The Ruling on Photography at Weddings

This message reached us from Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It says: Muhammad Abdullah al-Du'jani, respectfully addressing His Eminence the Shaykh: Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, the honorable! Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And after that: O His Eminence the Shaykh! We have a question we hope to have answered through *Nur 'ala al-Dirb*. It says: A group of people were gathered at a wedding, and some wanted to photograph the groom and some of the people sitting there. Others objected and said: It is not permissible to take photographs. The discussion between them went on, and in the end, he photographed all the people sitting there out of stubbornness and arrogance when he heard that it was forbidden. We ask for clarification on this, and may Allah guide you?
Answer: This is not permissible. It is not permissible for people to be photographed, whether with their consent or without it. If it is done without their consent, the sin is even greater. Photography is forbidden for beings with souls, whether human beings or others among beings with souls, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the painters, and he said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So the conclusion is that photography is forbidden for beings with souls. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to photograph the people sitting at a wedding, whether men or women. He has no right to photograph them even if they consent; because photography is an evil; and because this leads to the display of women who are naked or nearly naked, meaning not wearing hijab, or nearly naked due to their laxity in clothing, the exposure of their heads, the exposure of their faces, the exposure of their arms, and so on. So the conclusion is that it is not permissible. Photography is an evil and is forbidden, and it involves corruption regarding the photography of ... women at weddings. For they adorn themselves and decorate themselves, so if he photographs them, he has worked to spread fitnah by displaying these pictures to people. It is obligatory to complain to the court or to the governor of the country so that he is disciplined for engaging in this matter. Yes.