The Ruling on Three-Dimensional and Photographic Image-Making

The presenter: Our brother, Your Eminence, sent a clipping from one of the magazines, and he named it, and it contains fatwas. He asks for your opinion on what is in those fatwas. Shall we present them, Your Eminence?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: Here in the magazine Al-Yaqzah, which he named, the two noble sisters, Nahat al-Tahir and Ghaliyah al-Gharyani, say:
First: We heard that some scholars refused to leave their country so that they would not be forced to have a photograph taken of them to put in their passport. So why do you put your picture in the magazine?
Second: It was mentioned in a hadith: Is this hadith authentic?
Third: What is the ruling on listening to singing?
These are the questions, and the fatwas say:
I said, seeking help from Allah the Exalted: First: What is forbidden without dispute is only three-dimensional images (statues). As for drawings and photographic image-making, there is disagreement among the scholars, and the stronger position is the opinion of those who say it is permissible. This is based on looking at the totality of the evidence regarding this issue, and I have detailed this in more than one issue of the magazine.
Do you have a comment on this fatwa, Your Eminence?
The answer: This mufti is truthful in that the images... which have a shadow, i.e., the three-dimensional ones, the scholars have agreed on their prohibition. He is also truthful in that there is disagreement regarding photographic image-making; but that the stronger position is permissibility, this is not correct. The stronger position is prohibition and forbiddance, and this is the opinion of the majority of the people of knowledge, as al-Nawawi and others mentioned. The majority of the people of knowledge are on the side of prohibition, of photographic image-making just like image-making that has a shadow. So photographic image-making is not permissible, not in clothing, not in paper, not in anything else; because the hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are general, and they all indicate the prohibition of image-making. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): This is general. And it is established in the Sahih from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that: And he did not exclude one image-maker from another. And when he saw a curtain at Aisha’s place with images in it, he became angry and tore it, and said: Muslim narrated it in his Sahih.
And it is known that the images in the curtain are of the same kind as photographic images; they are merely dyes. And yet he became angry when he saw them (peace and blessings be upon him) and tore the curtain. This indicates the prohibition of image-making absolutely. And likewise his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): This is general. (peace and blessings be upon him). And it is known that the images on the walls are of the same kind as photographic images, and yet he erased them (peace and blessings be upon him), and explained that the owners of these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them: All of this indicates the prohibition of image-making absolutely, except for a cause, such as the image-making that those responsible for criminals are forced to do, so that they can identify the criminals and pursue them, for the benefit of the Muslims.
Likewise, the photographing of a person when there is a need to preserve the honor of people, if it is not possible for him to do so except with it, and he will not be given a means to preserve honor except with it, then he is forced to do so. As for image-making in general, it is forbidden. This is the original ruling. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you. And regarding the passport, Your Eminence, is it like preserving the honor of people?
The Shaykh: Likewise, if it is not possible except with this...
The presenter: So it is the same?