This excerpt is taken from Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's book Halal and Haram in Islam, translated into Urdu by Muhammad Tahir Naqqash.
Children's toys are permissible:
There are some statues which are neither meant for veneration nor for luxury, nor do they carry the fears mentioned earlier. Islam has not shown any strictness regarding such statues. An example of this is toys for small children, such as dolls, cats, etc., made in the form of living beings. These are insignificant and children only use them for playing. Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
كنت ألعب بالبنات عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكان يأتيني صواحب لي، فكن ينقمعن خوفا من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكان رسول الله يسربهن إلي، فيلعبن معي
"I used to play with girls in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). My friends would come and hide out of fear of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), although he would send them to me. Then they would play with me."
Reference: Bukhari, Book of Manners, Chapter: Being Kind to People, Hadith: 6130 - Muslim, Book of Virtues of the Companions, Chapter: Virtues of Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Hadith: 2440
In another narration it is stated:
ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لها يوما ما هذا؟ قالت بناتي - قال: ما هذا الذى فى وسطهن؟ قالت فرس - قال: ما هذا الذى عليه؟ قالت جناحان - قال: فرس له جناحان؟ قالت: أوما سمعت أنه كان لسليمان بن داود خيل لها أجنحة؟ فضحك رسول الله حتى بدت نواجذه
"One day the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): What is this? She said: These are my dolls. He asked: What is this among them? She said: This is a horse. He asked: What is on this horse? She said: Two wings. He said: A horse and wings too! Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Have you not heard that the horse of our master Solomon son of David (peace be upon them) had wings? Upon hearing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) laughed until his blessed teeth became visible."
Reference: Abu Dawood, Book of Manners, Chapter: Playing with Girls, Hadith: 4932
Children used to play with these dolls mentioned in the hadith, and Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was very young at the time of her marriage.
Imam Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
The aforementioned hadith is evidence that it is permissible to let children play with such statues. However, it is narrated from Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) that he considered it disliked to buy such things for children. And Qadi Iyad said that it is permissible for little girls to play with dolls.
Reference: Nail al-Awtar 6-232
Among children's toys are also those statues made from sweets, which are sold on occasions like festivals. Children play with them for a short while and then eat them.
Defective and Distorted Statues:
It is mentioned in a hadith that Sayyiduna Jibra'il (peace be upon him) stopped entering the house of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) because there was an idol at the door of the house. He did not enter the next day as well, until he said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
مر برأس التمثال فليقطع حتى يصير كهيئة الشجرة
"Cut off the head of the idol so that the idol remains in the form of a tree."
Reference: Abu Dawood, Book of Clothing: Chapter on Images, Hadith: 4158 - Tirmidhi, Book of Manners: Chapter on the angels not entering a house, Hadith: 2806 - Nasa'i, Book of Adornment, Chapter on mentioning the most severely punished people, Hadith: 5367
A group of scholars, using this hadith as evidence, have said that a forbidden image is one that is complete, but if an image lacks a part without which it cannot live, then it is permissible.
The main point is that Sayyiduna Jibra'il (peace be upon him) asked to remove the head of the idol so that it remains in the form of a tree. This indicates that the concern is not about removing a part without which life is impossible, but rather the concern is to distort it so that it does not remain in such a form that seeing it would evoke feelings of reverence.
If we reflect and act justly, we can say without any doubt that half idols, which are installed in fields as monuments to kings and leaders, are more prohibited than those small and complete idols kept in homes for decoration.
