Placing surveillance cameras to monitor domestic workers in the home
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner points to a phenomenon among some families who employ domestic workers, where they install a camera to monitor the worker during the first few months. Is this permissible for them?
The Shaykh:
Photography is not permissible; this is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the photographers. He informed them that they would be the most severely punished of people on the Day of Resurrection, and that on the Day of Resurrection, the images they created would be gathered and they would be punished with them in the Fire of Hell. They will be punished for every image they created, may Allah protect us from that.
And they will be commanded to breathe life into them. Can anyone breathe life into them except Allah? But this is a matter of torment and incapacitating them. Photography is not permissible except out of dire necessity. Out of dire necessity. That which is indispensable. As for what is not necessary, photography for art, photography for collection and memories, this is not permissible.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not leave an image." He said to his cousin, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave an image except that you erase it, and do not leave a raised grave except that you level it." A raised grave means elevated. This is an exaggeration regarding graves. Level it with the other graves so that it has no distinction or elevation. This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed 'Ali to do, and 'Ali narrated it for the community, and it is found in Sahih Muslim.
And do not leave an image except that you erase it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not leave anything in his house containing crosses, meaning images of crosses, except that he dismantled it. He purified his house from images, except for necessary images that are indispensable. These are permissible out of dire necessity, and it is permissible to keep them out of dire necessity. As for anything else, for hobby, for memories, for art, this is not permissible. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
And the angels, as in the hadithSunan Ibn Majah 3649Sahih (Darussalam), if the angels do not enter your house, the devils will enter it. It is inevitable that if the angels do not enter it, the devils will enter it. So if the angels enter, the devils do not enter, because the angels and the devils never meet. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you, Honorable Shaykh.
This questioner points to a phenomenon among some families who employ domestic workers, where they install a camera to monitor the worker during the first few months. Is this permissible for them?
The Shaykh:
Photography is not permissible; this is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the photographers. He informed them that they would be the most severely punished of people on the Day of Resurrection, and that on the Day of Resurrection, the images they created would be gathered and they would be punished with them in the Fire of Hell. They will be punished for every image they created, may Allah protect us from that.
And they will be commanded to breathe life into them. Can anyone breathe life into them except Allah? But this is a matter of torment and incapacitating them. Photography is not permissible except out of dire necessity. Out of dire necessity. That which is indispensable. As for what is not necessary, photography for art, photography for collection and memories, this is not permissible.
He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not leave an image." He said to his cousin, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave an image except that you erase it, and do not leave a raised grave except that you level it." A raised grave means elevated. This is an exaggeration regarding graves. Level it with the other graves so that it has no distinction or elevation. This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed 'Ali to do, and 'Ali narrated it for the community, and it is found in Sahih Muslim.
And do not leave an image except that you erase it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not leave anything in his house containing crosses, meaning images of crosses, except that he dismantled it. He purified his house from images, except for necessary images that are indispensable. These are permissible out of dire necessity, and it is permissible to keep them out of dire necessity. As for anything else, for hobby, for memories, for art, this is not permissible. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
And the angels, as in the hadith
The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image.
الصحيح لا تدخل الملائكة بيتا فيه كلب ولا صورة.The presenter:
May Allah bless you, Honorable Shaykh.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-002-أثر طاعة ولي الأمر على الفرد والمجتمع|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (51:25)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.