The Love of Images
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 9634 ):
Q: Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in his book [The Sufficient Answer for One Who Asks About the Healing Remedy] the love of images and the great harm it causes to the belief in the oneness of Allah in the soul of the believer. So the question is: what is meant by the love of images? Are they the beautiful images of women and others that are hung on walls or erected in streets, whether three-dimensional or not, such that a person stands before them and loves them as he loves Allah, and loves them with a love that reaches the core of his heart? Or is the meaning of these images what revolves in a person's mind, namely the visualization of beautiful images and the love and passion for them? If that is the case, what is the ruling on one who lies on his bed, closes his eyes, and begins to visualize naked women and does with them what a man does with his wife in order to extinguish the instinct and desire in his self? And is this type of the love of images that leads, may Allah protect us, to shirk (associating partners with Allah) which is not forgiven? If so, is it correct to say that a husband should not visualize his wife naked in his mind, because this is a type of the love of images, even though he has the right at the same time to see everything of her outside his mind and love everything of her? This is my issue that I wanted to present to your eminence, hoping that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) does not delay the response to me, because I am confused about my matter, especially since this issue touches upon the creed, which is the capital of the Muslim. I ask Allah to reward you with good for me and for the Muslims.
A: His meaning by the love of images here is loving them like the love of Allah or more, as evidenced by his statement afterwards: (And perhaps the lover among them would explicitly state that reaching his beloved is dearer to him than the oneness of his Lord, as the vile lover said:
And as the other vile one explicitly stated: that reaching his beloved is more desirable to him than the mercy of his Lord. So, may Allah protect us from this abandonment and from this state. The poet said:
And there is no doubt that this love is among the greatest of shirk (associating partners with Allah). And what is included in its prohibition is what leads to major sins such as zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and liwat (sodomy), whether those images are hung on walls, in streets, or in newspapers and magazines, and whether they are living beings or drawings imitating them. Indeed, this includes what a person imagines of the images of beautiful non-mahram women to satisfy his desire and extinguish his lust. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q: Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in his book [The Sufficient Answer for One Who Asks About the Healing Remedy] the love of images and the great harm it causes to the belief in the oneness of Allah in the soul of the believer. So the question is: what is meant by the love of images? Are they the beautiful images of women and others that are hung on walls or erected in streets, whether three-dimensional or not, such that a person stands before them and loves them as he loves Allah, and loves them with a love that reaches the core of his heart? Or is the meaning of these images what revolves in a person's mind, namely the visualization of beautiful images and the love and passion for them? If that is the case, what is the ruling on one who lies on his bed, closes his eyes, and begins to visualize naked women and does with them what a man does with his wife in order to extinguish the instinct and desire in his self? And is this type of the love of images that leads, may Allah protect us, to shirk (associating partners with Allah) which is not forgiven? If so, is it correct to say that a husband should not visualize his wife naked in his mind, because this is a type of the love of images, even though he has the right at the same time to see everything of her outside his mind and love everything of her? This is my issue that I wanted to present to your eminence, hoping that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) does not delay the response to me, because I am confused about my matter, especially since this issue touches upon the creed, which is the capital of the Muslim. I ask Allah to reward you with good for me and for the Muslims.
A: His meaning by the love of images here is loving them like the love of Allah or more, as evidenced by his statement afterwards: (And perhaps the lover among them would explicitly state that reaching his beloved is dearer to him than the oneness of his Lord, as the vile lover said:
And as the other vile one explicitly stated: that reaching his beloved is more desirable to him than the mercy of his Lord. So, may Allah protect us from this abandonment and from this state. The poet said:
And there is no doubt that this love is among the greatest of shirk (associating partners with Allah). And what is included in its prohibition is what leads to major sins such as zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and liwat (sodomy), whether those images are hung on walls, in streets, or in newspapers and magazines, and whether they are living beings or drawings imitating them. Indeed, this includes what a person imagines of the images of beautiful non-mahram women to satisfy his desire and extinguish his lust. 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.