mobile phone camera
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: Photography has become widespread in our time. Is photography with what is called a mobile phone camera considered forbidden, or is it permissible?
Answer:
Photography with any device is not permissible. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited photography and cursed those who take pictures, regardless of the device used. The criterion is not the device, but the act of photography and the existence of the image. This is not permissible except out of dire necessity, such as photography for a national ID card, a passport, or a driver's license. These are cases of dire necessity, and there is nothing wrong with them. As for anything else, such as photography for the sake of art or for other purposes, it is not permissible. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: Photography has become widespread in our time. Is photography with what is called a mobile phone camera considered forbidden, or is it permissible?
Answer:
Photography with any device is not permissible. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited photography and cursed those who take pictures, regardless of the device used. The criterion is not the device, but the act of photography and the existence of the image. This is not permissible except out of dire necessity, such as photography for a national ID card, a passport, or a driver's license. These are cases of dire necessity, and there is nothing wrong with them. As for anything else, such as photography for the sake of art or for other purposes, it is not permissible. Yes.
Source
شرح إغاثة اللهفان من مصائد الشيطان لابن القيم، فصل ومن كيده العجيب : أنه يشام النفس حتى يعلم أي القوتين تغلب عليها — islamhouse.com (1:12:21)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.