Pictures, images haram in islam

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

Pictures and images with eyes are haram, and angels dont come into the room where there are angels.

there is a hadith that states teh prophet said to one of his wifes to fix a curtain that it was taking shape of a animal or something and he asked another wife to put away a pillow that had picture of animals sewn into it.

So, it was obviously very unacceptable for the prophet saw. but in todays world its so hard to avoid the imagery.

How unpermissable is it? what about stuffed toys for babies and baby nurseries?:frowning: :confused:

TAKING PICTURES IS HARAM AND MAKING VIDEOS? …

2

though i know i'm not a schollar etc. but i;ve read the same in literature from schollars who i believe as authentic

so ...i've read all imagesr haram ....fotos ....movies ...stuffed toys ,...everything

personally ...i don't let anyone capture my image ...but feel guilty as there are countless pix of my kids ...n once i've posted them in image too ....

i don't buy anything with cartoons on it ...n slowly i'm removing all stuffed toys too ....with the permission of my kids ......!

n i'm not at all a good example ....but i've cousins etc. ....who don't have a single image etc. in their home ....n i ereally admire them

please no one try to sue me on this ....if you don't agree ....its ok ...i just stated what i;ve heard n i believe in

3

I think it's okay to take pictures as long as you're not gonna hang them on the walls and worship them or keep them near the Quran or a place where you pray. In old times it was forbidden because I guess people used to worship them, etc. These days, it's different; pictures and videos are used as memories not for worship ofcourse but don't know what Quran or hadith says on this topic...

4

Well then, If you all wanna believe in the scholars who tell you pictures are Haraam, then do so by all means, but do ask them a question I always ask such scholars:

** If a scholar thinks pictures are haraam, then the first thing he should do is, throw away all the currency notes out of his pocket, because they contain photographs of national heroes. Why wouldnt they do that? Do they love money more than they love Islam?**

Answers anyone????

5

^ :)

Although, I'm pretty sure images aren't haraam I'd really like to see hadiths and Quranic verses regarding this topic. Does anybody has them? Please share. Maybe, Mohammed(saw) was distracted by those images on curtain or pillow..maybe they were taking away his attention from prayers. That could be a valid reason for putting them away but who knows. Let's hear from someone else...

6

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by CurruptAngel: *
^ :)

Although, I'm pretty sure images aren't haraam I'd really like to see hadiths and Quranic verses regarding this topic. Does anybody has them? Please share. Maybe, Mohammed(saw) was distracted by those images on curtain or pillow..maybe they were taking away his attention from prayers. That could be a valid reason for putting them away but who knows. Let's hear from someone else...
[/QUOTE]

There are only FOUR things mentioned as Haraam in the Koran. The pictures are not among them. These four things are:

1- Blood,
2- and flesh of swine
3- Eating something that has been slaughtered in the name of someone other than Allah
4- Usuary

However it has been stated:

And, for what your tongues describe, do not utter the lie, (saying) This is lawful and this is unlawful, in order to forge a lie against Allah; surely those who forge the lie against Allah shall not prosper.(6:116)

O ye who believe! make not unlawful the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you but commit no excess: for Allah loveth not those given to excess.
(5:87)

Therefore pictures being Haraam is out of question. Whether they're forbidden, and if they are, what are the reasons, and if those reasons are taken care of, whether pictures become legal, is a seperate discussion.

7

Even im not a scholar, but i think taking pictures are NOT Haram in Islam.

8

I think if you don't hang the pictures on walls, (or at least not in the room where you pray) it's ok to keep them in albums as memory.

9

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by CurruptAngel: *
^ :)

Although, I'm pretty sure images aren't haraam I'd really like to see hadiths and Quranic verses regarding this topic. Does anybody has them? Please share. Maybe, Mohammed(saw) was distracted by those images on curtain or pillow..maybe they were taking away his attention from prayers. That could be a valid reason for putting them away but who knows. Let's hear from someone else...
[/QUOTE]

Prophet (pbuh) was distracted? come on..are we really talking about Prophet (pbuh?

10

ok …don’t drag me in a debate etc…but images r said to be haram …n it wasn’t just declared haram coz ppl may worshjip them etc…coz none of the believers at that time was expected to do so …they entered in the circle of islam after understanding the concept of 'Tawheed"

Pagal Insaan…if schollars were heard that fondly …it was quite possible that we could enjoy currency notes without images …n btw , euro is without any living image …:slight_smile:

those who really want to know the ruling check it here

n please remember …no one is forcing you to accept it …but if you disagree then please don’t insult schollars …thanx

11

peope worship jesus , bhuddha images there is nothing wrong with it
it is just devotion. same way muslims pray towards a kabba.
it is all symbolism.

i dont know yjur veda really say the following

They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and
sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal
prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading
God, BUT THOSE WHO WORSHIP VISIBLE THINGS BORN OF THE PRAKRTI, such as the
earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in
still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into
an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." --
Yajur Veda 40:9.

"The Formless Supreme Spirit that pervades the universe can have NO MATERIAL
REPRESENTATION, LIKENESS OR IMAGE." -- Yajur Veda 32:3.

12

Asalamu alikum yari-eh,

People are going to go on and on about this topic. I'll try to summarize it in as few words as possible, you can look at the evidences, make your decision, and just please dont involve yourself in the rhetoric of people who think they can re-invent islam.

Taking pictures is forbidden (some scholars disagree), however when it is for a purpose such as your passport/driver's license etc it is allowed, because its not a case of enjoyment, but security and law.

This is the hadith that you mentioned, Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) entered into the apartment of 'Aishah and she had covered a little room of hers with a curtain that contained pictures. So the Prophet refused to enter and he said,

"O 'Aishah! Verily the severest of the people in punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who made these pictures."

(where does it say here that he was being distracted?)

"A neck will come out of the Fire (of Hell) and it will have two eyes to see with and two ears to hear with and a tongue that speaks. So it will say, 'Verily I have been made responsible for dealing with three: with every arrogant, stubborn person, and whoever took another god along with Allaah, and those who made pictures." (Jami at tirmidhee)

(taking another god, and making pictures are mentioned separately)

Hmm.. as far as I know, dolls for kids are an exception

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and I had friends who would play with me. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered they would hide themselves and he would call them to come and play with me. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 5779; Muslim, no. 2440.

Some scholars believe that the dolls should not have eyes or lips etc (i.e. facial features) since the dolls in that time were like that. Allahu alim.

Making videos is considered allowed because the end result is not the production of an image/picture, but an actual live event. Most scholars think that this form is allowed since it isn't 'image-making'.

13

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sheraz CT: *

Prophet (pbuh) was distracted? come on..are we really talking about Prophet (pbuh?
[/QUOTE]

Hey I said ''Maybe'' and yes, I was talking about the Prophet(pbuh)...I'm sorry but I didn't mean to insult him or anything, I was only assuming and I did say that I'd like to see Quran and hadiths on this topic..

14

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ammarr: *
Asalamu alikum yari-eh,

People are going to go on and on about this topic. I'll try to summarize it in as few words as possible, you can look at the evidences, make your decision, and just please dont involve yourself in the rhetoric of people who think they can re-invent islam.

Taking pictures is forbidden (some scholars disagree), however when it is for a purpose such as your passport/driver's license etc it is allowed, because its not a case of enjoyment, but security and law.

This is the hadith that you mentioned, Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) entered into the apartment of 'Aishah and she had covered a little room of hers with a curtain that contained pictures. So the Prophet refused to enter and he said,

"O 'Aishah! Verily the severest of the people in punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who made these pictures."

(where does it say here that he was being distracted?)

"A neck will come out of the Fire (of Hell) and it will have two eyes to see with and two ears to hear with and a tongue that speaks. So it will say, 'Verily I have been made responsible for dealing with three: with every arrogant, stubborn person, and whoever took another god along with Allaah, and those who made pictures." (Jami at tirmidhee)

(taking another god, and making pictures are mentioned separately)

Hmm.. as far as I know, dolls for kids are an exception

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and I had friends who would play with me. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered they would hide themselves and he would call them to come and play with me. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 5779; Muslim, no. 2440.

Some scholars believe that the dolls should not have eyes or lips etc (i.e. facial features) since the dolls in that time were like that. Allahu alim.

Making videos is considered allowed because the end result is not the production of an image/picture, but an actual live event. Most scholars think that this form is allowed since it isn't 'image-making'.
[/QUOTE]

Okay so they are forbidden? How come Passport/liscense pictures are allowed then? Who allowed them? I don't see a reason for 'making pictures allowed' mentioned in the hadiths you posted above, how can scholars say that we won't be punished if we use pictures for these purposes? Seems pretty contradictory. Are we following these hadiths or discarding them? By the way, video-taping is same as taking pictures because a video is made from multiple images/pictures!

15

CA,

Yes, but following the law of the land which you are in is also compulsory, plus the principle of necessity in taking photographs such as for medical studies is a separate category (i.e. doing something due to necessity/compulsion, and doing it out of want are different things)

This is why those pictures are considered allowed. Because having law and order in the land is of higher priority. And pictures on licenses is one way of assuring that.

Now your second point, this is different because its a 'live' capturing of an event. Let me elaborate. A person could be giving a lecture anywhere in the world, but since i can not be there I would see it on video. Here the purpose of the video is to bring that event to me. Also when you make a video, 'images' are not produced on paper like in a photograph, but images are produced, displayed on the screen, and THEN THESE IMAGES DISAPPEAR after whatever I was watching is over. There is a vast difference :)

16

ammaar....i agree with all you have written above ....but what i have heard or read from schollars is that videos too are haram ....as they are still images but they pass before our eyes so quick that they feel living ....
but may be you know more :)
just my view :)

17

Afia I've heard that too. Lekin I always thought that scholars think television is forbidden because of its content, and not because of the process of making videos. Allah knows best. I'll look more into it.

18

Read the follwoing I found this and its pretty interesting.....and please no debating on this, just for knowledge purposes.

Q.Some people say taking pictures and keeping them at home is haraam, is this true?. Because in N. America and Europe for example we heard every day a missing children and with out their recent picture it is difficult to trace them,
so could you explain to me what kind of pictures is haraam and what kind is not haraam, because I like to take pictures from my children just for memory and I keep them at home, am I commiting a sin, please specify for me and give me some daliil.

Ans.
Praise be to Allaah.

The basic principle concerning making pictures of any animate being, whether it is a human or any animal, is that it is haraam, whether the pictures are three-dimensional or are drawn on paper, cloth or walls, etc., or are photographs (taken with a camera), because of the reports in the saheeh ahaadeeth which state that that is not allowed, and threaten the one who does that with a painful torment, and because they may lead to shirk in the form of standing respectfully before them, humbling oneself before them, drawing close to them and venerating them in a manner that is only befitting for Allaah. They are also forbidden because this is a kind of trying to match the creation of Allaah, and because of the temptation inherent in some of them, such as pictures of actresses and naked women, and so-called beauty queens.

Among the ahaadeeth which state that this is haraam and that it is a major sin is the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Whoever makes an image in this world will be told to breathe the soul into it on the Day of Resurrection, and he will never be able to do that.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim). He [Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him)] also narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every image-maker will be in the Fire, and every image that he made will be made to appear to him and will torment him in Hell.” Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “If you must do that, then make trees and things that have no soul.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim). The general meaning of the ahaadeeth is that it is absolutely forbidden to make images of anything that has a soul.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/456-457

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said, when he was asked about pictures: making pictures for this purpose is haraam and is not permitted. That is because making pictures for memories is haraam, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The angels do not enter any house in which there is an image,” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, Bid’ al-Khalq, 2986), and whatever the angels do not enter had no goodness in it.

Fataawa Manaar al-Islam, 3/759

19

I was wonderring about something…following is a link of an article I came across. It talks about the oldest paintings in the world.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/booksmedia/book.asp

These paintings are carbon dated to being 32,000 years old and Prophet SAW came to this world 1400 years ago how come there is no painting of him?

20

^ Maybe he thought that if there would be a picture of Him, then after he would pass away, people might start worshipping Him (too).