Assalamu Alaikum, I am confused about the issue of imagery and 2D and 3D, etc. I have a business and I am importing souvenirs like key chains, coffee mugs and shot glasses, and magnets with pictures of animate beings like dolphins, alligators, turtles and other objects. Do they come under the prohibition of tasaweer making/selling?
All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on the final messenger, Muhammad,
The majority hold that any (complete) pictures of animate objects, whether two dimensional or three dimensional, are haram to make, own or sell.
As for making and owning them, there is an agreement over the impermissibility of that, with regard to the three-dimensional images. That is because of abundance of ahadeeth, of which:
A man came to Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, I am a man who makes a living from handmade crafts; I make images. Ibn ‘Abbas said: I will only tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him); I heard him say:
“مَنْ صَوَّرَ صُورَةً فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مُعَذِّبُهُ حَتَّى يَنْفُخَ فِيهَا الرُّوحَ وَلَيْسَ بِنَافِخٍ فِيهَا أَبَدًا.”
“Whoever fashions an image, Allah will torment him until he breathes life into it, and he will never do.” The man became very distressed and his face turned pale, so Ibn Abbas said to him, Woe onto you! If you insist on doing that, then make images of those trees and things that have no soul. [Agreed upon]
This hadeeth applies to both two- and three-dimensional pictures, however, a couple of other ahadeeth pertain directly to the two-dimensional images; Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that she bought a pillow that had images. When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) saw that, he stood at the door and refrained from entering. When she realized that he was upset, she said:
يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَتُوبُ إلى اللَّهِ وَإِلَى رَسُولِهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَاذَا أَذْنَبْتُ فقال رسول اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ما بَالُ هذه النُّمْرُقَةِ قلت اشْتَرَيْتُهَا لك لِتَقْعُدَ عليها وَتَوَسَّدَهَا فقال رسول اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ هذه الصُّوَرِ يوم الْقِيَامَةِ يُعَذَّبُونَ فَيُقَالُ لهم أَحْيُوا ما خَلَقْتُمْ وقال إِنَّ الْبَيْتَ الذي فيه الصُّوَرُ لَا تَدْخُلُهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ
“O Messenger of Allah, I repent to Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him). What have I done wrong? The Messenger of Allah said: What is this pillow? She said, I bought it for you to sit and recline on it. The Messenger of Allah said: On the Day of Resurrection, the makers of these images will be punished and it will be said to them, Give life to that which you have created. And he also said: The angels do not enter a house in which there are images.” [Agreed upon]
Notice that the images were on a pillow, which means that they are two-dimensional.
In another hadeeth from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), she said:
“دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَدْ سَتَرْتُ سَهْوَةً لِي بِقِرَامٍ فِيهِ تَمَاثِيلُ، فَلَمَّا رَآهُ هَتَكَهُ وَتَلَوَّنَ وَجْهُهُ، وَقَالَ: يَا عَائِشَةُ، أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُضَاهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ. قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: فَقَطَعْنَاهُ فَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُ وِسَادَةً أَوْ وِسَادَتَيْنِ.”
“The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) came in onto me, and I had covered a shelf of mine with a curtain with images on it. When he saw it, he tore it up and said, ‘O Aisha, the people to be most tormented on the Day of Resurrection are those who attempted to imitate the creation of Allah.’” Aisha (blessings and peace be upon him) said: “So we cut it up [further] and made of it one or two cushions.” [Agreed upon]
Notice that the first hadeeth didn’t allow the images on cushions, however, reconciliation between the two ahadeeth is easy, because it is very possible that the images on the pillows in the first were elaborate and obvious, whereas in this case, and particularly after cutting the curtain up, the images became irregular and insignificant.
Because of these and other proofs, the majority ruled that all pictures, two and three dimensional, are forbidden. Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah bestow mercy on him) said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim, in expounding that position, “Our companions [the Shafi’is] and others said that fashioning images of animate objects is an enormity … whether the image is on a garment, carpet, coin, vessel, wall or otherwise.”
As for selling the forbidden images, it is well known that anything forbidden to have is forbidden to sell for that is the clear ruling of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) who said:
“إن الله إذا حرَّم شيئاً حرَّم ثمنه.”
“When Allah makes something forbidden, he makes forbidden selling it.” (Abu Dawood).
Also, Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said,
“إن الله ورسوله حرَّم بيع الخمر والميتة والخنزير والأصنام”.
“Allah forbade sales of khamr, dead carcasses, pork and idols.”
The exemptions from the generic prohibition of pictures of animate objects would apply to:
- Photographs that are not hung, openly presented or featured, but rather kept for memories or circulated for some benefit. This is because the effective cause behind the prohibition of pictures is two pronged, with the first pertaining to the making and the second to the use. Hand drawing requires human effort and skill, so the attempt at the emulation of Allah’s creation is obvious there. This is not the same, though, with regard to photographs. Therefore, if the use of photographs will be permissible, without the chance of worship, glorification or rumination of negative feelings, etc, then – I believe – they would be permissible.
- Pictures, or even statues, that don’t have a head. This is because of a report in at-Tirmidhi from Abi Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“أتاني جبريل فقال: … فَمُرْ برأس التمثال الذي في البيت فليقطع فيصير كهيئة الشجرة ومُرْ بالستر فيقطع فيجعل وسادتين منبوذتين توطئان…”
“Jibreel came to me and said: … Order the head of the statue at the door cut off, so it becomes like a tree, and the curtain to be torn apart into two pillows that will be laid on the floor and stepped over…”
This is according to the four madhahib. As for pictures and statues with heads, but without the rest of the body or missing vital part of the body without which it can’t be alive, the majority (including the Hanafis, Malikis, and Hanbalis) allowed them. The Shafi’ees disagreed over them, but their majority prohibited them.
- Small sized pictures in garments or on objects that are not hung or presented, but used for various purposes, and that is because of the aforementioned hadeeth about the pillow and because the Messenger of Allah forbade pictures إلا رَقْمًا في ثَوْبٍ “except raqm on textiles,” as reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, which means small insignificant pictures that are on garments that are walked or reclined on, and not treated respectfully. This is so that we reconcile between this and the here above ahadeeth indicating the prohibition of two dimensional pictures.
- Pictures and images used by children. It was narrated that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
” كنت ألعب بالبنات عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم …”
“I used to play with dolls in the company of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) …” [Agreed upon]
However, one should avoid making them close to reality in size and shape. After all, the toys ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) had were nothing like the real-size impeccably crafted children’s toys some people have. They may even keep them in the living room, and they may also not allow the kids to play with them!
- Pictures used for educational, forensic, and similar needs. That is because they were prevented to block the means to evil, so they may be permitted for a greater benefit and to open the means to a greater good.
Those strict measures are installed in the religion to protect the purity of tawheed. No one should claim that the prospect of worshipping statues and images is nil in the twenty- first century. There are entire nations that do just that. Also, amongst the people of the book those who make pictures of their deities, and they stand before them in devotion and address them with their needs. Added to that is the myriad of other harms that ensue from making those images, which are not limited to the excessive reverence of dictators, leaders, sheikhs, clergy; the rumination of negative emotions about lost ones or unfortunate occurrences; boasting about the ancestors; circulating improper pictures of women; visual overload, which could be responsible for inattention; something that is afflicting many children and adults as well nowadays; overstimulation of the senses, which makes people dependent on this intensity, so to attract their attention, you should make more visually stark presentations … etc. There is no doubt that pictures of inanimate objects are more innocuous to the eye, calming to the senses, and soothing to the soul. That is why you find this to be the trend in hotels, meditation rooms, and even modern churches.
Selling the forbidden images is haram, whether one sells them to Muslims or others, for a Muslim doesn’t like evil to be committed by anyone, Muslim or not. And Allah knows best.
If the images on your souvenirs are photographs, or small to the point of insignificance, then you may sell such items.
Allah knows best.