The First View: Imitating the Creation of Allah
Some scholars say image-making is haram because it imitates the creation of Allah. This is based on hadiths like the one from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), “Those who imitate the creation of Allah,” and the hadith from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), “Who is more unjust than the one who tries to create like My creation.” Another hadith says the image-maker will be told to blow life into what he made. This proves that those who try to create images are pretending to be like Allah in His creation, and that is a serious wrong.
However, some scholars raise two objections:
- This reasoning does not apply to pictures of non-living things like the sun or trees.
- It also does not explain why girls’ dolls or images of body parts like hands would be allowed.
Because of this, some say the warning is for those who make images with arrogance, thinking they can create like Allah. On the Day of Judgement, they will be humiliated by being told to bring their images to life.
Imam al-Nawawi said the worst punishment mentioned in the hadith is for those who made images to be worshipped. Or it refers to those who believed they were imitating Allah’s creation and were proud of it. These people disbelieved and will be punished like the disbelievers.
This is supported by the verse: “And who is more unjust than one who fabricates lies against Allah or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ when nothing has been revealed to him, and the one who says, ‘I will bring down the like of what Allah has sent down’” (al-An‘am 93).
This verse speaks about someone who claims to equal Allah in His command and revelation. Likewise, the image-maker claims to equal Allah in His creation. Both are from the worst of people.
Also, in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), Allah says: “Who is more unjust than the one who tries to create like My creation.” Ibn Hajar said this means the person intended to imitate Allah, and this intention makes him extremely unjust.
Al-Jassas mentioned that the hadiths might refer to someone who claims Allah is like His creation.
The Second View: Leading to Shirk and Worship of Images
Some scholars say image-making is haram because it leads to worship of things other than Allah. This happened before the time of the Prophet ﷺ. People made statues and claimed they brought them closer to Allah. So Islam destroyed idols, fought shirk, and raised the truth of “La ilaha illa Allah.”
Part of the wisdom of the Sharia is to block the ways that lead to shirk. This includes banning anything that could lead people to start honouring images, then falling into worshipping them.
Ibn al-‘Arabi said that Allah prohibited image-making because Arabs used to worship statues. So to block the path to that, it was forbidden. He added that even though the hadiths mention imitating Allah’s creation, this does not stop us from also understanding that image-making is dangerous because it can lead to shirk.
Those who agree with this use the narration from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari, where he said that righteous men from the time of Nuh were honoured with statues. Later, when knowledge was lost, people began worshipping them.
This raises a question: Did the Sharia ban all images completely? Or only the images that are set up and honoured? Or only three-dimensional statues? Scholars differ on this.
Based on this, some scholars said the Prophet ﷺ first strongly forbade all images. Then when the ruling became well-known, he allowed images that are flat or on cloths, as in the hadith, “Except for a design in a cloth.”
The Third View: Resembling the Idol-Worshippers
Another opinion is that image-making is haram because it resembles what idol-worshippers used to do. Even if someone today does not mean to worship it, the act still looks like theirs. This is similar to how praying at sunrise and sunset is forbidden, because disbelievers prostrate to the sun at those times.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The disbelievers prostrate to it at that time.” So we are told not to pray then, even if our intention is good.
Ibn Taymiyyah supported this reason. Ibn Hajar also agreed and said that the idols were the cause of the image-making ban.
The Fourth View: Angels Do Not Enter a Place With Images
Some scholars say that images are haram because angels do not enter a place with images, as mentioned in the hadiths of Aisha and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them). But many scholars, including the Hanbalis, rejected this as the main reason. They said this is more like a result of the prohibition, not the reason.
There are also hadiths that say angels do not enter a house with a dog or a person in a state of major impurity. But being in a state of impurity is not haram, so it cannot be the cause of the ban.
Therefore, the reason angels do not enter may be because the image itself is haram, just like how a Muslim should not sit where wine is being drunk.
The Details of Making Images
First: Three-Dimensional Images
Most scholars say that making images with depth is haram. This is based on the hadiths mentioned before.
There are exceptions, like:
- Toys for children
- Images treated with disrespect
- Images missing essential body parts, like the head
- Images that do not last, like those made from dough or sweets
Scholars differ in these cases and more details are discussed elsewhere.
Translation:The Reasoning Behind the Prohibition of Image-Making
Scholars have differed regarding the reason why image-making is prohibited. There are several views:
The first view: The reason is that image-making involves imitating the creation of Allah. The foundation of this reasoning is found in the previously mentioned hadiths, such as the words of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): “Those who imitate the creation of Allah” (Only this narration and the one with the wording ‘those who try to create like Allah’ were narrated by Abdurrahman ibn al-Qasim from Aisha. This hadith is found in Sahih al-Bukhari [Book of Clothing] and Muslim [Book of Clothing, hadith 91 and 92], also reported by al-Nasa’i [Book of Adornment, chapter 112] and Ahmad [volume 36, p. 83, hadith 219]), and the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “Who is more unjust than the one who tries to create like My creation”. Also supporting this view is the hadith: “Whoever makes an image will be commanded to breathe life into it”, and the hadith: “The most severely punished people on the Day of Judgement will be the image-makers. It will be said to them: Bring to life what you have created”
However, this reasoning is troubled by two matters:
First: That reasoning would mean it is not forbidden to depict the sun, moon, mountains, trees, and other non-living beings.
Second: It would also mean it is not forbidden to depict dolls for girls or limbs cut off from a body, and other such exceptions made by scholars.
Because of this, some scholars have said that the reason in these hadiths applies specifically to those who make images in a way that challenges the power of the Creator, believing that they can create like His creation. So on the Day of Judgement, Allah will show them their weakness by commanding them to breathe life into the images they made.
Al-Nawawi said: As for the narration “the most severely punished,” it applies to the one who made the image to be worshipped. And it has been said: it applies to the one who aimed for what is mentioned in the hadith, which is imitating the creation of Allah, and believed in that. Such a person is a disbeliever and will face the same severe punishment as disbelievers, and his punishment will increase with the increase of his disbelief (Sharh al-Nawawi on Sahih Muslim, Book of Clothing, 11/91).
This reasoning is further supported by the fact that Allah mentioned something similar regarding the one who claimed to bring revelation like that of Allah and said that no one is more unjust than him. He said:
“And who is more unjust than one who fabricates lies against Allah or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ when nothing has been revealed to him, and the one who says, ‘I will bring down the like of what Allah has sent down’” (al-An‘am 93). This is about the one who claims to equal the Creator in His command and revelation, and the first one is about someone who claims to equal Him in His creation. Both are among the most severely punished.
This is also confirmed by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), in which Allah says in the sacred hadith: “Who is more unjust than the one who tries to create like My creation.” If the word “tried” here means “intended,” as Ibn Hajar explained it, then its meaning is that the person is the most unjust because of this intention, which is trying to create like the creation of Allah (Fath al-Bari 10/386).
Al-Jassas also narrated a view that these hadiths refer to someone who resembles Allah to His creation.
The second view: The reason for the prohibition is that image-making leads to excessive honouring of other than Allah, to the point that it leads to misguidance and temptation through the images, until they are worshipped besides Allah. This is because the Prophet ﷺ was sent at a time when people would set up statues and worship them, claiming that they bring them nearer to Allah.
So Islam came breaking idols and destroying polytheism and idol-worship, raising the great phrase of “LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH,” and exposing the foolishness of those people. Among the methods used by the wise Sharia to achieve this, besides using proof, explanation, and fighting, was to prevent what could lead to misguidance when there is no benefit or the harm outweighs the benefit.
Ibn al-‘Arabi said: What led to the prohibition of image-making in our Sharia, and Allah knows best, is that the Arabs used to worship idols and statues, and they used to make and worship them, so Allah cut off the means and blocked the path.
Then Ibn al-‘Arabi pointed out that the reasoning of imitation, which is explicitly stated, does not prevent the extraction of this second reasoning. He said: Image-making was prohibited, and the reason of imitating the creation of Allah was mentioned. In addition to this, they used to be worshipped besides Allah. So this indicates that making them is a sin. So what do you think of worshipping them? (Ahkam al-Quran by Ibn al-‘Arabi 4/1588).
Those who hold this view support it with what is in Sahih al-Bukhari, in the commentary of Surah Nuh, in a suspended narration from Ata from Ibn Abbas about Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq and Nasr. He said: “These were the names of righteous men from the people of Nuh. When they died, Shaytan inspired their people to set up markers at the places where they used to sit, and to name them after them. So they did so. At first, they were not worshipped. But when those people died and knowledge was forgotten, they began to be worshipped” (Narration of Ibn Abbas reported by al-Bukhari in Fath al-Bari 8/666, Dar al-Salafiyyah. See also Tafsir of Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari on the verse in Surah Nuh, where other reports are also mentioned).
But to what extent did the Sharia aim to block this path by prohibiting image-making? Was it a complete prohibition of all images, or only of images that are set up, excluding those that are not, or only of three-dimensional images with depth, since these were the ones worshipped? This is an area of disagreement among the scholars.
Based on this view, some scholars said that the Prophet ﷺ at first took a strong stance, ordered the breaking of idols, and smeared the images. Then, once the ruling became well known and widespread, he allowed flat images and said: “Except for a design in a cloth.”
The third view: That the reason is mere resemblance to the actions of the idolaters, who used to carve and worship idols. Even if the image-maker does not intend that, and even if the image is not worshipped, the situation still resembles theirs. This is like how we are prohibited from praying at sunrise or sunset, so that we do not resemble those who worship the sun at those times. As the Prophet ﷺ said: “For the disbelievers prostrate to it at that time” (Hadith: For the disbelievers prostrate to it at that time. Reported by Muslim 1/570, al-Halabi print, from the hadith of ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah, may Allah be pleased with him). So prayer was disliked at those times because of the resemblance to them. Ibn Taymiyyah pointed to this meaning. Ibn Hajar supported it by saying that the images of idols are the origin of the prohibition of image-making (Iqtida al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Mukhalafat Ashab al-Jahim, Cairo, Ansar al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah Press, 1369 AH, p. 63, and Fath al-Bari 10/395).
The fourth view: That the presence of an image in a place prevents the angels from entering. This reasoning is found in the hadith of Aisha and the hadith of Ali.
Many scholars rejected this reasoning, including the Hanbalis, as will be mentioned. They said that the hadith clearly states that the angels do not enter a house with an image, just like they do not enter a house with someone in a state of major impurity, based on some reports that say: “The angels do not enter a house that has an image, a dog, or a person in a state of major impurity” (Hadith: The angels do not enter a house with an image, a dog, or a person in major impurity. Reported by Abu Dawud 4/384, verified by Izzat ‘Ubayd Da‘as. Its chain includes an unknown narrator [al-Mizan by al-Dhahabi 4/248, Dar al-Fikr edition]). So this does not mean that being in major impurity is forbidden.
Perhaps the angels’ avoidance of entering is because the image is already forbidden, just like it is forbidden for a Muslim to sit at a table where wine is being served. So the angels’ refusal to enter is a result of the prohibition, not its cause. And Allah knows best.
The Details of Making Images
First: Three-dimensional images with depth.
Making three-dimensional images with depth is prohibited according to the majority of scholars, based on the previous evidence.
Exceptions are made for what is made as a toy for children, or is treated with disrespect, or is missing a body part that life cannot exist without, or what does not last, like images made from sweets or dough. There is disagreement and detail in the following discussions.
Second: Making flat images
Al-Mawsu’ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Muqaranah Al-Tajrid (12/104-107)
