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Is Taking and Printing Pictures Allowed in Islam?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Muftionline.co.za

Q: I want to ask wether taking a picture from camera is allowed as if its only remain in computer or camera and not in physical shape. Will it be ruled same as its Sunnah of Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) that making picture is not allowed and its sinful. When I searched about it I read that taking picture involve same method as watching yourself on camera which is allowed in Islam. Is printing allowed also?

Bismillaah

A: All pictures of animate objects are haraam and forbidden in Islam. All the four mazhabs are unanimous upon the impermissibility of drawing and creating pictures of animate objects. There is no difference in the Islamic ruling between a picture that is drawn by hand and a digital picture. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:

إن أشد الناس عذابا عند الله يوم القيامة المصورون (صحيح البخاري 2/880 ، صحيح لمسلم /201)

Those involved in picture-making will be subjected to the worst forms of punishment on the day of Qiyaamat. (Bukhari 2/880, Muslim 2/201)

For a detailed explanation on the topic of digital photography, refer to our kitaab “Photography and Modern Challenges.”

And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)

This answer was collected from MuftiOnline.co.za, where the questions have been answered by Mufti Zakaria Makada (Hafizahullah), who is currently a senior lecturer in the science of Hadith and Fiqh at Madrasah Ta’leemuddeen, Isipingo Beach, South Africa.