Source: Excerpt from the book "Ahkām wa Masā’il Kitāb-o-Sunnat ki Roshni Main" by Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani
Is it permissible to pray while wearing a jacket or shirt that has an image of a bird or another living being on it?
It is absolutely impermissible (ḥarām) to wear clothing with images of living beings (whether birds or any creature with a soul). This ruling is supported by numerous authentic aḥādīth.
A man once came to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما and said:
“I create images—issue a fatwā for me concerning this.”
Ibn ʿAbbās placed his hand on the man’s head and said:
"Shall I not tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
He said: 'Every image-maker is in the Fire. For every image he made, a soul will be created for it, and he will be punished in Hell.'”
Ibn ʿAbbās then added:
"If you must create images, then draw trees or anything that does not have a soul."
✘ Images of living beings (with facial features like humans, birds, animals) are prohibited in Islam—whether drawn, printed, or stitched—on:
Therefore, wearing such clothing is forbidden at all times, whether in prayer or outside of it.
✔ If the faces in the images are erased or defaced, such that the image is no longer considered a complete living being, then its use is allowed.
For further details, refer to the author’s book:
“TV: Muʿāshray kā Cancer” (“Television – The Cancer of Society”).
➤ Do not wear clothes with images of living beings, especially during ṣalāh (prayer), as it contradicts Islamic teachings on purity and humility in worship.
➤ Instead, choose garments free from animate imagery, honoring the sanctity of ṣalāh and the prohibition of taswīr (image-making) in Islam.
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to pray while wearing a jacket or shirt that has an image of a bird or another living being on it?
❖ Answer:
It is absolutely impermissible (ḥarām) to wear clothing with images of living beings (whether birds or any creature with a soul). This ruling is supported by numerous authentic aḥādīth.
✦ The Warning from Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
A man once came to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما and said:
“I create images—issue a fatwā for me concerning this.”
Ibn ʿAbbās placed his hand on the man’s head and said:
"Shall I not tell you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
He said: 'Every image-maker is in the Fire. For every image he made, a soul will be created for it, and he will be punished in Hell.'”
Ibn ʿAbbās then added:
"If you must create images, then draw trees or anything that does not have a soul."
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Libās, Bāb Taḥrīm Taṣwīr al-Ḥayawān: Ḥadīth 2110
❖ Key Ruling:
✘ Images of living beings (with facial features like humans, birds, animals) are prohibited in Islam—whether drawn, printed, or stitched—on:
- Clothing
- Walls
- Utensils
- Decor
Therefore, wearing such clothing is forbidden at all times, whether in prayer or outside of it.
❖ Exception:
✔ If the faces in the images are erased or defaced, such that the image is no longer considered a complete living being, then its use is allowed.
For further details, refer to the author’s book:
“TV: Muʿāshray kā Cancer” (“Television – The Cancer of Society”).
Conclusion:
➤ Do not wear clothes with images of living beings, especially during ṣalāh (prayer), as it contradicts Islamic teachings on purity and humility in worship.
➤ Instead, choose garments free from animate imagery, honoring the sanctity of ṣalāh and the prohibition of taswīr (image-making) in Islam.
