What is the ruling on one who processes photographic images by hand?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : May Allah reward you. You mentioned that coloring by hand is not permissible based on the apparent wording, just as taking a photograph with a camera is permissible. However, if the image involves both, meaning photographic imaging and manual processing, because most images nowadays—May Allah reward you—are correct; in some photographs, as soon as you press the button, the image comes out complete. But in some, which is the majority, when you take the picture, it requires developing and processing with colors until this image emerges.
The Shaykh : What do you say about this? Do we say that the criterion is the original, and that this coloring and improvement... they improve it; what appears to me is that the precaution in this is to prohibit it. The precaution is to prohibit it, because the image that comes on the film, if you look at it, you find it distorted sometimes, you do not know who it is. So if improvements are added to it, it appears to be closer to being forbidden.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Is it said that it is permissible to use images by means of... or something similar? Does this not prevent the angels from entering?
The Shaykh : Now, is the prevention of the angels from entering a sign of honor for the person or a sign of disgrace?
The questioner : The second one.
The Shaykh : Second, would the disgrace be for a person who did what Allah has made permissible?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : No, so everything is permissible, and there is no sin or punishment in it. For this reason, we say that if images are permissible, then the angels do not refrain from entering the place.
The Shaykh : What do you say about this? Do we say that the criterion is the original, and that this coloring and improvement... they improve it; what appears to me is that the precaution in this is to prohibit it. The precaution is to prohibit it, because the image that comes on the film, if you look at it, you find it distorted sometimes, you do not know who it is. So if improvements are added to it, it appears to be closer to being forbidden.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Is it said that it is permissible to use images by means of... or something similar? Does this not prevent the angels from entering?
The Shaykh : Now, is the prevention of the angels from entering a sign of honor for the person or a sign of disgrace?
The questioner : The second one.
The Shaykh : Second, would the disgrace be for a person who did what Allah has made permissible?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : No, so everything is permissible, and there is no sin or punishment in it. For this reason, we say that if images are permissible, then the angels do not refrain from entering the place.