Asad Saleem Butt
Well, this question has turned a lot of heads ever since Islam took over. The more time went by, the more complex the situation became. Many people around the world are fond of making human sketches and are pretty good at it. But there are people who have a blind faith that it is strictly prohibited to make human sketches. Actually it’s all about the intentions. In the past, people worshipped the pictures of their self-made Gods. So in that perspective, it is strictly prohibited in Islam relating such act. It has also been heard that the ones who make drawings of living creatures will have to bring them to life by giving their souls to them. If that’s the proposition then surely in this modern era, recording videos and taking photos is also not allowed. Some scholars hold the view that image making is essentially lawful. It is permissible to make two-dimensional illustrations as well as three-dimensional statues. The scholars who hold this view argue that the texts that prohibit image making are to be understood in the context of the state the people were in at the advent of Islam. The people had just emerged from the times of ignorance and from idolatry. After people became distanced from the worship of images, the prohibition was no longer necessary. This is why we see in some history books that when the Muslims opened up the lands of the Persians and Romans, they did not interfere with the pictures and statues found there. `A’ishah (RA) relates that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: “The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be those who aspire to create like Allah.†[Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5954) and Sahîh Muslim (2107)] Ibn “Abbâs relates that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said: “Every image maker is in the Fire. For each image he made, a being will be fashioned to torment him in Hell.†[Sahîh al-Bukhârî (2225) and Sahîh Muslim (2110) – The wording accords with al-Bukhârî] AbûTalhah relates that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “The angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or images representing (people or animals).†[Sahîh al-Bukhârî (3225) and Sahîh Muslim (2106)]Some scholars have the opinion that only those people will be punished who make sketches in order to worship them. So these kinds of contradictions have really turned some heads towards this topic. This has to be clarified. It’s a famous saying that,â€Don’t judge a book by its coverâ€. If we take a look at the first saying which stated “create like Allahâ€. Now it clearly points to the people who imitate Allah Almighty in creating things. Such people will surely be punished. If drawings are for knowledge only, then they might not be considered Haram. If we look at the statements of the Pious Predecessors, we can see that they understood the texts about image making to be merely a severe warning against what is sinful rather than a direct prohibition.
For instance, when a man who was a professional image maker came to Ibn `Abbâs asking him for a ruling, Ibn `Abbâs merely said: “If you have to do so, then make images of trees and of that which has no soul. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (2225) and Sahîh Muslim (2110)]
After all the discussion, the confusion still remains there. The question is that does this apply on a person who earns his living from this? In the end we all know that Allah knows the best. May Allah lead us to the right path. Ameen.
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