Source: Fatāwā Arkān-e-Islām
Is a photograph taken with a camera permissible in Shari'ah?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd!
Instant photography with a camera — in which there is no hand-drawing involved — is, from a Sharʿī perspective, permissible and carries no objection. This is because a camera image is not considered a “picture” in the traditional sense. (1)
However, the ruling depends on the purpose for which the photograph is taken.
◈ If the purpose of photography is merely to keep the pictures as a keepsake or memory, this act is harām.
◈ The principle here is that the ruling of the means is the same as the ruling of the objective.
◈ Therefore, if the objective is harām (keeping pictures as a memory), then the means to it (photography) is also harām.
«اِنَّ الْمَلَائِکَةَ لَا تَدْخُلُ بَيْتًا فِيْهِ صُوْرَةٌ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5958; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Libās wa-al-Zīnah, Ḥadīth: 2106)
“Indeed, the angels do not enter a house in which there is a picture.”
◈ Keeping pictures in homes is harām.
◈ Hanging pictures on walls is harām.
◈ Angels do not enter a house in which a picture is present.
(1) The opinion of the respected Mufti that there is no harm in camera photography differs from the view of many other scholars.
◈ The majority of scholars consider that there is no difference between a camera photograph and a hand-drawn image.
◈ In their view, both types of images are equally harām, since the general wording of the Sharʿī texts applies to all kinds of pictures.
◈ According to them, this is the more correct and cautious opinion.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Question
Is a photograph taken with a camera permissible in Shari'ah?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd!
Instant photography with a camera — in which there is no hand-drawing involved — is, from a Sharʿī perspective, permissible and carries no objection. This is because a camera image is not considered a “picture” in the traditional sense. (1)
However, the ruling depends on the purpose for which the photograph is taken.
Importance of the Purpose
◈ If the purpose of photography is merely to keep the pictures as a keepsake or memory, this act is harām.
◈ The principle here is that the ruling of the means is the same as the ruling of the objective.
◈ Therefore, if the objective is harām (keeping pictures as a memory), then the means to it (photography) is also harām.
Prophetic Ḥadīth
«اِنَّ الْمَلَائِکَةَ لَا تَدْخُلُ بَيْتًا فِيْهِ صُوْرَةٌ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Libās, Ḥadīth: 5958; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Libās wa-al-Zīnah, Ḥadīth: 2106)
“Indeed, the angels do not enter a house in which there is a picture.”
Ruling Derived from the Ḥadīth
◈ Keeping pictures in homes is harām.
◈ Hanging pictures on walls is harām.
◈ Angels do not enter a house in which a picture is present.
Differing Opinions
(1) The opinion of the respected Mufti that there is no harm in camera photography differs from the view of many other scholars.
◈ The majority of scholars consider that there is no difference between a camera photograph and a hand-drawn image.
◈ In their view, both types of images are equally harām, since the general wording of the Sharʿī texts applies to all kinds of pictures.
◈ According to them, this is the more correct and cautious opinion.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
