Source: Fatāwā Arkān-e-Islām
What is the Sharʿī ruling on hanging pictures on walls?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd!
Hanging pictures on walls — especially large-sized pictures — is harām. This prohibition applies even if the pictures show only part of the body or just the head, because the intent of honouring the image is clearly evident in such displays.
Displaying such images opens the door to ghulūw (excessive veneration), which is the foundation of shirk. This is explained by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
He said regarding the idols worshipped by the people of Nūḥ عليه السلام:
“These were originally the names of righteous men, whose images they made with the intention that looking at them would remind them of their worship and devotion. But when much time passed, they began to worship these very pictures and statues.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Tafsīr, Bāb: {وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ}, Ḥadīth: 4920)
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Question
What is the Sharʿī ruling on hanging pictures on walls?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd!
Hanging pictures on walls — especially large-sized pictures — is harām. This prohibition applies even if the pictures show only part of the body or just the head, because the intent of honouring the image is clearly evident in such displays.
Root of Shirk: Exaggeration and Excessive Honour
Displaying such images opens the door to ghulūw (excessive veneration), which is the foundation of shirk. This is explained by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
He said regarding the idols worshipped by the people of Nūḥ عليه السلام:
“These were originally the names of righteous men, whose images they made with the intention that looking at them would remind them of their worship and devotion. But when much time passed, they began to worship these very pictures and statues.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Tafsīr, Bāb: {وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ}, Ḥadīth: 4920)
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
