What is meant by the design in the hadith "except a design in a garment"
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Q: It was mentioned in some of your Excellency's books regarding image-making: "except a design in a garment." What is meant by the design? Is it the image, or does it have another meaning?
A: The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) explained the design in two ways:
The first is: That it is the image found on carpets and the like of things that are stepped on and trampled, such as cushions. This is excused because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) excused it. The point is that the use of it is excused, whereas image-making is not permissible.
And the second: That it is the patterns found in garments that are not images. Patterns in garments do not cause harm, and their ruling is not the ruling of an image. What is forbidden is the image of anything that has a soul, whether a human or otherwise. This is based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he once entered upon Aisha and saw a garment with an image in it, so he became angry and tore it. He said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 5362Sahih (Darussalam) Aisha said: So I made two cushions from it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used them to sit on.
Al-Nasa'i narrated with a sound chain from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he had an appointment with Jibril (peace be upon him), but Jibril was delayed. So he went out to wait for him. Jibril said to him: "There is a statue in the house, a curtain with an image in it, and a dog. Order that the head of the statue be cut off so that it becomes like a tree, order that the curtain be made into two separate cushions to be sat upon, and order that the dog be taken out." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so, and Jibril (peace be upon him) entered. Abu Hurayrah said: "The dog was a puppy under a bed in the house, which al-Hasan or al-Husayn had brought in."
A: The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) explained the design in two ways:
The first is: That it is the image found on carpets and the like of things that are stepped on and trampled, such as cushions. This is excused because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) excused it. The point is that the use of it is excused, whereas image-making is not permissible.
And the second: That it is the patterns found in garments that are not images. Patterns in garments do not cause harm, and their ruling is not the ruling of an image. What is forbidden is the image of anything that has a soul, whether a human or otherwise. This is based on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he once entered upon Aisha and saw a garment with an image in it, so he became angry and tore it. He said:
The makers of these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them: 'Bring to life that which you have created.'
إن أصحاب هذه الصور يعذبون يوم القيامة، ويقال لهم: أحيوا ما خلقتمAl-Nasa'i narrated with a sound chain from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) , from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he had an appointment with Jibril (peace be upon him), but Jibril was delayed. So he went out to wait for him. Jibril said to him: "There is a statue in the house, a curtain with an image in it, and a dog. Order that the head of the statue be cut off so that it becomes like a tree, order that the curtain be made into two separate cushions to be sat upon, and order that the dog be taken out." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so, and Jibril (peace be upon him) entered. Abu Hurayrah said: "The dog was a puppy under a bed in the house, which al-Hasan or al-Husayn had brought in."
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.