How do we distinguish between degraded images and non-degraded images?

The questioner : How do we distinguish between a degraded image and a non-degraded image?

The Shaykh : This distinction, this differentiation, some scholars have turned to it and adopted it, but we do not consider it the stronger position; rather, we consider it the weaker position. We see it that way because, in what we know and have come across, we do not find explicit evidence that it is permissible to possess a degraded image. This comes down to two reasons in the Shari'ah. The first, which I referred to earlier, is that we do not have a text that indicates this to us. The second is that saying it is permissible to possess a degraded image means it is permissible to buy it, sell it, and even make it. And we know from the rules and principles of the Shari'ah, and the derivations from these principles, as stated in the saying of Allah the Exalted: that anything that leads to disobedience is itself disobedience.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : For that reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he also said: So where do we get this degraded image from to say it is permissible to possess it? As long as it is degraded, this opinion might be relied upon by some people in one case: a person who was afflicted with negligence when he bought a carpet or rug, and then found that this carpet or rug had an image on it.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So we say there is nothing wrong with it being degraded. But for a Muslim to buy it while seeing it and justify his purchase by saying it is degraded, that is the furthest thing from the principles of the Shari'ah we mentioned and from the prohibition of cooperating in sin and aggression. Many or some scholars argue for their position on the permissibility of the degraded image with the story of Aisha's cushion. She (may Allah be pleased with her) bought a cushion for the Messenger, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to remove it, so she made it into a carpet. But in some narrations, there is an indication, as I mentioned, in my book *Adab al-Zafaf* (Etiquette of the Wedding), perhaps you have come across it, *Adab al-Zafaf fi al-Sunnah al-Mutaharah* (The Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah).

The questioner : Translated into the English language.

The Shaykh : Was it translated correctly? The point is, I mentioned there that the cutting was apparent on the image, meaning its features were also gone. So there is no argument at all for saying it is permissible to possess a degraded image, especially if it is bought while it is clear and distinct. In addition to what I mentioned, there is something else, which is from the perspective of jurisprudence, citation, and derivation. It came in the authentic hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) Do you understand this?

The questioner : "Qadhab" no.

The Shaykh : It means he scraped it, meaning he removed its features. And the cross, as is mentioned, is like the Trinity from which Allah saved you. Similarly, these images are remembered.