What is the ruling on images made by carving, by the photographic device (camera), or by hand drawing?
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The questioner : May the Shaykh be honored, I ask about the ruling on images made by carving, by the photographic device (camera), or by hand drawing. I am a high school student and they require me to draw by hand. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Carved images made of wood or stone, or made of clay or dough, or the like, are all forbidden if they are in the form of a living animal with a soul, because they imitate the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). In the authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Cursing is expulsion and distance from the mercy of Allah.
Also, in the Qudsi hadith, Allah the Exalted said:Riyad as-Salihin 1683.
Also, in the authentic hadith: The evidence for this is abundant.
As for image-making, according to the stronger view, the one threatened with punishment is the person who makes an image of a living being with his own hand. This falls under the image-making that is threatened with punishment, and it is a major sin among the major sins.
As for image-making by the instant photographic device, it does not appear to me to be image-making. This is because the photographer did not plan or attempt to imitate the creation of Allah. For this reason, we see that if people are shown a photograph according to what happened in the photography, they will not say, "How skilled this photographer is" or "How clever he is." But if they are shown an image drawn by hand, planned by hand, and it appears to match what was drawn, they will say, "How beautiful this is" and "How clever this is." This indicates the difference between the one who makes the image by hand and the one who takes a photograph with the photographic device.
This is indicated by the fact that if a person writes a book by hand and then places it in the photographic device and it comes out of the device, people do not attribute this drawing to the one who took the photograph with the device, but rather to the original writer. People still preserve documents in this manner today, and they do not say that the one who captured it with the device is a creator, a skilled person, or good. In fact, the one who handles this might be a blind man, or a sighted man in the darkness. But if a person comes and is shown the handwriting of another person, and he imitates this handwriting until it appears to be the handwriting of the first person, people will say, "How creative he is" and "How clever he is" in how he made this image that matches the original. With these examples, it becomes clear that photographic image-making is not, in reality, image-making attributed to the doer, and it is not said that this is imitating the creation of Allah, because he did not make anything. Because permissible things, if they lead to something forbidden, are forbidden, because means have the rulings of their ends. Likewise, we do not see that it is permissible for a person to take this kind of photograph for remembrance, as they say, because of the keeping of the image, which is feared to fall under the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 4155Sahih (Al-Albani). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification, May the Shaykh Muhammad be honored. The questioner M. A. S. says, May the Shaykh be honored.
The Shaykh : Carved images made of wood or stone, or made of clay or dough, or the like, are all forbidden if they are in the form of a living animal with a soul, because they imitate the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). In the authentic hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He cursed the image-makers.
لعن المصورينAlso, in the Qudsi hadith, Allah the Exalted said:
Who is more an oppressor than him who goes to create like My creation? Let him make an ant or a grain of corn or a grain of barley.
ومن أظلم ممن ذهب يخلق كخلقي، فليخلقوا ذرة أو ليخلقوا حبة أو ليخلقوا شعيرةAlso, in the authentic hadith:
The most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection are the image-makers who imitate the creation of Allah. It will be said to them: "Bring to life what you have created."
أشد الناس عذاباً يوم القيامة المصورون الذين يضاهئون بخلق الله يقال لهم: أحيوا ما خلقتمAs for image-making, according to the stronger view, the one threatened with punishment is the person who makes an image of a living being with his own hand. This falls under the image-making that is threatened with punishment, and it is a major sin among the major sins.
As for image-making by the instant photographic device, it does not appear to me to be image-making. This is because the photographer did not plan or attempt to imitate the creation of Allah. For this reason, we see that if people are shown a photograph according to what happened in the photography, they will not say, "How skilled this photographer is" or "How clever he is." But if they are shown an image drawn by hand, planned by hand, and it appears to match what was drawn, they will say, "How beautiful this is" and "How clever this is." This indicates the difference between the one who makes the image by hand and the one who takes a photograph with the photographic device.
This is indicated by the fact that if a person writes a book by hand and then places it in the photographic device and it comes out of the device, people do not attribute this drawing to the one who took the photograph with the device, but rather to the original writer. People still preserve documents in this manner today, and they do not say that the one who captured it with the device is a creator, a skilled person, or good. In fact, the one who handles this might be a blind man, or a sighted man in the darkness. But if a person comes and is shown the handwriting of another person, and he imitates this handwriting until it appears to be the handwriting of the first person, people will say, "How creative he is" and "How clever he is" in how he made this image that matches the original. With these examples, it becomes clear that photographic image-making is not, in reality, image-making attributed to the doer, and it is not said that this is imitating the creation of Allah, because he did not make anything. Because permissible things, if they lead to something forbidden, are forbidden, because means have the rulings of their ends. Likewise, we do not see that it is permissible for a person to take this kind of photograph for remembrance, as they say, because of the keeping of the image, which is feared to fall under the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The angels do not enter the house which contains a picture.
إن الملائكة لا تدخل بيتاً فيه صورةThe questioner : May Allah bless you for this clarification, May the Shaykh Muhammad be honored. The questioner M. A. S. says, May the Shaykh be honored.