From the Islamic perspective…is it wrong to have wall hangings or paintings/pictures of people in one’s home? If it’s wrong…then please state why and if possible site sources. JazakAllah
Re: Paintings
This topic is been battered to death. Please use the search button and you will find dozen of threads on this. As long as the picture/painting is not the creation of the painter, it is fine. Ahhh.. .. go through the threads.. there is no short answer for it.
-Salman
Re: Paintings
Dear scholars, As-Salamu `alaykum. Is it allowed to hang pictures on walls for the intention of decor? I know that if one puts up a picture for the purpose of worship it is considered shirk. But if I like to decorate my room with my family pictures, I don’t see anything haram in it. Could you please enlighten me? Jazakum Allah khayran.
Date
05/Jul/2003
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Answer
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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
**All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. **
Dear questioner, we commend your pursuit of knowledge and your eagerness to seek what is lawful and avoid what is not. We earnestly implore Allah to bless your efforts in this honorable way.
There is nothing to prohibit hanging family pictures on the wall as long as this is far from the possibility of breeding reverence and glorification and the content of the picture itself does not reveal any `awrahs or indecency.
In his response to the question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
“It is not considered haram (forbidden) to hang family pictures on the wall; however, I should urge you against hanging them on the wall directly facing you in Prayer. For by hanging them in the direction of Prayer, your thoughts will likely be distracted; furthermore, it may inadvertently give the impression that we worship pictures. It is important for us Muslims to make ourselves distinct in our religious practices from those who associate partners with Allah in their worship. So never hang such pictures in the direction of your Prayer.
Still another point to consider: Never hang pictures of leaders and heroes, past or present, on your walls, for it may inadvertently lead to feelings of extreme reverence and hero worship, and this in turn may become an avenue leading to shirk. Such things are considered as avenues leading to that which is haram, and hence considered as forbidden. It is worth remembering that this was the main rationale for prohibiting carving images and statues in the first place.
Since, however, such motives are entirely lacking in hanging family pictures, there is no reason to consider it as haram.”
This is from Islamonline.com.
I personally do not hang pictures of family members on walls but rather prefer keeping them framed on side tables or desks.
Re: Paintings
^ Hareem, i would recommend you dont post Fatwas from dodgy sources like islamonline, who solely depend on their rationale and dont post a single Quranic Ayaah or a Hadith to base their argument upon, when there is one very famous hadith regarding this issue.
The Muslim should not keep any pictures of animate beings in his house, because they will prevent the angels from entering. The Prophet (sas) said: "The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or pictures." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 10/380)
So when angles of rehmah dont enter your house, Shaitan is free to enter...and we all know what happens when Shayateen enter the houses.
Re: Paintings
thanks guys ....
This topic is been battered to death. Please use the search button and you will find dozen of threads on this. As long as the picture/painting is not the creation of the painter, it is fine. Ahhh.. .. go through the threads.. there is no short answer for it. -Salman
i'm sorry about reposting......actually i myself started a thread about pictures....family pictures. however i wanted to get some info about paintings with faces. i did a search but couldn't find anthing about paintings...i'll search some more once i have some time....
if you guys come across anything plz link it....jazakAllah.
sharaabi......back then they didnt have the technology to take photo's with a camera so this hadith must be referring to paintings correct? then why do i still hear controversy when there is a hadith about it? and what about abstract paintings of inanimate objects?
Re: Paintings
^brother its not a dodgy source, these scholars are from al-azher university and qualified.
Pictures or photos taken by camera are different from carving image and statues.
Re: Paintings
^brother its not a dodgy source, these scholars are from al-azher university and qualified.
Pictures or photos taken by camera are different from carving image and statues.
i can understand why statues are not allowed in ones home for obvious reasons.
btw hareem....when i click on those links nothing seems to come up.
Re: Paintings
sharaabi......back then they didnt have the technology to take photo's with a camera so this hadith must be referring to paintings correct? then why do i still hear controversy when there is a hadith about it? and what about abstract paintings of inanimate objects?
It doesnt really matter how you make the picture, be it with canvas and a brush or be it by focussing the lense, setting the shutter speed and clicking and developing the film. In the end you producing an image, regardless of how you produce it, and its haraam according to the many well known hadith of the Prophet (sas).
There is nothing wrong with abstract painting and paintings of inanimate objects. You see plenty of that kinda stuff in masjids both of recent times and the masjids from the Glory Days of Islam...like the Masjids of Cordoba, Andlus and in India/Pakistan too.
^brother its not a dodgy source, these scholars are from al-azher university and qualified.
Al Azher is not what it used to be. Dont be naive, some of the fatwas that the heads of faculties over there have passed out...are so ridiculous and some of them so obscene and vulgar that i cannot even post them here on this forum. It is no secret that scholars nowadays discourage people from going to Azhar.
Pictures or photos taken by camera are different from carving image and statues.
Its not about how the picture is produced. Its about what purpose both of them are likely to serve after they're produced. An example and proof are the hindus, they make no distinction. Before they'd have paintings of their dead on the walls now with the advent of cameras...they have pictures taken from cameras on their walls. And they are doing the exact same thing with these pictures as they did with those paintings.
Re: Paintings
Its your own decision to make AE but if you have any doubts in your mind about pictures and paintings of people then play it safe and just avoid em. In the end it may or may not be permissible but you know you are getting the reward for opting to stay on the safer side.
Why not just go for abstract / calligraphic art. Personally some of the most beautiful paintings i've seen are all abstract art followed by calligraphic works. No pictures or paintings of people can compare to them.
Re: Paintings
Its your own decision to make AE but if you have any doubts in your mind about pictures and paintings of people then play it safe and just avoid em. In the end it may or may not be permissible but you know you are getting the reward for opting to stay on the safer side.
Why not just go for abstract / calligraphic art. Personally some of the most beautiful paintings i've seen are all abstract art followed by calligraphic works. No pictures or paintings of people can compare to them.
true...I have seen some beautiful work like this as well. In fact I have such paintings all over my home...howeveri want something different in other parts of our home. Recently I saw some beautiful cavas paintings of various mosques with images of people standing in front of it....but didnt buy it because of the people in it.
Anyway....I've been playing the "better safe then sorry" route for quite some time...I guess I'll have to continue that.
thanks again everyone.
Re: Paintings
Al Azher is not what it used to be. Dont be naive, some of the fatwas that the heads of faculties over there have passed out...are so ridiculous and some of them so obscene and vulgar that i cannot even post them here on this forum. It is no secret that scholars nowadays discourage people from going to Azhar. .
So true, its going back to what it started off as.
Re: Paintings
It doesnt really matter how you make the picture, be it with canvas and a brush or be it by focussing the lense, setting the shutter speed and clicking and developing the film. In the end you producing an image, regardless of how you produce it, and its haraam according to the many well known hadith of the Prophet (sas).
There is nothing wrong with abstract painting and paintings of inanimate objects. You see plenty of that kinda stuff in masjids both of recent times and the masjids from the Glory Days of Islam...like the Masjids of Cordoba, Andlus and in India/Pakistan too.
Masajid are different from houses, hope you know about "the fountain of Lions" in Alhambra(Andlus).
They don't have any statues in Kordoba mosque but they do have them in their palace as a decoration.
Al Azher is not what it used to be. Dont be naive, some of the fatwas that the heads of faculties over there have passed out...are so ridiculous and some of them so obscene and vulgar that i cannot even post them here on this forum. It is no secret that scholars nowadays discourage people from going to Azhar.
May be its some kind of propoganda to dis Al-Azhar, I have not come across any weird fatwas that's been proven to have come from.
Its not about how the picture is produced. Its about what purpose both of them are likely to serve after they're produced. An example and proof are the hindus, they make no distinction. Before they'd have paintings of their dead on the walls now with the advent of cameras...they have pictures taken from cameras on their walls. And they are doing the exact same thing with these pictures as they did with those paintings.
But we're not Hindus, right?
Re: Paintings
From the Islamic perspective....is it wrong to have wall hangings or paintings/pictures of people in one's home? If it's wrong...then please state why and if possible site sources. JazakAllah
its wrong since cuz we are iconoclasts.
see other religions, people bow/worship those images.
they waste their Pakeeza gaze on human made stuff (which is just a depiction) instead of Admiring ALLAH SWT's creations. (as every year tons of people visit Louvre to see Mona lisa, as if they are (Naozubillah) performing pilgrimage)
ps. sorry i cant relate it with Quran and Sunnah. but what ever i said is actually words of an art student (and that is me, myself)
Re: Paintings
^ Hareem, i would recommend you dont post Fatwas from dodgy sources like islamonline, who solely depend on their rationale and dont post a single Quranic Ayaah or a Hadith to base their argument upon, when there is one very famous hadith regarding this issue.
The Muslim should not keep any pictures of animate beings in his house, because they will prevent the angels from entering. The Prophet (sas) said: "The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or pictures." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 10/380)
So when angles of rehmah dont enter your house, Shaitan is free to enter...and we all know what happens when Shayateen enter the houses.
I didnt have a dof or pictures up in my house, in fact so many duuas were read, and there was so much ibadat in my house, nevertheless no angelk enetered my house, my house was destryed, now that we dnt live thr, iv put pictures up now, all this stuff about this and taht beong haraam and if u dont do this angels wont eneter ure house, is frankly a load of rubbish
Re: Paintings
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
There are separate issues relating to picture-making (taswir), hence it would be good to understand each issue separately and the Shariah ruling on it:
**1) Drawing/Painting Pictures of Humans and Animals **
As it is common knowledge, there are countless Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) that strictly prohibit painting pictures of animate objects, for example:
Sayyiduna Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) forbade the keeping of pictures at home and making them." (Sunan Tirmidhi, no: 1749)
Sayyiduna Abu Talha (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Angels (of mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 5609)
Due to these and many other similar narrations, most classical scholars are of the opinion that painting and drawing pictures of humans and animals is unlawful and sinful. They state that ‘picture-making’ (taswir) of human or animal life has been explicitly forbidden by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) and as such it will be sinful. Only Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him) is reported to have differed with this position of general prohibition.
In one of his narrations, Sayyiduna Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him), contrary to the other three Imams and most other Mujtahids, is reported to have stated that only those pictures are unlawful that are three-dimensional and have a body to them, such as statues and sculptures. A picture that does not have a body or shadow to it will not be unlawful although somewhat disliked, such as drawing a picture on a paper, cloth or on any other object. This is one of two positions narrated from Imam Malik, with his other position being similar to that of the vast majority of classical scholars.
The position of the vast majority of classical scholars is based on the fact that there is no distinction in the various Hadiths between a tangible and intangible picture. The Hadith indicating the permissibility of intangible and non-solid pictures refers to pictures of other than humans and animals. (See: al-Mugni, 7/7 & Takmila Fath al-Mulhim, 4/155)
Based on this, the reliable and mainstream opinion of the classical jurists is that picture-making is unlawful, whether by painting a picture on an object or making a sculpture. This is the position held by the three main Sunni Schools of Islamic law (i.e. Hanafi, Shafi’i & Hanbali) and also one of two positions related from Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him). It would be better if one referred to a Maliki Scholar to determine the relied upon (mufta bihi) position of that School. As such, one should avoid drawing/ painting pictures of humans and animals.
2) Photography **
In view of the above-mentioned one position of Imam Malik, there is no question with regard to the permissibility of taking photographs, for according to that position, painting pictures of human or animal life on a paper or fabric is allowed, hence camera pictures would hold the same ruling.
However, in view of the mainstream and majority position of classical scholars, the question arises as to whether photos of humans and animals fall under the type of picture-making prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) in numerous Hadiths. Camera photos were not in existence when classical scholars were discussing the issue of picture-making, hence one will not find an express ruling regarding photography in their works. As such, it was left to contemporary scholars to determine whether photos held the same ruling as that of painting and drawing pictures.
Contemporary scholars have differed on this issue: **
a) The position of the overwhelming majority of Indo-Pak and some Arab scholars is that photographs of human or animal life are not permissible for the very same reasons that paintings of these are not permissible.
They state that the ruling on picture-making does not change by changing the tool with which the picture is produced. Whether an image is produced by painting it or using a camera, as long as it is an image of a human or animal, it will remain unlawful (haram).This is the position of Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani and most of my other teachers. It is, without doubt, the more precautious and arguably stronger opinion.
b) The second position on the issue, held by most Arab Scholars (from all four Madhabs) and some from the Indian Subcontinent, is that there is a difference between photos and the prohibited picture-making (taswir).
Shaykh Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti’i of Egypt, a 2oth Century scholar known for his knowledge and piety, wrote a whole treatise titled al-Jawab al-Shafi fi Ibahat Surat al-Photography in support of this view of permissibility.
His basic understanding is that the reason behind the prohibition of painting pictures (in the words of the Hadith) is challenging Allah in His Creating of living creatures. In camera photos, however, one does not produce an image through one’s own imagination; hence one is not challenging the Creating of Allah as such. It is merely a reflection of a living being already created by Allah Most High.
These are the two positions of contemporary scholars on the issue. There are great scholars of knowledge, wisdom and piety on both sides of the fence; hence, it would be wrong to criticize anyone for following any one of these positions.
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=9334&CATE=15