Re: Portraying the Prophet
Picture of Prophet (SAW) is not allowed because any such picture would represent Prophet (SAW) that would be misrepresentation (as it could not be real him). On the other hand, for many, such pictures would become symbol of Prophet (SAW) and they would start taking as such (that would be fraud (dhoka) with these people).
According to many Hadiths, Islam does not allow hand drawn portraits. Scholars have given various reasons. I believe that Islam prohibits misrepresentation and any hand drawn portrait at best is just a resemblance of the intended person in portrait and thus a misrepresentation, hence not allowed.
As far as present day photography is concerned, they are not hand drawn portraits. They are true image of the person just like image in mirror or water that camera captures by natural means. Such Photograph use means Allah has created for the purpose and thus I believe that they are OK. These photographs portray image just like mirror, water or any shiny thing with difference that in photograph, those images are captured that can be seen even when object is not there, and nothing more.
Such photographs are NOT similar to making resemblances of person by drawing portrait of that person (misrepresenting that person) but are true pictures of person it portrays, something that natures see and captures as photograph (that happens due to chemical character in some substance, a miracle created by Allah that humans discovered). Thus, one cannot consider such photographs Haram (not allowed) but a phenomenon that Allah created as character in some substance for human use.