Are photos of food, housing, and buildings allowed in Islam?

In the name of Allah the Majestic

Photos of food, buildings and any other inanimate objects are permissible, as long as they are not pictures of objects which would other wise have a soul. Photos of statues are also not permissible.

Narrated from Sa`id bin Abu Al-Hasan:

While I was with Ibn `Abbas a man came and said, “O father of `Abbas! My sustenance is from my manual profession and I make these pictures.”

Ibn `Abbas said, “I will tell you only what I heard from Rasulullah. I heard him saying, ‘Whoever makes a picture will be punished by Allah till he puts life in it, and he will never be able to put life in it.’ “Hearing this, that man heaved a sigh and his face turned pale. Ibn `Abbas said to him, “What a pity! If you insist on making pictures I advise you to make pictures of trees and any other unanimated objects.” (Bukhari 3.428)

And Allah knows best

20th September, 2005

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Mufti Abubakr Karolia
Batley, U.K
Founder of the “Islamic Foundation for Theology and Research” (I.F.T.A.R)