Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-81b

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the prohibition of lying, "from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: 'Whoever claims to have seen a dream he did not see will be commanded to shape a pebble between two pebbles, and he will not be able to do it. Whoever listens to the conversation of people who are averse to him, molten brass will be poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever draws a picture will be punished and commanded to breathe life into it, and he will not be able to do so.' Al-Bukhari narrated it"

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
We have previously discussed the first hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) in two parts: the first part is "whoever claims to have seen a dream he did not see," and the second is "whoever listens to the conversation of people who are averse to him."
As for the third part, it is
Know that images are divided into two categories: three-dimensional images, where a person makes a statue in the form of a human or an animal. This is forbidden, whether intended for a forbidden purpose or a permissible one. This image-making itself is forbidden; indeed, it is among the major sins, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the image-makers and stated that the most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection are those who compete with the creation of Allah.
The second category is colored images, meaning they have no body but are created through coloring. The scholars differed on this. Some permitted it and said there is no harm in it, except if intended for a forbidden purpose, such as intending to honor the image-maker. It is feared that over time, people may worship them, as happened to the people of Noah, as is reported, that they made images of righteous men and then worshipped them when time passed. Some scholars said there is no harm if it is colored, and they cited the hadith of Zayd ibn Khalid, in which it says They said this indicates that this is an exception, implying that what is forbidden is only that which has a soul. However, the apparent stronger view, which is the view of the majority of scholars, is that there is no difference between the three-dimensional and the colored image found in drawings; all are forbidden. This is because the person who draws an image by hand tries to be creative and resemble the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), thus falling under the general ruling. As for images captured by the known device, the photographic camera, it is known that these were not known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What was known in his time was image-making by hand, where a person competes with the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This [photography] was not known, and a person does not draw it by hand, sketching the face, eyes, nose, lips, and the like. Rather, he directs a specific light, which people have come to know, and this image is imprinted on the paper, while he has not... done anything on the paper; he did not draw it at all. Rather, this image was captured by this light. Therefore, in our view, there is no doubt that he has not drawn it. The most that happened is that the image was imprinted on the paper, so what is on the paper is the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), meaning this image is one that Allah created. The evidence for this is that if a person writes a book by hand and then photographs it with the camera, when the image appears, it is not said that this is the writing of the one who operated the camera and took the picture, but rather it is said that this is the writing of the first person who wrote it by hand. This is the same case.
However, the consideration remains: why did the person take this photographic image? If it is for a forbidden purpose, it is forbidden by the principle of forbidding the means, just as if a person buys a weapon during a fitnah or eggs for gambling, or the like. The meaning is that while the item itself is permissible, its purpose is forbidden, so it is not permissible by the principle of forbidding the means. But if it is for a permissible purpose, such as photographing a driver's license, photographing an ID card, and the like, then there is no harm in it. This is what we see in this issue, and people are now afflicted by it, and it has become widespread in everything. But a person must know, verify, and distinguish between what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden and what has not been forbidden, so that we do not restrict Allah's servants, nor obey them in the prohibitions of Allah.
This is if the image has a soul, based on his saying But if the image does not have a soul, such as photographing trees, the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, and rivers, then there is no harm in it, because it does not have a soul. Some scholars said that what grows, such as trees and crops, is not permissible to photograph, because it is mentioned in the hadith and this is growing, so it resembles what has a soul. But this is contrary to the view of the majority of scholars, and the correct view is that there is no harm in it. As for what a person makes, there is no doubt that it is permissible to photograph it, such as palaces, cars, and the like. Thus, the categories have now become multiple.
What a person makes by hand, there is no harm in photographing it, such as cars, palaces, doors, and the like.
And what is from the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and is not growing, like the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers, there is also no harm in it, and this is a point of agreement.
And what is from the creation of Allah, does not have a soul, but grows, such as trees and crops and the like, the majority of scholars are of the view that there is no harm in it. Some scholars, including Mujahid ibn Jabr, the famous Tabi'i, held that it is forbidden, and the correct view is that there is no harm in it.
The fourth is what has a soul, so it is not permissible to photograph it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the image-makers, and there is no difference between drawing and making a statue.
As for the issue of capturing images, we do not see that it falls under image-making at all, because the capturer has not performed an action that constitutes image-making. But the consideration remains: does he capture these images for a forbidden work or a forbidden thing, or not? This is the point of detail in this issue. And success is from Allah.