The price of selling images whose sale is forbidden
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 6435 ):
Q: I know that your time is precious, but I will detail my problem to you so that the fatwa matches reality; because, to my knowledge, reality is half the fatwa. In brief, I am a graduate of the Faculty of Applied Arts in Cairo . I used to work as a painter to earn my livelihood, and I used to draw on papyrus. This paper is expensive without any drawing, and even more expensive with drawing. I used to draw Pharaonic images of men, women, and birds. I lived like any Muslim who knows of Islam only its name, and I did not perform any of the deeds of Muslims, such as prayer and the like. However, the Blessed and Exalted is He who bestowed upon me guidance and commitment to the law of Allah and acting upon it, so that I may attain the forgiveness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the Fire and His mercy by entering the company of the people of Paradise. I began to change my life's methodology according to the law of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. I did not know what the ruling of Islam is regarding image-making, but during the wave of arrests in Egypt, where any bearded young man would be seized, I was arrested on (4/9/1981 CE) from the mosque in my town during the Friday prayer, and I was imprisoned until (20/1/1983 CE). Generally, praise be to Allah in all circumstances. The important thing is that while I was in prison, I learned from the brothers who are knowledgeable that image-making is forbidden, and therefore what I earned from image-making—that is, drawing these images—is forbidden. It was necessary to change my job after I was released from prison, and that was done, praise be to Allah. I am now working as a calligrapher, writing signs and the like. However, what I am asking for a fatwa about is that I had purchased a collection of papyrus sheets whose price reached approximately 800 Egyptian pounds, in addition to the cost of drawing them and the colors. I drew these images on them before I knew the ruling of Islam regarding image-making, and before I was arrested. I used to sell these images to non-Muslim European tourists, but these images are still in my possession because I was arrested before
And the most expensive work was drawing; I used to draw Pharaonic-style images of men, women, and birds. I lived like any Muslim who knew nothing of Islam except its name and did not perform any of the deeds of Muslims, such as prayer and the like. However, the Righteous, Blessed and Exalted is He, bestowed upon me guidance and commitment to the law of Allah and acting upon it, so that I might attain the forgiveness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the Fire and His mercy by entering the company of the people of Paradise. I began to change my life's methodology in accordance with the law of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. I did not know what the ruling of Islam is regarding image-making, but during the wave of arrests in Egypt, where any bearded young man would be seized, I was arrested on (4/9/1981 CE) from the mosque in my town during the Friday prayer and was imprisoned until (20/1/1983 CE). Generally, praise be to Allah in all circumstances. The important thing is that while I was in prison, I learned from the brothers who are knowledgeable that image-making is forbidden, and therefore what I earned from image-making—that is, drawing these images—is forbidden. It was necessary to change my job after my release from prison, and that was done, praise be to Allah. I am now working as a calligrapher, writing signs and the like. However, what I am seeking a ruling on is that I had purchased a set of papyrus sheets whose price reached approximately 800 Egyptian pounds, in addition to the cost of drawing them and the colors, and I drew these images on them before knowing the ruling of Islam regarding image-making, and before my arrest. I used to sell these images to non-Muslim European tourists, but these images are still in my possession because I was arrested before
selling them. I am now, after my release from prison, in dire need of money to pay off the debts my family borrowed to spend on me while I was in prison, and also to pay for the original paper, which is the price of the paper. I am the provider for a family consisting of four brothers, meaning I cannot save an amount from my work, and I intend to get married from my work. Do I sell them and dispose of the amount as I mentioned to your eminence, or is this amount forbidden because it is the price of selling images whose sale is forbidden? Knowing that these images are sold to non-Muslims.
A: You must obliterate the images of living beings that are in your possession and not benefit from them in any way. As for the sheets themselves, you may benefit from them by selling them or by drawing on them things other than living beings. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to accept your repentance and to compensate you. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[At-Talaq 65:2-3] , and it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: . And success is from Allah. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I know that your time is precious, but I will detail my problem to you so that the fatwa matches reality; because, to my knowledge, reality is half the fatwa. In brief, I am a graduate of the Faculty of Applied Arts in Cairo . I used to work as a painter to earn my livelihood, and I used to draw on papyrus. This paper is expensive without any drawing, and even more expensive with drawing. I used to draw Pharaonic images of men, women, and birds. I lived like any Muslim who knows of Islam only its name, and I did not perform any of the deeds of Muslims, such as prayer and the like. However, the Blessed and Exalted is He who bestowed upon me guidance and commitment to the law of Allah and acting upon it, so that I may attain the forgiveness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the Fire and His mercy by entering the company of the people of Paradise. I began to change my life's methodology according to the law of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. I did not know what the ruling of Islam is regarding image-making, but during the wave of arrests in Egypt, where any bearded young man would be seized, I was arrested on (4/9/1981 CE) from the mosque in my town during the Friday prayer, and I was imprisoned until (20/1/1983 CE). Generally, praise be to Allah in all circumstances. The important thing is that while I was in prison, I learned from the brothers who are knowledgeable that image-making is forbidden, and therefore what I earned from image-making—that is, drawing these images—is forbidden. It was necessary to change my job after I was released from prison, and that was done, praise be to Allah. I am now working as a calligrapher, writing signs and the like. However, what I am asking for a fatwa about is that I had purchased a collection of papyrus sheets whose price reached approximately 800 Egyptian pounds, in addition to the cost of drawing them and the colors. I drew these images on them before I knew the ruling of Islam regarding image-making, and before I was arrested. I used to sell these images to non-Muslim European tourists, but these images are still in my possession because I was arrested before
And the most expensive work was drawing; I used to draw Pharaonic-style images of men, women, and birds. I lived like any Muslim who knew nothing of Islam except its name and did not perform any of the deeds of Muslims, such as prayer and the like. However, the Righteous, Blessed and Exalted is He, bestowed upon me guidance and commitment to the law of Allah and acting upon it, so that I might attain the forgiveness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the Fire and His mercy by entering the company of the people of Paradise. I began to change my life's methodology in accordance with the law of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. I did not know what the ruling of Islam is regarding image-making, but during the wave of arrests in Egypt, where any bearded young man would be seized, I was arrested on (4/9/1981 CE) from the mosque in my town during the Friday prayer and was imprisoned until (20/1/1983 CE). Generally, praise be to Allah in all circumstances. The important thing is that while I was in prison, I learned from the brothers who are knowledgeable that image-making is forbidden, and therefore what I earned from image-making—that is, drawing these images—is forbidden. It was necessary to change my job after my release from prison, and that was done, praise be to Allah. I am now working as a calligrapher, writing signs and the like. However, what I am seeking a ruling on is that I had purchased a set of papyrus sheets whose price reached approximately 800 Egyptian pounds, in addition to the cost of drawing them and the colors, and I drew these images on them before knowing the ruling of Islam regarding image-making, and before my arrest. I used to sell these images to non-Muslim European tourists, but these images are still in my possession because I was arrested before
selling them. I am now, after my release from prison, in dire need of money to pay off the debts my family borrowed to spend on me while I was in prison, and also to pay for the original paper, which is the price of the paper. I am the provider for a family consisting of four brothers, meaning I cannot save an amount from my work, and I intend to get married from my work. Do I sell them and dispose of the amount as I mentioned to your eminence, or is this amount forbidden because it is the price of selling images whose sale is forbidden? Knowing that these images are sold to non-Muslims.
A: You must obliterate the images of living beings that are in your possession and not benefit from them in any way. As for the sheets themselves, you may benefit from them by selling them or by drawing on them things other than living beings. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to accept your repentance and to compensate you. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect.
وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا (2) وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَحْتَسِبُWhoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah will replace it with something better
من ترك شيئًا لله عوضه الله خيرًا منه
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.