TREASURY OF BLESSED KNOWLEDGE
TREASURY OF BLESSED KNOWLEDGE
Can I be photographed and have photographs in the house?
There are known hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, which say that angels will not enter a house in which images are present and that on the Day of Judgment the most terrible torments are undergone by one who made them. They should not be quoted here, for there is no person who would deny them. It is better to discuss the explanations of these hadith by great scholars.
Imam al-Nawawi says that in a hadith, which refers to the fact that on the Day of Judgment those who create statues will undergo terrible torments, meaning people who create idols for the sake of worshiping them or for the purpose of assimilating themselves to the Creator ﷻ in His creation. But if none of the mentioned objectives are pursued, this person has not fallen into unbelief but rather is committing a great sin. In relation to him, the expression "will undergo the most terrible torments" is best understood as words that carry the connotation of threat. Their meaning is something like this: suppose that parents punish their children to behave obediently and not do anything blameworthy and bad, threatening them that otherwise they will punish them in a terrible way. But by threatening them, would they really be intending do something terrible to them? That those who created will be commanded to infuse a spirit into their statues should be perceived as a threat, somewhat as when parents condone their children to do this or that, knowing before hand that this is completely beyond their power.
The meaning of the above is the same in different books. Summarising, I will say that at the time of the prophet Suleiman images of the prophets who lived before him, created from stone, copper or wood, were exhibited inside the temple. The purpose of this was that, when looking at them, people would remember those prophets, so that they would have the desire to serve the Almighty ﷻ in the way they served. Also, after the death of some good person, they erected a temple over his grave and placed images inside it. What today we call idols (bodily statues) was not forbidden then, because in those days people had pure intentions. As intentions later changed and people began to worship created idols, images became forbidden. Now think about it!
Please note that the discussion we are having here does not refer to photographs taken with a camera. We are talking about idols - monuments and sculptures; photographs taken with a camera have nothing to do with this. Even these statues were permissible at a time when people's intentions towards them were pure.
Before Islam came to Mecca, the Ka’aba was filled with idols. Each clan had its own deity-idol. When our Prophet ﷺ began to call the Quraysh Meccans to Monotheism, they rebelled against him, objecting and not understanding how one God could be sufficient for all mankind. The imams who interpret these hadith say that they refer to those who create idols with a body, intending to worship them like God. Let us see what modern theologians who follow the path of these imams have to say.
From the above it is more than clear that images on paper, including photographs, are not forbidden and that in the above hadith it is precisely idols that are meant - images that have the form of a body. Scholars of four theological and legal schools (madhab) came to a common opinion: it is possible to depict something that does not have a soul - for example, the sun, moon, trees, forest, houses, mosques, etc. Also, these theologians all came to a consensus that it is forbidden to sculpt something that has a spirit, for example, a person or an animal, if the following three conditions are present:
- if it has the shape of a body, that is, made of something. If it is drawn on canvas or paper, then this is permitted;
- if the sculpture is of a complete body. However, if it is done in such a way that it would be impossible for the person or animal represented to live - for example, if you take the head from the image of a person or an animal, pierce it through, or do something similar - then this image will cease to be forbidden. This applies to sculpture;
- if this image gives a shadow. However, if the image is attached to a wall and does not give a shadow, then it is not forbidden. Despite the fact that all these three conditions are typical for children's dolls, which girls play with, they are still allowed. Why? Because these dolls are made with the aim of girls learning from childhood to babysit and raise children.
Now, brothers in the faith, you can ponder which images are allowed and which are forbidden and why they were banned. For example, why did images and sculptures, which were allowed during the time of the prophet Suleiman turn out to be forbidden for our ummah? Also: why is what is forbidden for the ummah allowed for little girls and why is it permissible to have it in the house? Why the controversy around pictures taken with a camera which depict bodies? Do they give a shadow and do they have volume? Remember, is it not said in the books that the prophet Adam had a chest in which the images of all the prophets were kept and which were passed on by inheritance?
I will not quote here what is said in these books. Anyone who needs to can look into them himself. But it is necessary to mention this story. During the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr ─ there lived the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (Kharkal), who was called upon to accept Islam. Here is an excerpt from the story of how an associate of Qisham ibn ‘As led a delegation of Muslims who went to him. It was then that they discovered that he possessed images of all the prophets.
And now, in brief, the meaning of the above. A delegation of Muslims headed for the Byzantine emperor under the leadership of the Prophet's ﷺ companion, Hisham. The emperor received them, made them sit down and ordered that a chest be brought, which contained many small compartments. He then opened it and took out an image wrapped in black silk, showed it and asked, "Do you know this person?" They replied that they did not know.
Then the emperor said, "This is your forefather Adam," and, wrapping him again in the same silk, put him back in place. Then he opened the chest a second time and took out another image wrapped in black silk and asked, "Do you know him?" The companions again answered in the negative. “This is your father Ibrahim,” the emperor replied. The third time, he again took out an image and asked, "Do you know who is depicted here?" To the answer, "No," he said, "This is your father Musa, the son of Imran." Thus, he took out all the images until he reached the prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and asked, "Do you know this person?" As soon as the companions saw the image, they began to weep loudly. The emperor asked, "Why are you crying?" "This is our Prophet," they replied, and added, "In this picture he appears to be among us." Then they asked the Byzantine ruler where he got these images from. And he told how the prophet Adam asked the Almighty ﷻ to show him images of all the messengers from among his descendants. Then the Almighty ﷻ sent down to him the images of all the messengers wrapped in green silk. Every Friday the prophet Adam showed them to his children. He kept them in a chest. Before his death, Adam gave the chest to his son Shis, and he, in turn, gave it to his son Anush. Thus, passing from hand to hand, the chest reached Zulkarnain. Then it was passed on to our ancestors and thus came down to us.
To be continued…
