Pictures in houses

[Ali Asghar Moosa]

Dear imam,
why are we not allowed to have pictures of people,animals etc..

what harm does it do if you do have a picture in your house.

[Imam]

Allah, Most Glorious and Sublime we Praise, and Infinite Blessings and Peace upon His Beloved and Noble Messenger, Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam.

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Allah, with His name I begin; The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful

Hanging paintings, pictures, portraits, images and drawings of animate life on walls, material/cloth draped over walls and curtains, etc, are severely prohibited in Islam. However, pictures of non animate beings like the sun, the moon, the trees, and mountains or of buildings are undisputedly permissible.

Animate pictures/images are considered unlawful in Shariah; Islamic Sacred Law, when there is a false or immoral intention behind it. For example; when one creates a picture with the intention of imitating or re-creating the creative act of Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, for the purpose of worshipping other than Allah, or acts which constitute worshipping or improper reverence, or which play in the mind and imagination of the viewers; like indecency, falsity or impurity of one’s mind, heart and soul. The above will be considered a Kabirah; Major sin, enormity, impermissible to do, buy or sell, keep or view and its removal obligatory.

However, if animate pictures/images were to be drawn/created/manufactured for educational purposes, like on school papers, for educational institutions, children learning through drawings, sketches, books, newspapers, photography for the same reasons, family portraits for the family album for one’s memory but not for placing on walls, shelves or fireplaces for viewing, or on cushions, bed sheets, or floor coverings only, then such acts are Mubah; permissible, and there is no sin in doing so, nor in buying or selling such material or products. It is evident that in the case of cushions, bed sheets, floor coverings and the like there is no assimilation of any form of idolatry, worship, reverence or humility, but rather it is contrary to this.

So the consummate wisdom behind this Shari’ah law is establishing the clear ruling and parameters of what constitutes idolatry and significantly the removal of all traces in every respect of any resemblance with idolatry or imitation of the creative act of Allah.

Important: There is still one element and factor that is still applicable in our contemporary modern age for the karahiyyah; offensiveness of animate pictorial representations on cushions, portraits, bed sheets and floor coverings. The inferable evidence of this you will see in the Ahadith to follow, where the Companions excelling through their inner piety chose not to use such cushions, sheets or floor coverings, merely for their association with and common practice/culture with the idolaters and polytheists. Pictorial representations through fictional, animations, and characters from the film industry, images of pop/music icons, etc, play a large part in contemporary retail marketing through various media channels. In our world of global materialist commercialisation and international advertising and media campaigning, brand or label sponsorships, feature films and Disney/Hollywood character based goods, franchising, etc, there is hardly a household item that does not bear a logo or brand name for retailing purposes. Children are immediately drawn and sucked into pressures in schools from school mates in fear of isolation or bullying if they don’t wear branded goods or whatever is in trend, like Spiderman or shrek bags, socks, bed sheets, cushions, pillow covers, and other items like drinking containers, plastic glasses, and other accessories. Also by the time one item is bought the marketing companies create another trend by introducing more products to catch the public demand. This leads to a combination of evils, like excessiveness, lack of moderation, instability, wasting, lack of values, disproportion, envy, disrespect, jealousy, waste of resources, abuse of wealth, over spending, greed and selfishness from children and undue financial pressures upon parents. It becomes no different than many other evils and major sins like ribaa’, adultery, drinking, gambling and other munkars; blameworthy acts. The entire world has been engulfed in this. One evil leads to another. And, when one is lenient towards one issue it can lead to the detriment opening of other doors in the name of modern interpretation of Islam. Islam is the Din of moderation and discipline. Muslims should be in peace with the Creator and in peace with His creation. So the Fatwa’ for our contemporary era will always be of prohibition even though the rukhsa; permissibility for pictorial representations on pillows, bed sheets and floor coverings can be found in the Ahadith.

continued.....

[Imam]

Re: Pictures in houses

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Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, (B194H D256H) and Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim, al-Naysaburi, (B204H D261H), relate that a man came to Ibn ‘Abbas, (Allah be well pleased with them both), and said,

“My livelihood comes solely from my hands, and I make these pictures. Can you give me a legal opinion about them?” Ibn ‘Abbas, (Allah be well pleased with them both), told him, “Come closer, ” and the man did. “Closer, ” he said, and the man did, until he placed his hand on the man’s head and said: “Shall I tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam)?

“ ‘Every maker of pictures will go to the fire, where a being will be set upon him to torment him in hell for each picture he made.’

“So if you must, draw trees and things without animate life in them.”

And Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Isa, al-Tirmidhi, (B209H D279H), relates that the Prophet, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), said,

“On the day of Judgement, part of the hellfire will come forth with two eyes with which to see, two ears with which to hear, and a tongue with which to speak, saying, ‘I have been ordered to deal with three: he who holds there is another god besides Allah, with every arrogant tyrant, and with makers of pictures.’ ”

And, Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, (B194H D256H), Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Isa, al-Tirmidhi, (B209H D279H), and Imam Ahmad ibn ‘Ali, al-Nasa’I, (B215H Martyred 303H), relate the Prophetic Hadith from Ibn ‘Abbas,

“Whoever makes a picture, Allah shall torture him with it on the Day of Judgement until he can breathe life into it, and he will never be able to.”

Imam Bukhari, (B194H D256H), and Imam Muslim, (B204H D261H), relate that,

‘A’isha, (Allah be well pleased with her), said,

“The Prophet, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), returned from a trip, and I had draped a (silk) cloth as a curtain/veil over the door which had pictures (of winged horses) on it. When he saw it, he ripped it down, his face coloured, and he said,

“ ‘ (A’isha, Allah be well pleased with her), the people most severely tortured by Allah on the Day of Judgement will be those who try to imitate what Allah has created, ’ ”

Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim, al-Naysaburi, (B204H D261H), relates,

Hadrat Abu Talhah, (Allah be well pleased with him), said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, say, Angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or a picture.”

Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ibn Muslim, al-Naysaburi, (B204H D261H), relates,

(Sayyidah) ‘A’isha, (Allah be well pleased with her), said, “The Prophet, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), entered (the home) when I had draped a veil with pictures on it. He, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), removed it and I made two cushions from it.”

Imam Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi al-Madani, (B94H D179H) informed us:

“Abu’n-Nadr the mawla of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ubaydullah informed us that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah ibn Mas’ud went in to see Abu Talha al-Ansari in order to visit him while sick, and he found Sahl ibn Hunayf there with him. Abu Talhah called for someone to remove a coverlet from under him. Sahl ibn Hunayf asked, ‘Why are you removing it?’ He answered, ‘Because of the images on it, about which the Messenger of Allah, Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, said that which you know.’ Sahl asked, ‘Did he not say, “……… except for what is decoration on a garment”?’ He answered, ‘Yes of course, but it is more pleasing to me [to remove it].’”

Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybani, al-Hanafi, said:

“We adhere to this. Those images which are on a carpet that is spread out, or bedding that is laid out or cushions, then there is no harm in that. The only thing [of this kind] that is disapproved of is curtains and things that are set up or stood up. That is the verdict of (Imam) Abu Hanifah, (B80H D150H), and of our Fuqaha’ in general.”
Muwatta Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Farqad ash-Shaybani, (B132AH-D189AH)

Imam, ‘Allama Badr ud-Din Mahmood bin Ahmad ‘Ayni (D855H) writes in his famous commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, namely ‘Umdatul Qari,

“Imam Abu J’afar Ahmad bin Muhammad, al-Misri, at-Tahawi, said, the exception made for material with pictorial representation in the Ahadith refers to sheets and cushions, which are not placed or treated with respect. Sheets are walked and sat upon and cushions are sat and leaned upon. The Fuqaha; Jurists have said that the Messenger of Allah, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), disliked drapes and veils with pictures of animate life and showed no dislike of such cloth/material used for sitting on (floor covering). This was the Madhab of Hadrat S’ad ibn Abi Waqaas, Saalim, ‘Urwah, Ibn Seereen, ‘Ata’, and ‘Akramah, and this is the Mutawassit; middle Madhab. Imam Malik, Imam Shafa’iy and Imam Abu Hanifah also said the same (and so too is the Madhab of Imam Ahmad bin Hambal). The Messenger of Allah, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), in the beginning prohibited all kinds of pictorial representations, even if printed on material. The reason for this being the people in general had just newly abandoned worshipping pictorial representations and images. However, as time passed on with the people fully adjusted and its prohibition was deeply established in their hearts, the Messenger of Allah, (Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam), allowed the usage of the already manufactured cloth to be used for floor covering only so that the ignorant amongst the people do not take it to be revered in anyway. As for clothing/material with pictorial representations other than for covering the floor the prohibition still remains.”

And the Knowledge of Allah, Most Glorified & Exalted is Complete and Encompasses all, and Grant Infinite Blessings and Peace upon His Revered & Beloved Messenger, Salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam.