Discussion of the hadith (except for a design on a garment).

Al-Halabi : Shaykh, on the occasion of discussing image-making, we often mention your words in what you have written and what you have said regarding the hadith . However, for the sake of completeness, and especially since some people would like to hear the answer, even if it is brief, regarding this hadith, if you would please, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : There is a hadith that says . It is authentic in this hadith that a man entered the home of one of the Companions and saw an image on a carpet or rug in his house, so he objected to him using this hadith . The one who was objected to answered him by saying that the Messenger (peace be upon him) completed this hadith with his saying . So this exception is used by some people to argue that there is no objection to an image being on a garment if the image is degraded, meaning it is not hung up or honored, but is on a carpet that is disrespected and stepped on. May Allah reward you with good. The reality is that this hadith only refers to a design on a garment. He said . The word *raqm* means a design or ornament. We must interpret this phrase, "except for a design on a garment," in light of other hadiths in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) objected to a pillow that had an image on it. Ayyah, meaning a cushion. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) took this pillow and cut it into pieces, cutting the image. This changes its appearance and form, so after being cut, it becomes a design on a garment. This is what is permissible to use. As for keeping the image intact, it is not permissible, even if it is degraded and stepped on. It should be altered as much as possible. This is because it was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Sahih al-Bukhari that he , specifically rubbing it with something until he destroyed the image of the cross. And that is only because the cross reminds one of associating partners with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Because the Christians, as you know, worship Isa and Maryam alongside Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and they represent this shirk (associating partners with Allah) in their cross. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) destroys every trace that reminds one of shirk with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Likewise, images were the cause of the people of Noah falling into shirk with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The people of Noah, to whom he (peace and blessings be upon him) called them to worship Allah alone, did not respond to him. They advised one another regarding what is mentioned in Surat Noah (peace be upon him) . The scholars of tafsir (exegesis) say that these names are the names of righteous people who were among the people of Noah. When they died, Satan made it attractive to them to place their graves in the courtyards of their houses, in front of the houses, so that they would remember their righteous deeds. Then, over time, they began to visit these graves and seek nearness to Allah through them and call for aid from them instead of Allah. Then Satan led them further and ordered them to make statues of these five and place them in a location. Then, after a while, he made it attractive to them to place them in elevated places. So the generation that came after them would go and visit them, submit to them, and prostrate to them, worshipping them instead of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This was part of the wisdom behind the prohibition of images in Islam, whether they are three-dimensional or not. Therefore, Muslim homes should not contain any trace of a visible image whatsoever, whether it is three-dimensional or not. So his saying in the authentic hadith does not mean a complete image, but rather the traces of a complete image, as Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) did with the pillow.