What is the ruling on video if it is used for legitimate religious purposes?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May I ask you a question, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The questioner : Regarding the ruling on video in the current time, if the video is used for legitimate religious purposes, I mean, I heard that a brother said he heard that in Saudi Arabia they said the ruling on video as image-making is like the ruling on a photographic image. Is this correct?
The Shaykh : Yes, but you did not complete the explanation from your side. Like the ruling on a photographic image, so are photographic images permissible absolutely?
The questioner : They are not permissible absolutely.
The Shaykh : In what you heard, in what you are quoting from Saudi Arabia.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did they permit photographic images absolutely?
The questioner : By Allah, I did not hear the fatwa about photographic images, but I heard a tape of your presence regarding the image for image-making, meaning, but I did not hear from you any speech about video, meaning I did not hear a tape about video. I am here interested in the one who listens to video tapes for education, are they permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh : So let us leave Saudi Arabia aside.
The questioner : Understood, meaning what is its ruling now, specifically regarding the tapes for education, I am listening to tapes in order to educate the children in them, there are good tapes here for children for education, are they permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh : Listen.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The original ruling for images is prohibition. People.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The Shaykh : A path for the people.
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead, it is open.
The Shaykh : Go, I heard you, O Umm 'Amr.
The questioner : Yes, O honorableThe Shaykh .
The Shaykh : The original ruling for images is prohibition, and nothing from them is permissible except what is necessitated by dire necessity and there is nothing else that suffices in place of the image. Two conditions, I hope you pay attention to them. The first condition: what is necessitated by dire necessity and there is nothing else that suffices us in place of the image.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is this understood up to here?
The questioner : I understand.
The Shaykh : Likewise, video.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And video, in terms of the original ruling, is more forbidden than solar images. Why? Because it contains more imitation of the creation of Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The solar image contains more imitation of the creation of Allah than the hand-drawn image. I do not know if this speech is clear to you? Because I want to build upon it.
The questioner : It is clear, but there is a point, O honorableThe Shaykh : Regarding the hand-drawn image.
The Shaykh : Before the point.
The questioner : I understand that the imitation is that the human is drawing what Allah - Glorified and Exalted is He - created in this exact shape.
The Shaykh : But regarding the photographic image and regarding the video, it is a copy exactly like the original of the scene itself that Allah - Glorified and Exalted is He - created, so there is no creativity, meaning there is no addition of anything, it is just an image and that is it, so I am the one who cannot understand why it is forbidden in the first place.
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah guide us and you, O Umm 'Amr.
The questioner : Amen, O honorableThe Shaykh : , meaning I am able to distinguish in my mind between the image that the artist draws, correct.
The Shaykh : Well, if the wise Lawgiver forbade the idols, even though they are three-dimensional, but they do not give, for example, an image of the face with hair on it, an image of the hair flowing to the right and left, etc., meaning, may Allah reward you, I want to say that even though the three-dimensional image is three-dimensional, it is not precise in some parts of the body like the hand-drawn image with a brush or a pen or similar.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In summary, I see that I have elaborated with you more than necessary, because the truth is that the Muslim must receive the religious rulings without philosophizing them, do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes, I understood.
The Shaykh : Without what? Philosophizing them, but I see that time sometimes forces us to clarify matters from the rational side. So if it appears to you that Allah - Mighty and Majestic - forbade the three-dimensional images and the non-three-dimensional images that were carved by carving and drawn by hand, then it is even more so that photographic image-making is forbidden... an image, and secondly, the one who draws this image is called an image-maker, so the one who draws with the photographic machine is like the one who draws with the human hand, both are called an image-maker and his image is called an image. If we know these religious facts from one side and the rational ones from the other side, I say now that video is more forbidden because it does not only give the image that the photographic image gives, but it also contains imitation in that it gives you an image of the human while he is speaking, while he is moving, while he is walking, while he is moving his hand, this is not clear in the photographic image, let alone the hand-drawn image. Therefore, we do not doubt that video is more forbidden than photographic images, just as we do not doubt that photographic images are more forbidden than hand-drawn images. Nevertheless, all these images are forbidden except what is necessitated by dire necessity and we do not have an alternative for them. I returned to my first statement.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is all I have.
The questioner : Meaning education, as long as it can be done without video, one can do without it.
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The questioner : Regarding the ruling on video in the current time, if the video is used for legitimate religious purposes, I mean, I heard that a brother said he heard that in Saudi Arabia they said the ruling on video as image-making is like the ruling on a photographic image. Is this correct?
The Shaykh : Yes, but you did not complete the explanation from your side. Like the ruling on a photographic image, so are photographic images permissible absolutely?
The questioner : They are not permissible absolutely.
The Shaykh : In what you heard, in what you are quoting from Saudi Arabia.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Did they permit photographic images absolutely?
The questioner : By Allah, I did not hear the fatwa about photographic images, but I heard a tape of your presence regarding the image for image-making, meaning, but I did not hear from you any speech about video, meaning I did not hear a tape about video. I am here interested in the one who listens to video tapes for education, are they permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh : So let us leave Saudi Arabia aside.
The questioner : Understood, meaning what is its ruling now, specifically regarding the tapes for education, I am listening to tapes in order to educate the children in them, there are good tapes here for children for education, are they permissible or not permissible?
The Shaykh : Listen.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The original ruling for images is prohibition. People.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The Shaykh : A path for the people.
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead, it is open.
The Shaykh : Go, I heard you, O Umm 'Amr.
The questioner : Yes, O honorableThe Shaykh .
The Shaykh : The original ruling for images is prohibition, and nothing from them is permissible except what is necessitated by dire necessity and there is nothing else that suffices in place of the image. Two conditions, I hope you pay attention to them. The first condition: what is necessitated by dire necessity and there is nothing else that suffices us in place of the image.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is this understood up to here?
The questioner : I understand.
The Shaykh : Likewise, video.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And video, in terms of the original ruling, is more forbidden than solar images. Why? Because it contains more imitation of the creation of Allah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The solar image contains more imitation of the creation of Allah than the hand-drawn image. I do not know if this speech is clear to you? Because I want to build upon it.
The questioner : It is clear, but there is a point, O honorableThe Shaykh : Regarding the hand-drawn image.
The Shaykh : Before the point.
The questioner : I understand that the imitation is that the human is drawing what Allah - Glorified and Exalted is He - created in this exact shape.
The Shaykh : But regarding the photographic image and regarding the video, it is a copy exactly like the original of the scene itself that Allah - Glorified and Exalted is He - created, so there is no creativity, meaning there is no addition of anything, it is just an image and that is it, so I am the one who cannot understand why it is forbidden in the first place.
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah guide us and you, O Umm 'Amr.
The questioner : Amen, O honorableThe Shaykh : , meaning I am able to distinguish in my mind between the image that the artist draws, correct.
The Shaykh : Well, if the wise Lawgiver forbade the idols, even though they are three-dimensional, but they do not give, for example, an image of the face with hair on it, an image of the hair flowing to the right and left, etc., meaning, may Allah reward you, I want to say that even though the three-dimensional image is three-dimensional, it is not precise in some parts of the body like the hand-drawn image with a brush or a pen or similar.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In summary, I see that I have elaborated with you more than necessary, because the truth is that the Muslim must receive the religious rulings without philosophizing them, do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes, I understood.
The Shaykh : Without what? Philosophizing them, but I see that time sometimes forces us to clarify matters from the rational side. So if it appears to you that Allah - Mighty and Majestic - forbade the three-dimensional images and the non-three-dimensional images that were carved by carving and drawn by hand, then it is even more so that photographic image-making is forbidden... an image, and secondly, the one who draws this image is called an image-maker, so the one who draws with the photographic machine is like the one who draws with the human hand, both are called an image-maker and his image is called an image. If we know these religious facts from one side and the rational ones from the other side, I say now that video is more forbidden because it does not only give the image that the photographic image gives, but it also contains imitation in that it gives you an image of the human while he is speaking, while he is moving, while he is walking, while he is moving his hand, this is not clear in the photographic image, let alone the hand-drawn image. Therefore, we do not doubt that video is more forbidden than photographic images, just as we do not doubt that photographic images are more forbidden than hand-drawn images. Nevertheless, all these images are forbidden except what is necessitated by dire necessity and we do not have an alternative for them. I returned to my first statement.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is all I have.
The questioner : Meaning education, as long as it can be done without video, one can do without it.
The Shaykh : Well done, may Allah reward you.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.