Reading the chapter "Images, Paintings, and Engravings" from the book *Al-Halal wa al-Haram* by al-Qaradawi, and Shaykh al-Albani's response to it.

The Shaykh : We have now reached, after these benefits, the main topic, where he says: "Images, 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 called statues" because... 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, coins, and the like?
And the answer is: Their ruling is not clear unless we look at the image itself, for what purpose is it? " 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 is not clear unless we look at the image itself, for what purpose is it? 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 other than 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):

Those who will receive the most severe punishment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be painters (of living objects).

إن أشد الناس عذابا يوم القيامة المصورون

Riyad as-Salihin 1682

"
His statement: "And in such a case, the warning came" You know his error, for 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 other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
He quotes and says: "Al-Tabari said: The meaning here is the one who creates what is worshipped other than Allah, knowing it and intending it, for 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 like that is the one who hangs these images in reverence for them, for this is an action that does not come from a Muslim, unless he casts Islam behind his back.
And 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 "
Has this example been found? Even among the disbelievers? Has anyone been found who says, "I create and originate as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) creates"? The truth is that the hadith does not mean 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 intending a forbidden matter in his heart and a person not intending 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 intends it in his heart or not. But no doubt the sin differs from a person who wears the clothes of the disbelievers and does not intend imitation, for he is sinful, and another who intends and does it, for he has two sins. Here, the author applies the hadith to the one who intends it in his heart. We have not known anyone more deeply in misguidance than this one who stood before his idol, which was destroyed over 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 did, 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. So he does not escape the rivalry merely by noting that the intention is not the intention of rivalry; the action itself is the rivalry.
He said: "And 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, for with this intention he exits the religion of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and in such a case, the hadith came:

Indeed, the most severely punished people are those who rival Allah in His creation.

إن أشد الناس عذابا الذين يضاهون بخلق الله

"
It occurs to me, indicating what we say, not what the author says, that the hadith mentioned earlier, 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 on the wall. Do you imagine, first, the existence of a Muslim in that era who 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 (the oneness of Allah), and when we see people ignorant of Islam and tawhid (the oneness of Allah), when one of them comes and says, "O Baz, help me," "O Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani," "O Abu Hanifa," "O so-and-so," when they come and call for aid other than Allah and do disbelief, we deny this. What do the shaykhs 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, for the people of the first age of ignorance did not believe in this, but they took them as intermediaries. So the one most deeply 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.
So in early Islam, when Abu Hurayrah narrated this hadith and saw there the builder building or carving images on the wall, he warned him of this action with the hadith: Do you see this builder? Did Abu Hurayrah know 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 is meant, as the author says, only for the one who intends to rival the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? We must say here that Abu Hurayrah exaggerated, as we exaggerate in our opinion for the one who adopts this view, because he applied the hadith to other than its proper application. No, if the matter reaches the point that we say Abu Hurayrah exaggerated or the authors of the last times fell short, we will say these are more deserving of being attributed to deficiency than to attribute it to a Companion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who heard the Messenger (peace and blessings 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 side. From another side, this Companion lived in an environment, he lived in an environment that knew the status of image-making in prohibition in the Shari'ah of Islam. And it should not be hidden from you the effect of environments, good and 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, when he lived in an environment that permits all images? And the opposite, a Muslim who lives in a Salafi environment, as we say, knowing that Islam forbids all images except what is necessary, as we mentioned in a previous lesson. And if this 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 Abu Hurayrah, in whatever environment he lived, was in this environment that resembles the environment of this Salafi era, close to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and close to the correct concepts that were not touched by any deviation to the end. So Abu Hurayrah is closer to the truth when he applied this hadith even to this Muslim who creates on the wall and in a Muslim house. From where does he apply this hadith to the one who intends in his heart that he originates like the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He)?
He said: "And 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, for with this intention he exits the religion of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and in such a case, the hadith came:

Indeed, the most severely punished people are those who rival Allah in His creation.

إن أشد الناس عذابا الذين يضاهون بخلق الله

. And this is a matter that concerns the intention of the creator alone "
Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) intend this?!
He says: "And perhaps what supports this is: the hadith from Allah the Exalted:

Who would be more unjust than the one who tries to create the like of My creatures? Let them create a grain: let them create a gnat.

ومن أظلم ممن ذهب يخلق كخلقي، فليخلقوا حبة أو ذرَّة

Sahih al-Bukhari 5953

So the expression in his saying:

Seeks to create as My creation.

ذهب يخلق كخلقي

indicates the intention to rival and to contest the divinity with its attributes of creation and origination"
The intention here is action, not niyyah (intention).
"Indicates the intention to rival and to contest the divinity with its attributes of creation and origination"
This is an exaggeration.
"And Allah the Exalted's challenge to 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," in connection with an image that is much, much further removed from this meaning by which the hadith is interpreted.