Here is a non-exhaustive collection of textual evidence that Shafii jurists tend to understand to indicate a general-prohibition of depicting animate life:
- The Prophet ﷺ cursed those who depict living creatures. [Bukhari, 5347]
- He ﷺ said, “The people who will receive the severest punishment on Resurrection Day will be the picture makers.” [Bukhari, 5950; Muslim, 2109]
- ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her and her father) reported: I bought a carpet which had pictures on it. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw it, he stayed at the door and did not enter. I knew from his face that he was disgusted. I said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I repent to Allah and His Messenger. What sin have I committed?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “What is this carpet?” She said, “I bought it for you so that you might sit on it and recline on it.” Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Those who make these depictions will be tormented on Resurrection Day and they will be told to bring life to what they created.” He ﷺ said, “Angels do not enter the house containing a picture.” [Bukhari, 2105, 3224, 5181, 5957, 5961; Muslim, 2107.96]
- Another variant of the previous narration has, “The most tormented of people on the Day of Resurrection are those who contend with Allah in terms of creation.” [Bukhari, 5954; Muslim, 2107.92]
- The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Those who make these depictions will be tormented on Resurrection Day and they will be told to bring life to what they created.” [Bukhari, 5951, 7558; Muslim, 2108.97]
- A person came to Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, “I am a person who paints these pictures. Give me a religious verdict about them.” He [Ibn ʿAbbās] said to him, “Come closer.” When the man did, he [Ibn ʿAbbās] said, “Come closer.” The man drew closer until he [Ibn ʿAbbās] placed his hand upon his [the man’s] head and said, “I will inform you what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I heard him ﷺ say, ‘All depicter [of living creatures] will be in Hellfire. A soul will be breathed in every depiction he made and it will punish him in Hell.’” He (Ibn ʿAbbās) said, “If you must do it at all, paint pictures of trees and lifeless things.” [Muslim, 2110.99]
- Another variant of the above has, “Whoever depicts a depiction [of a living creature] in this life will be made responsible to breathe a spirit into it on Judgement Day and they will not be able to.” [Muslim, 2110.100]
These same jurists tend to acknowledge a few exceptions, incuding the following three:
- One common exception is educational toys for girls because ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her and her father) would play with dolls in front of the Prophet ﷺ.” [Bukhari, 6130; Muslim, 2440.81] The wisdom for this exception is that playing with dolls assists in skill development. [al-Anṣārī, Asnā al-maṭālib, 3:226; Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī, Tuḥfat al-muḥtāj, 7:434; al-Shirbīnī, Mughni al-muḥtāj, 4:408]
- Another common exception is when the depiction is on an object that is debased or trivialized, like a container, a pillow that is leaned upon, a carpet that is walked on, or hung on a lavatory door. The general rule is that a depiction is permissible provided it is one something that is debased or trivialized, otherwise it is not. [al-Shirbīnī, Mughni al-muḥtāj, 4:408]
- Another exception could be made for depicting ensouled creatures without their heads [al-Nawawī, Rawḍat al-ṭālibīn, 7:335; Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī, Tuḥfat al-muḥtāj, 7:432.], though the prohibition also extends to fantasy creatures, like winged horses and winged humans. [Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī, Tuḥfat al-muḥtāj, 7:432; al-Shirbīnī, Mughni al-muḥtāj, 4:407; al-Ramlī, Nihāyat al-muḥtāj, 6:375; al-Anṣārī, Fatḥ al-Wahhāb, 4:275]
The predominant opinion is that it is offensive to enter a house that contains a depiction of an ensouled creature. [See previous notes, along with al-Māwardī, al-Ḥāwī al-kabīr, 9:563] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Indeed, angels to not enter houses containing pictures.” [Bukhari, 2105, 5181, 5957, 5958, 5961; Muslim, 2106.85, 2107.96]
Wages cannot be taken for producing unlawful depictions of living creatures, since unlawful acts are not rewarded with wages. [al-Anṣārī, Ansā al-maṭālib, 3:226]
Credits: Image by Teemeah, [source], shared according to CC BY-SA 4.0.
