Drawing in Islam: some say its permissible, some not.

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
I read a post that said that drawing inanimate objects is okay, but not drawing animate objects like people, birds and animals.

I found two fatwas based on this, both of which say it is permissible, one even says that Hazrat Aisha used to play with dolls:

http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=2&sub_cat_id=811

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...h-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503546054

I ask because if creating images is bad, then also, children learning art at school, children making model animals with playdough/clay, creating dolls and henceforth playing with dolls and action figures, it would all be bad. And where does photography enter into this?

Its so confusing, I might go insane. What is allowed and what isn't allowed? If a person draws a cartoon and shuts it away somewhere, or just doodles a cartoon face on scrap paper, is that permissible or not?
 

Amina 1

Junior Member
Assalam alaikum


I to would like to know the answer to this question also. I have a lot of photos of my son. Can I keep them if I don't display them?
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
I would really like to know the answer. I know there is the fatwa that says drawing animate objects is haraam, and drawing inanimate objects is halaa. BUT the thing is, if drawing every single picture of an animate object is haraam, then the following should be haraam too:

* Every single book, newspaper, magazine, because it all has drawings of animate objects etc
* Sewing and embroidery of dolls, birds, butterflies would be wrong
* All articles of clothing (especially children's clothing) that carry little smiling faces and cartoons would be wrong
* All people involved in making/manufacturing toys, dolls, stuffed animals, board games (because the board games also have images and cartoons on them) would be wrong
* watching cartoons would be wrong, because obviously if the person making them is in the fire, then how can a person watch it with permission?
* reading comic books, or any illustrated book would be sinful.
* video and computer games with people/cartoons are wrong, because if the person designing the game who created the sprites is in the fire, then where would be the people who played the games?
* and then photography is a whole new area all together.

So where do we draw the line? Someone, please, do answer. Because images are everywhere. If making them is a sin, then surely using them is also. Even all around this site too, there are so many smilies people post in their posts. The smiley face wearing the hijab, the galloping horse in someone's avatar, wouldn't all of that be sinful?
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
Thank you very much for explaining. I had a few cartoon drawings I had saved from my school days, I had done just for fun, but I'll get rid of them now and will not draw animate things again in future. Also, I was worried about toys being seen as idols, but yes I found this story, and it made me smile. Islam is very open minded after all:

-----Quote:
"As for the issue of allowing kids to play with toys and dolls, we'd like to cite for you the words of the eminent Muslim scholar Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, in his well-known book, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam:

"There are some kinds of three-dimensional figures which are not intended to be accorded respect or to be displayed as an expression of high living. Islam does not close its mind to them, nor does it see any harm in their use.

Children's playthings such as dolls, in the form of humans, animals, and the like fall into this category. Said the Prophet's wife `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her): I used to play with dolls in the house of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be on him) and my friends would come over to play with me. They would hide when they saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) approaching, but he was in fact very happy to see them with me, and so we played together. (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

`A'ishah also reported, "One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, 'What are these?' 'My dolls,' I replied. 'What is this in the middle?' he asked. 'A horse,' I replied. 'And what are these things on it?' he asked. 'Wings,' I said. 'A horse with wings?' he asked. 'Have not you heard that Solomon, the son of David, had horses with wings?' I said. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed so heartily that I could see his molars. (Reported by Abu Dawud)

The dolls mentioned in the above hadith are the dolls with which children play, as `A'ishah was quite young when she married the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Ash-Shawkani says that these ahadith are sufficient proof of the permissibility of children's playing with statue-like three-dimensional figures (i.e., dolls of human or animal shape). It is reported that once Imam Malik saw a man buying dolls for his daughter and he disliked it, but Qadi `Iyad says that it is permissible for girls to play with dolls. (Because girls are more likely to play with dolls than boys, only girls have been mentioned here. However, this does not imply any prohibition for boys to do so.)

This permission also applies to figures made of sweets for festive occasions since they are used only as food.""


So I would suppose this means images used as toys are acceptable. That would also include teddy bears and the like.
 

xSharingan01x

TraVeLer
:salam2:

This is somewhat confusing. So the doll makers for children wouldn't be sinning be creating something which they cannot give life to?

Anyone know the opinion of Maliki Madhab concerning images?

:wasalam:
 

SwordofAllah16

Heros of Islam
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful...

Praise be to Allah in whose hand my soul lies in.... :salam2: my dear sister. Before I fully try to answer this question let me tell you one thing, that if it is clear that something is fully forbidden it is best not to go near that. People may come with fatwas with no evidence, but please follow the one with the most authentic evidence behind the ruling.

Drawing as a whole is not prohibited. What really is prohibited is to draw animate things, things that have a life, and scholars say that anything with a face should not be drawn but Allah knows best...

The hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, according to the saheeh hadeeth: “Every image maker will be in the Fire.” And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most severely punished of people on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers, those who tried to imitate the creation of Allaah.” And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The makers of these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and they will be told, ‘Give life to that which you have created.’”

All this applies to animate things, however it is permissible to draw inanimate things, like mountains, trees, sea etc.... this according to the fatwa from the scholars of IslamQA (http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/39806/drawing)

And lastly the hadith about Aisha (ra) is true and sahih. The fact is that, scholars say that is preferred to let your daughters play with dolls so that they develop that motherly feeling towards children. The playing with dolls however only applies to daughters and Allah knows best. Again this is from the fatwa from the scholars of IslamQA.

And I have no knowledge over smilie faces, cartoons etc, Allah knows best.

Please forgive me if I had said anything wrong, and hope my answer helped atleast one bit inshallah. Take care and Salamu alaikkum

Tariq salaam bro you need to tell me the authentication of the hadeethz i need to show sooo many people these hadeeth who spend their time drawing anime cartoons
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
Sorry, some things are still confusing to me. I'm very sorry, but I'm determined to know everything I can about this subject.

When it says that toys are okay, then I thought, so what if children are drawing with crayons. I'm sure all of you know that preschool is usually spent with crayons, and I myself was very fond of colouring books as a child, plus as a child I played with numerous toys, dolls, stuffed animals. So I found this article on Islam QA.

Is it permissible for children to draw pictures of animate beings?
Is it permissible for children to draw animals or living beings?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is not permissible to draw and make images of animate beings, whether they are engraved, on paper, on cloth or anything else, because of the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (2105) and Muslim (2107) from ‘Aa’ishah the Mother of the Believers (may Allaah be pleased with her), that she bought a cushion on which there were images. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. She said: I recognized displeasure in his face. I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I repent to Allaah and His Messenger, what have I done wrong? The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “What is this pillow?” She said: I bought it for you to sit on and recline on. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The makers of these images will be punished and it will be said to them, ‘Bring to life that which you have created.’” Then he said: “The house in which there are images is not entered by the angels.”

And Muslim (2110) narrated that Sa’eed ibn Abi’l-Hasan said: A man came to Ibn ‘Abbaas and said: I am a man who makes these images; advise me about that. He said to him: Come close to me. So he came closer to him. He said: Come closer to me. So he came closer to him, until he put his hand on his head and said: I will tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Every image maker will be in Hell, and for every image that he made, a soul will be created which will punish him in Hell.” He said: If you must do that, then make (images of) trees and inanimate things.

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Sharh Saheeh Muslim: Our companions and other scholars said: Making images of animals is emphatically haraam and is a major sin, because this stern warning which is mentioned in the ahaadeeth is issued concerning it. That applies whether he makes it to be used in ways that are not respectful or otherwise. Making it is haraam in all cases, because it is competing with the creation of Allaah. That applies whether the image is in a garment or a carpet or a dirham or a dinar or a penny or a vessel or a wall or anything else. As for making images of trees, camel saddles and other things in which there are no images of animals, that is not haraam. End quote.

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (1/479): What makes images forbidden is the fact that they are images of animate beings, whether they are sculptures, or drawings on walls or fabric or paper, or they are woven, and whether they are done with a quill, a pen, or a machine, and whether they represent something real or something imaginary, whether they are small or large, beautified or distorted, or drawn in the form of lines representing a skeleton. What makes them forbidden is that fact that they depict animate beings, even if they are imaginary like pictures of ancient people, Pharaohs, or leaders and soldiers of the Crusades, or like the pictures of ‘Eesa (Jesus) and Maryam (Mary) that are kept in churches, etc., because of the general meaning of the texts, and because that is competing with the creation of Allaah, and because it is a means that leads to shirk. End quote.

Secondly:

Even if the child is not yet accountable, his guardian should prevent him from doing haraam things and discourage him from doing them, so as denounce evil and to train the child and make him get used to what is good.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allaah, but do that which they are commanded”

[al-Tahreem 66:6]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The ruler of the people is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his household and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and children and is responsible for her flock.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (893) and Muslim (1829).

The child’s guardian should raise him to keep away from making images and drawing animate beings, and he should explain to him that this is haraam.

He should look for permissible alternatives that are available, praise be to Allaah, such as drawing vegetables, fruits, trees and oceans, and any inanimate objects.

And Allaah knows best.


Therefore, drawing anywhere, anything is wrong. But I think the most important thing is "niyat" or intention. If you are making toys for children, then only it is okay, I suppose. However, how does the toy maker know that the toy would not be showcased on the mantle piece or something? Then, it would be haraam?

Then, in school, I'm sure everyone was asked to make an animate object at least once, I know the teachers required us to make "funny faces" and all the diagrams and things of animals in biology. Could Drawings for school fall into the "necessary" category?

I need to discourage my ten year old cousin, who is a great artist, from drawing all the cartoons from TV he sees.

Also, children's clothing, school gear, backpacks, lunchboxes etc have lots of "animate objects" on them. We shouldn't buy them right? But I've seen so many muslim children with Disney pencil cases.

Please Allah help us all, ameen!

*just imagine the smiley face here. I'm scared to make it*
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
Brother Abdul Musair, could you please post the source for the talking hand, talking foot, because that would solve half the problems. I'm curious, that if a person draws two dots for eyes and a smile on something like a balloon, is that wrong?

By talking hand do you mean that a hand with eyes and mouth, or how can you know its talking?
 

Rashadi

Junior Member
I read a post that said that drawing inanimate objects is okay, but not drawing animate objects like people, birds and animals.

I found two fatwas based on this, both of which say it is permissible, one even says that Hazrat Aisha used to play with dolls:

http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=2&sub_cat_id=811

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/...h-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503546054

I ask because if creating images is bad, then also, children learning art at school, children making model animals with playdough/clay, creating dolls and henceforth playing with dolls and action figures, it would all be bad. And where does photography enter into this?

Its so confusing, I might go insane. What is allowed and what isn't allowed? If a person draws a cartoon and shuts it away somewhere, or just doodles a cartoon face on scrap paper, is that permissible or not?

The things about drawing is anything that may lead to idol worship but drawing itself is not haram, and Allah knows best. Just be patient and do not overwhelm yourself but you are doing the best thing and that's researching it. You see what the polytheists dis make images and statues of their idols and later came to worship them and this kind if drawing or making images is haram. But not drawing all together as long as it don't lead to shirk.
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
Thank you. So the only thing forbidden seems to be the head. But I suppose not drawing any animate object as a whole would be better. As for the wallcover turned into a pillow. I don't understand, did they make a pillow cover with it? Or did they shred the cloth and stuff together to make a pillow? The latter makes more sense because pictures on the pillow would still be seen.

I have yet another question about toys and dolls: If there's a house where the children's toys are put on the shelves when they aren't playing. So what about that situation? Yes, its a toy, but its being displayed. Someone clarify
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
I didn't state my question correctly. If toys are displayed on shelves in the child's room, or some other room, then is that the same as having 'images on display' similar to the case of Hazrat Aisha's wallcover, curtain and cushions? Should the toys be put inside a cupboard, where they can not be seen, rather than have them displayed? If toys are in the cupboard, will that still stop angels from entering one's house?
 

nyerekareem

abdur-rahman
:salam2:

from what i have taken from the hadith about drawings or images, i see that it may be about the context of the images. are the image makers, making images with the intent of leading people or themselves into shirk? the time of the prophet :saw: was a time when people were making idols or other images with the intent of worship. that was a time of jahiliyya. however in hijri year 1430 we muslims have been given the haqq of islam and we would never place ibadah on a picture of our family or even the anbiyaa ( as ) or the companions of the prophet :saw:

from what i take from the hadith is that the image makers mentioned are those that have the intent of bringing forth the major sin of shirk. i could be wrong, but it's just how i'm feeling.

this issue is one of those eternally debated topics in islam. ALLAH SWT knows best.
:wasalam:
 

lahij

New Member
have you heard muslim have first time make muslim comic

salaam

have you heard muslim have first time make muslim comic?

kuwait business have make comic book called ''THE 99'' with muslim superhero. you should look youtube.:shymuslima1: :shymuslima1: :girl3: :astag: :tti_sister: :salah: :SMILY209:
 

Yusuf1990

al-Inglezi
As-salaamu'alaikum,

This is a huge and extremely complex topic. No one on here will have enough knowledge to deal with this. Refer to reliable fataawa from 'ulema, I do not advise using al-Qaradawi's works either.
And my brothers and sisters, dont try to work out these hadith for yourself! 90% of the time you're going on translations, and translating a hadith is a big task let alone these type of ahadith (as there are certain words included in these which cause the difference of opinion).

May Allah guide us all.
 

islamisthesolution

Junior Member
:salam2:

thank you for posting this thread . i was really thinking of posting a same thread as i used to draw but no more now after my friends here told me it haram .

jazaki Allahu khyran kathiran

:salam2:
 
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