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The Shaykh : We have now reached the main topic after these benefits, where he says: "Images in paintings and engravings, meaning non-three-dimensional images: that is the position of Islam regarding three-dimensional images, which we commonly call statues." He was right to say "commonly," for the author is undoubtedly a writer, meaning... he said "commonly," that they are commonly called statues, because... he said, "As I explained to you, statues are images, absolutely, whether three-dimensional or not, but he said: 'Commonly, they are called statues.' But what is the ruling on artistic images and paintings that are drawn on flat surfaces, such as paper, clothes, curtains, walls, carpets, and coins, and the like? And the answer is: their ruling does not become clear unless we look at the image itself: what is it for? Look at these questions and compare them with what came before; you will find a vast difference. He said: 'And the answer is: their ruling does not become clear unless we look at the image itself: what is it for? And its placement: where is it placed? And how is it used? And the intention of its creator: what did he intend by creating it? If the artistic image is of what is worshipped besides Allah, such as Jesus among the Christians, or the cow among the Hindus, and the like, then whoever creates it for this purpose and with this intention is nothing but a disbeliever, spreading disbelief and misguidance. And in such a case, the severe warning came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): His statement: 'And in such a case, the warning came'—do you know his error? Because the warning came regarding the image, it came regarding the image with wings, the horses with wings, and they are not among what is worshipped besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He quotes and says: 'Al-Tabari said: The intended meaning here is the one who creates what is worshipped besides Allah, knowing it and intending it; he becomes a disbeliever by that. But as for the one who does not intend that, he is a sinner only by his creation.' And similar to that is the one who hangs these images to sanctify them; this is an action that does not come from a Muslim, unless he throws Islam behind his back. Close to that is the one who creates what is not worshipped, intending by his creation to rival the creation of Allah, meaning claiming that he creates and originates, as Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) creates. Did you find this example? Even among the disbelievers? Did you find anyone who says, 'I create and originate as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) creates'? The truth is that the hadith does not mean the intention when it says in the Qudsi hadith: ; it does not mean that he intends to rival the creation of Allah, but it means that in his work, he rivals the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). There is a difference between a person who intends in his heart a forbidden matter and one who does not intend it in his heart, but his action indicates it. An example is a man who wears the clothes of the disbelievers; this is called imitating the disbelievers, whether he intended it in his heart or not. But there is no doubt that the sin differs between a person who wears the clothes of the disbelievers and does not intend to imitate them—he is sinful—and another who intends and does it—he has two sins. Here, the author applies the hadith to the one who intends it in his heart. We have not known who is the most deeply rooted in misguidance, even this one who stood before his idol, which was destroyed for nights and days, and said to it, 'Speak.' I do not think it occurred to him that he was rivaling the creation of Allah with what he made, even if he reached this foolishness where he said to it, 'Speak.' But when this person sits and creates, he rivals the creation of Allah; it is an actual rivalry. He does not escape the rivalry merely by observing that the intention is not the intention of rivalry; the action itself is the rivalry. He said: 'Close to that is the one who creates what is not worshipped, intending by his creation to rival the creation of Allah; meaning: claiming that he creates and originates, as Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) creates. With this intention, he exits the religion of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and in such a case, the hadith came: ' And it occurs to me, indicating what we say, not what the author says, that the hadith he mentioned before, the Qudsi hadith: , this hadith was narrated by Abu Hurayrah when he passed by a palace of one of the princes of Banu Umayyah, and on it was a building with images drawn on the wall. Can it be imagined, first of all, that a Muslim in that era intended to rival the creation of Allah in his heart? This is something we are almost certain is impossible. Today, today, we are far from tawhid, and when we see people ignorant of Islam and tawhid, when one of them comes and says, 'O Baz, save me! O Abdul Qadir al-Jilani! O Abu Hanifah! O so-and-so and so-and-so,' when they come and call for aid besides Allah and commit disbelief, we deny this. What do the scholars say? Ask this one who calls for aid from the dead: ask him, does he believe that this dead person harms and benefits? He does not believe in harm and benefit, because the people of the first age of ignorance did not believe in this, but they took them as intermediaries. So the most deeply rooted in misguidance in terms of belief that the Benefactor and the Harmer is only Allah is with us in this, but they are polytheists in other aspects.
In early Islam, when Abu Hurayrah narrated this hadith, he saw a builder constructing or carving images on a wall, so he warned him against this action with the hadith: . Do you see this builder? Abu Hurayrah knew that he intended to rival the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). How could Abu Hurayrah know this? So, what is the benefit of Abu Hurayrah citing this hadith for that example, if the hadith, as the author claims, only refers to one who intends to rival the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? We must say here that Abu Hurayrah exaggerated, just as we exaggerate in our opinion regarding one who adopts this view, because he applied the hadith to something other than its intended scope. If the matter reaches the point where we say Abu Hurayrah exaggerated, or that the authors of the later period fell short, we would say that these people are more deserving of being attributed with deficiency than attributing it to a Companion of the Messenger (peace be upon him), who heard the Messenger (peace be upon him) speak this hadith directly, or through another Companion who heard it directly from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is from one aspect. From another aspect, this Companion lived in an environment where he knew the status of image-making in the prohibition of Islamic law. It should not be hidden from you the impact of environments, whether good or bad, on their people. You are able to imagine a Muslim who emigrated from these lands and lived in the West; after twenty years, he cannot come to the East and carry in his mind and belief that images are forbidden in Islam. How is that possible when he lived in an environment that considers all images permissible? And conversely, a Muslim who lives in a Salafi environment, as we say, knows that Islam forbids all images except what is necessary, as we mentioned in a previous lesson. If such a person is found in a European society, he will be distressed and perhaps unable to live in that environment due to the prevalence of idols and statues. So, in whatever environment Abu Hurayrah lived, he was in this environment that resembles the environment of this early Salafi, close to the Messenger (peace be upon him) and close to the correct concepts that had not been touched by any deviation. Therefore, Abu Hurayrah is closer to the truth when he applied this hadith even to this Muslim who draws on a wall in a Muslim house. From where does one apply this hadith to one who intends in his heart to innovate like the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He)? He said: "And close to that is one who depicts what is not worshipped, intending by his depiction to rival the creation of Allah, i.e., claiming that he creates and innovates, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) creates. By this intention, he exits the religion of tawhid (the oneness of Allah). And in such a case came the hadith: . And this is a matter that concerns the intention of the image-maker alone." Did the Messenger (peace be upon him) intend this?! He says: "And perhaps what supports this is the hadith about Allah the Exalted: . The expression in his saying: indicates the intention to rival [Allah] in creation." The intention here is an action, not a mere intention. It indicates the intention to rival [Allah] and to challenge the attributes of divinity, such as creation and innovation. This is an exaggeration. And the challenge from Allah the Exalted for them to create a grain or an atom indicates that in their action they intended this meaning. Therefore, He will reward them in the presence of all witnesses on the Day of Resurrection when it is said to them: "Bring to life what you have created!" And you know that the Messenger said to them "Bring to life what you have created" on the occasion of an image that is much, much further from this meaning by which the hadith is interpreted.