Images and Statues
Some matters have spread in Islamic
society and people have agreed and shut up about them, although one of these
matters is enough to make them go to Hell, even if they pray, fast, or pay
charity. These matters are like
□Mannequins in clothes stores.
□When a man draws a woman or makes a
statue for her.
●Sa'id ibn Abi AL-Hasan reported:
While I was with Ibn-'Abbas a man came and said,
“O father of 'Abbas! My
sustenance is from my manual profession and I make these pictures.”
Ibn 'Abbas said, “I will tell you only what I heard
from Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. I heard him saying, ‘Whoever makes a picture will be punished by Allah till he puts
life in it, and he will never be able to put life in it.’”
Hearing this, that
man heaved a sigh and his face turned pale.
Ibn 'Abbas said to him, “What a
pity! If you insist on making pictures, I advise you to make pictures of trees
and any other unanimated objects.”
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari.
Book 34, Hadith 172
●'A'ishah reported:
I bought a
cushion having pictures on it.
When Allah’s Apostle ﷺ
saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter.
I noticed the sign of
disapproval on his face and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! I repent to Allah and His
Apostle. What sin have I committed?”
Allah’s Apostle said, “What is this cushion?”
I said, “I have bought
it for you so that you may sit on it and recline on it.” Allah’s Apostle said, “The makers of these pictures will be punished on the Day of
Resurrection, and it will be said to them,
‘Give life to what you have created (i.e., these pictures).’”
The Prophet added, “The
angels do not enter a house in which there are pictures.”
Reference: Sahih AL-Bukhari.
Book 67, Hadith 116
●It was narrated from Abi-Talha that
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture
of a living creature (a human being or an animal).”
Reference: Sahih Al-Bukhari.
Book 59, Hadith 36
●It was narrated from 'A'ishah that
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day
of Resurrection will be those who try to make the like of Allah’s creations.”
Reference: Sahih Al-Bukhari.
Book 77, Hadith 170
●Ibn 'Abbas reported: I heard the
Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying,
“Every painter (of human beings or
animals) will go to Hell, and for every
portrait he has made, there will be appointed one who will punish him in the
Hell.”
Reference: Riyad As-Saaliheen.
Book 18, Hadith 1680 [AL-Bukhari and Muslim].
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Averting suspicions
Some people give legal
opinions of their own and say, “The Prophet forbade images and statues in his
time lest people worship idols again. But today they will not do so.”
The
reply to this is:
1) This interpretation has not been
provided in any of the Prophetic traditions, indeed, the prohibition of images
and statues is absolute.
2) Do not you see people of weak
faith who visit places of statues everywhere, bend in front of statues, and put
bouquets of flowers below them?
●It was narrated from Abd-Allah ibn
'Amr ibn AL-'As that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
said,
“Indeed, Allah does not take
away knowledge by snatching it from people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the scholars till none of the scholars stays alive.
Then people
take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious
verdicts, will issue them without knowledge.
As a result, they will go astray
and lead others astray.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim. Book 47,
Hadith 22
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