Photography Halaal or not
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam
Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear brother
Burhan, Assalam alakum,
I would like to ask if the photography of living objects is haram. One Of my
friend lives in
Allah hafiz
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Photography Halaal or not
In
the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,
no grave, no prophet, no
imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness
that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.841 Narrated
by Abu Talha
The Messenger of Allah (saws)
said, "Angels (of mercy) do not enter a house where there are
pictures."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.845 Narrated
by Abu Juhaifa
that he had bought a slave whose profession was cupping. The Prophet forbade taking the price of
blood, and the price of a dog, and the earnings of a prostitute, and cursed the
one who took or gave (Riba') usury, and the lady who tattooed others or got
herself tattooed, and the
picture-maker.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.450 Narrated
by Abu Salim
Once Gabriel promised the Prophet (saws) that he would visit him,
but Gabriel did not come, and later on he said, "We, angels, do not enter
a house which contains a picture, or a
dog."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.834 Narrated
by Muslim
We were with Masruq at the house of Yasar bin Numair. Masruq saw
pictures on his terrace and said, "I heard 'Abdullah saying that he heard
the Prophet (saws) saying, "The
people who will receive the severest punishment from Allah will be the picture
makers.' "
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.448 Narrated
by Abu Talha
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying; "Angels (of Mercy)
do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature
(a human being or an animal)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.428 Narrated
by Said bin Abu Al Hasan
While I was with Ibn 'Abbas a man came and said, "O father
of 'Abbas! My sustenance is from my manual profession and I make these
pictures." Ibn 'Abbas said,
"I will tell you only what I heard from Allah's Apostle. I heard him saying, 'Whoever makes a picture
will be punished by Allah till he puts life in it, and he will never be able to
put life in it.' " Hearing this,
that man heaved a sigh and his face turned pale. Ibn 'Abbas said to him, "What a pity! If you insist on
making pictures, I advise you to make
pictures of trees and any other unanimated objects."
There
is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars regarding photography, but the majority of the scholars of Islam
are indeed of the opinion what Brother Dr. Zakir Naik has relayed; that photography in itself is not forbidden
in Islam; but painting or imaging of an
animate object is indeed forbidden.
The
majority of the scholars are also of the opinion that a believer must not
decorate or display in his house pictures,
images, idols, or photos of animate objects, as in light of the several narrations of the
Messenger of Allah (saws), the Angels
of Mercy do not enter a house where there are pictures (of animate objects).
Almost
all the scholars of Islam are unanimous in their opinion that there is no harm
if one takes a portrait photograph for necessary and legal reasons, and to comply with the modern methods of
identification like identity cards,
driver’s license, passports, etc.
And Allah
Alone Best.
Whatever written of Truth
and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of
error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best
and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
Burhan
Wister