What is the ruling on image-making, and is there a difference between three-dimensional images and non-three-dimensional images?

The questioner : We face many problems there; people ask us questions, whether from our Muslim brothers who are with us, or from the Muslims in the diaspora, and Allah makes it easy for a specific person to be able to answer. But there are questions we are unable to answer, and they asked me that if I come to Jordan, I should meet with His EminenceThe Shaykh : and ask him some questions, including some from the young people there who are not convinced among the Muslim youth. For example, regarding personal photos, they say if it is a full-body image, it is forbidden, but if it is half, it is not forbidden. If it is a picture and there is a line on the neck, or a statue with a line on the neck: this is not a problem. So what is the opinionThe Shaykh ؟

The Shaykh : Praise is to Allah, we praise Him, and we seek His help and forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide him, and whom He misguides, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
It is no surprise that some Muslim youth are not convinced by the prohibition of images in general, meaning whether they are three-dimensional or non-three-dimensional, with a shadow or without a shadow, as the jurists say. This is because many of those who claim to call to Islam in this age actually adopt the distinction between three-dimensional images and non-three-dimensional images, and they proceed from this classification to permitting what they call photographic images. They bring up some rational philosophies that a Muslim should not get involved in or say such things, because the hadiths that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are of two types. One type has texts that are absolute and comprehensive for every image, whether it is three-dimensional or non-three-dimensional, whether it is carved from stone or wood or the like, or whether it is painted on a wall or clothes or the like. Such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): So the term "image-maker" in the language applies to one who makes an image, whether the image has a shadow or not, whether it is three-dimensional or non-three-dimensional.
Similarly, his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in another hadith: , This is a text, This is another text. These are two hadiths: , A third hadith, and the hadiths are many, and we suffice with this amount: This is the first of the two types. The second type: it explicitly states the prohibition of the image even if it is non-three-dimensional, even if it has no shadow, such as the hadiths of the curtain (qirām), the curtain narrated by the Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey. When he returned and wanted to enter his house, he stopped outside. The Lady Aisha hurried to greet him and saw on his facial features a dislike of something. She said: "O Messenger of Allah, if you have committed a sin, then I seek forgiveness from Allah." He said (peace be upon him): She said: "I bought it for you, O Messenger of Allah." He said: , so here he pointed to an image painted on the qirām like these images of flowers. These have no shadow and are not three-dimensional. Therefore, the common distinction today among some Islamic writers between the three-dimensional image, which is forbidden, and the non-three-dimensional image, which is permissible, this distinction contradicts both types of hadith.
The first type is the absoluteness of the hadiths as you heard. The second type is a clear hadith in the prohibition of possessing an image and making it, even if it is painted on cloth. This is the answer to part of the question you conveyed from those young people.