Ruling on Depicting That Which Has No Life

Question:
If depicting that which has no life is permissible in the Shari'ah, is it permissible to continue doing so?

Answer:
Yes, it is permissible, as Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and him), the interpreter of the Qur'an and the scribe of the Ummah, issued a fatwa to that effect. It is also indicated by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) which we mentioned in the beneficial answer regarding the ruling on image-making. That hadith states that Jibril (peace be upon him) ordered the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to cut off the head of the statue so that it would be like a tree. This indicates the permissibility of depicting a tree and the like. The scholars have reached consensus on this, praise be to Allah. However, if a person finds it easy to do another permissible good deed, that is better than the work of depicting that which has no life; because it may lead to depicting that which has life. And staying away from the means of evil is required by the Shari'ah. May Allah grant us and you well-being from the causes of His anger.