I’m about to get real (Pictures)
, Many times I have asked the question on Facebook, “If something is forbidden for the Jews and/or the Christians, is it then logical to assume it is forbidden for the Muslims?” I always get no answer, even though the answer is obvious. The answer is yes, of course. So lets break down the issue of pictures by starting with the Second commandment given to Musa (A.S.)...
Allah SWT says in the Bible, In Exodus 20: 4-6:
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments”
The keywords in these verses are IMAGE and LIKENESS...
Graven Image means a carved statue either from wood or stone or other materials. But we must not ignore the meaning of the words Image and likeness.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an image as: a visual representation of something: such as a likeness of an object produced on a photographic material, a picture produced on an electronic display (such as a television or computer screen), the optical counterpart of an object produced by an optical device (such as a lens or mirror) or an electronic device.
Next we will look at the word Likeness...
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a Likeness as: Copy or Portrait,
other words for likeness are Image or PICTURE...
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”
So does this commandment include pictures? of course it does, it says OR ANY LIKENESS.. is a picture not a likeness... of course it is.
So what is a picture? only a drawing? Well again we look to the Merriam-Webster dictionary and it defines a picture as follows; a design or representation made by various means (such as painting, drawing, or photography) So no a picture is not just a drawing, because picture is defined as a representation made by various means such as Photography.. so a photograph is a picture.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a photograph as a picture or LIKENESS obtained by photography.
You don’t need to be a Religious or Christian scholar to know that images of all sorts from all means are forbidden for Jews and Christians. Statues, Drawings and Photographs of any living thing.... But what about for Muslims? Just because they are forbidden for Jews and Christians as is proof from the bible.
But surely that doesn’t mean they are forbidden for Muslims, right?
WRONG!:
Narrated Abdullah ibn 'Umar (d. 73H) radiallahu 'anhu: Allah's Messenger sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Those who make these IMAGES (suwar) will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them, make alive what you have created." [Al-Bukhari 7/541, no.835; Muslim, 3/160, no. 5268]
Is an Photograph an image? YES!
Abu Hurayrah radiallahu 'anhu reported Allah's Messenger sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam as saying, "Angels do not enter a house (or any other place) where there are statues (tamathil) or pictures (tasawir)." [Muslim 3/1162, no. 5276]
One should realize that the prohibition of picture making is EXTREMELY SEVERE, that it is counted among the enormities, and the threats against doing it are very emphatic. Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim relate that a man came to Ibn Abbas (Allah be well pleased with him and his father) and said, “My livelihood comes solely from my hands, and I make these pictures. Can you give me a legal opinion about them” Ibn Abbas told him, “Come closer,’ and the man did. “Closer,” he said, and the man did, until he put his hand on the man’s head and said: “Shall I tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammed (Allah bless him and give him peace) I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “Every maker of pictures will go to the fire, where a being will be set upon him to torment him in hell for each picture he made. So if you must, draw tress and things without animate life in them.” And Imam Tirmidhi relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “On the Day of Judgment, part of the hell fire will come forth with two eyes with which to see, two ears with which to hear, and a tongue with which to speak, saying, ‘I have been ordered to deal with three: he who holds there is another god besides Allah, with every arrogant tyrant, and with makers of pictures.” And Bukhari, Tirmidhi, and Imam Nasa’i relate the prophetic hadith form Ibn Abbas, “Whoever makes a picture, Allah shall torture him with it on the Day of Judgment until he can breathe life into it, and he will never be able to.” The reason for the unlawfulness of pictorial representation is that it imitates the creative act of Allah Most High, as is indicated by the hadith related by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim that A’isha (Allah be well pleased with her) said, “The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) returned from a trip, and I had draped a cloth with picture on it over a small closet. When he saw it, he ripped it down, his face colored, and he said, “A’isha, the people most severely tortured by Allah on the Day of Judgment will be those who try to imitate what Allah has created,” The foregoing hadiths show that producing representation is unlawful under any circumstances, and just as making a picture is unlawful, so too is procuring one, because the threat that pertains to the users, for pictures are only made to be used. The determining factor in the prohibition of procuring images is the purposes for which they are procured. For example, someone who buys cookies with the shape of animals is not doing wrong if his purpose is to eat, though the maker of them is doing wrong. And similarly with books containing pictures, if the buyer intends obtaining the text, then the presence of pictures is the fault of the printer, not the buyer. The same holds for photographs required for official documents: the authorities are responsible for the sin, not the individual forced to comply. (Islamic Academy)
so we can only conclude by using logic and common sense that an Image is a likeness, a likeness is a picture and a picture is a photograph... So photographs of yourself, your family and any other living thing that YOU yourself have created and put on social media is haram... I am myself guilty of this crime but ultimately I always end up deleting my pictures because I don’t feel comfortable having them. It’s a never ending cycle, at least with me, I delete them, take more, post them, then delete them again. May Allah give us the proper understanding and give us the ability to realize that it’s not just statues and drawings that are haram. It is ALL representation of living things that we create. Including drawings, statues and photographs/pictures. And buying those that we do not create and placing them in our homes is not allowed either. It is equally as bad.
Al-Bukhaari (3226) and Muslim (2106) narrated from Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said; “The angels do not enter a house in which there is an image.”
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The scholars said: The reason why they do not enter a house in which there is an image is because it is a grievous sin, and it is competing with the creation of Allah, may He be exalted, and some of them are images of things that are worshipped instead of Allah, may He be exalted.