The Ruling on Photographic Imaging
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Honorable Shaykh! There is a young man who has a major difficulty regarding the issue of imaging,And he says: There are explicit hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibiting it, and it is permissible in cases of necessity, and he has many difficulties we would like to elaborate on?
In reality, there is no difficulty; because the imaging that existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) involved imitating the creation of Allah; they did not have devices that reflect the image. In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they drew by hand, and the one who draws by hand is imitating the creation of Allah, because he is the one who determined the eye, the nose, the lips, and so on with his hand, thus making him an imitator of the creation of Allah. But in our present time, the photographer does not do this, and does not draw with his hand, but rather it is by a device that reflects what is in front of it, whether it is a man, an animal, a tree, or anything else, and it is printed in it. However, the human being has no role in designing it or shaping its eyes, lips, or nose, so this is not of imaging in any way.
So there is no difficulty for you at all. Rely on Allah, but do not do it for the sake of play, remembrance, or the like. Rather, it is limited to cases where a person needs it to enter school, for example, or to be employed in a position that benefits the Muslims, or to travel for a need, in which case there is no difficulty in it.
Now, people are not regulated except by the image,Otherwise, every person would come to visit you and say: I am so-and-so, and it is not him.
The questioner: But the prohibition of imaging in the hadiths was stated generally and not restricted?The Shaykh: No.
And they described them as imitating the creation of Allah, and this is a restriction.
In reality, there is no difficulty; because the imaging that existed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) involved imitating the creation of Allah; they did not have devices that reflect the image. In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they drew by hand, and the one who draws by hand is imitating the creation of Allah, because he is the one who determined the eye, the nose, the lips, and so on with his hand, thus making him an imitator of the creation of Allah. But in our present time, the photographer does not do this, and does not draw with his hand, but rather it is by a device that reflects what is in front of it, whether it is a man, an animal, a tree, or anything else, and it is printed in it. However, the human being has no role in designing it or shaping its eyes, lips, or nose, so this is not of imaging in any way.
So there is no difficulty for you at all. Rely on Allah, but do not do it for the sake of play, remembrance, or the like. Rather, it is limited to cases where a person needs it to enter school, for example, or to be employed in a position that benefits the Muslims, or to travel for a need, in which case there is no difficulty in it.
Now, people are not regulated except by the image,Otherwise, every person would come to visit you and say: I am so-and-so, and it is not him.
The questioner: But the prohibition of imaging in the hadiths was stated generally and not restricted?The Shaykh: No.
And they described them as imitating the creation of Allah, and this is a restriction.