The Hobby of Drawing Objects

Q: I have a sister whose hobby is drawing. After she completed her secondary education and enrolled in university, this hobby grew and continued with her. She draws things exactly as they are, matching them to a great extent. When I advised her to leave this off and reminded her of the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this, she says: “It is a hobby, and I cannot give it up.” Nevertheless, she is a young woman of good character who holds fast to the commands of her religion. I ask you to explain this to me in detail, so that perhaps Allah will guide her to the right path.

A: It is obligatory for every Muslim man and woman to seek out the commands of Allah, to obey His command and the command of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and not to make excuses for this based on a hobby. Obedience to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) takes precedence over a hobby. If a person’s hobby is intoxicants, does he drink intoxicants? Or if his hobby is leaving the prayer and sleeping through it, does he leave the prayer? All of this is wrong.
Therefore, it is obligatory to submit everything to the Shari'ah, whether it be hobbies or other matters or opinions.
So if her hobby is drawing, she may draw trees, mountains, cars, and things that have no life, but not those that have life. She must leave her hobby for the sake of obeying Allah and His Messenger. May Allah guide everyone to what pleases Him.