The Ruling on Placing Statues of the Great and Hanging Their Pictures

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner says: What is the ruling on placing statues in the form of the great and the scholars? And is it permissible to hang their pictures to show their greatness and remember their virtues?

Answer:
This is what happened with the people of Noah, and you know what followed from that, namely the occurrence of shirk (associating partners with Allah) due to the images of the righteous, their erection, and their hanging. Shirk occurred in the community in the time of Noah (peace be upon him) because of the images of the righteous and the exalting of the images of the righteous. So this action is not permissible. We follow the righteous, we love them, and we make du'a' (supplication) for them, but that we make images for them, this is not permissible. It is not permissible to make images of human beings, neither the living nor the dead. And making images of the righteous and the great contains evil; it contains fitnah (trial, discord or temptation).