Ads by Muslim Ad Network

What’s the Ruling on Drawing?

11 June, 2017
Q Is it permissible or prohibited in Islam to draw picture?

Answer

Asalamu Alaikum,

Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.

Dr. Shabir Ally addresses this question in the video below:

Transcript:

Aisha Khaja: So, Dr. Shabir, is it haram or sinful to draw cartoons or hang pictures on the wall? 

Ads by Muslim Ad Network

Dr. Shabir Ally: Yeah, so, this is a question that needs to be revisited especially in the light of classical ruling. Classical rulings, many would say, it is not allowed.  

Aisha Khaja: Sorry which one is not allowed? To put up pictures or to draw them?

Dr. Shabir Ally: Well, in the first place to draw them and in the second place to put them up. They would have made exceptions obviously for things like natural scenes without depictions of animals or people. So, you can draw trees and mountains and so on.

So, where does this classical prohibition come from and how do you respond to it in modern times? So, the classical prohibition is mentioned in ahadith. Ahadith related that the Prophet (PBUH) on one hand said that if any one where to draw, referring to pictures of people, then on the Day of Judgment, God will challenge this person to put life into what he has drawn.

Aisha Khaja: Is this ahh? … Sorry, go ahead. 

Dr. Shabir Ally: And this person will not be able to do so. Thus the sovereignty of God and His mastery in creation will be vindicated as unchallenged. And so it is presumed that the artist is somehow challenging God. And the artist is able to create like God and the artist will obviously be called out for this on the Day of Judgement.

Now to proceed, if it is prohibited to draw it, then obviously it will be prohibited to make use of it in any way.  And specifically, to hang it in your house. It is mentioned that The Prophet (PBUH) refused to enter the home when a curtain was put up that had pictures of people until the curtain was torn down and shredded and made into cushions.

Aisha Khaja: A curtain that had pictures on it?

Dr. Shabir Ally: Yes, of course, people could draw at that time as well and not photographs. And it led to a classical ruling that pictures are not permissible. And then when modern photography came on the scene, some said that even the modern photographs are prohibited.

Because that that is obviously a modern method of doing the same thing that people used to do with what is prohibited. And what about videos? Some argued that videos are prohibited as well because what is a video but a collection of a number of still pictures moving at rapid speed, giving the impression of movement.

Aisha Khaja: I also heard, just throwing it out there, I also heard growing up that you are not supposed to put up pictures of faces in your home because angels won’t come into your home. 

Dr. Shabir Ally: Yes, yes, this is related to the Prophet’s refusal to enter the home because that was the conclusion from the hadith he said, it is reported that he said that the angels will not enter a home in which there are picture being displayed.

So, with that sort of classical ruling behind us, what do we do with the modern requirement to have a passport with a picture and photo identification for driver’s license and so on. So, the scholars often make an exception for this.

They say this is a requirement of the land in which you live. You cannot escape this. You must have a passport. You need a drivers’ license. So, you know you are allow because of the necessity. But theoretically this should not have been permissible for Muslims.

So, with rulings like this, Muslims generally feel themselves compromising their religion as they are going. With that kind of compromising mentality, we always feel like fish out of water. We’re not in the right place. We wish the land were different and so on.

So, we need to revisit these things and see if indeed this is a prohibition in Islam. Well, the Quran does not mention any such a prohibition. On the contrary, that Quran shows that Suleiman, on whom be peace, one of the prophets of God, known as King Solomon in the Bible, had statues made for him.

So, it could not be that things like this are prohibited to have. The prohibition is in worshiping such things. So where does the prohibition of such things come from? …


Continue watching for the full answer. I hope this helps answer your question. Please keep in touch.

Walaikum Asalam.

Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:

https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/cant-muslims-depict-prophet-muhammad/

Influence of Islamic Art on Mathematical Graphics

Miracle of Vision: It Isn’t Only What We See