Dear brothers and sisters, December 17, 2009;
Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmathullahi Wa Bharakhathuhu.
Brother Mohammed Davies has desired that certain questions be answered. May Allah Subhana Wa Taala reward him for seeking clarifications.
We love to capture the first smile of a baby. We also love to record the speeches of Dawah in video. Do we commit any sin in these acts?
We hope to show that the digital pictures and video recordings are haram. Before we proceed, we recount a discussion I had with a professor of Hadith of Madina University when he visited Riyadh possibly during 1990. If anyone entered the offices in Saudi Arabia in 1990, normally three photographs were displayed: King Abdul Aziz, King Fahd, and Deputy Premier Abdullah. In some offices the photographs of King Fahd, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah, and Defense Minister Sultan were displayed. The professor of Hadith told me that a painting might add a hair or leave a hair and thus creates a new creation; whereas a photograph captures exactly the creation of Allah Subhana Wa Taala and hence is not haram.
What the professor of Hadith said was correct from the perspective of a human being. Are haram and halal to be seen from human perspective or from the possible perspective of Allah Subhana Wa Taala? As the Judge on the Day of Judgment is Allah Subhana Wa Taala, we would be safe if we decide on the possible perspective of Allah Subhana Wa Taala.
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Yusuf Ali 3:3
The Unbelievers say, "Never to us will come the Hour": Say, "Nay! but most surely, by my Lord, it will come upon you;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:
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How accurate are the photographs? How sharp are the photographic prints?
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the 10 megapixel image maxes out at 325 dpi.
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Even though not reported as a sentence, the above article calculates that a 16.7 megapixel image maxes out at 451 dpi. At these resolutions every hair, which is about 100 dpi, would be shown in the photograph. Are we sure Allah Subhana Wa Taala considers 100 dpi to be enough while He sees every atom? Leave alone the atom, do the photographs capture the highest resolution possible of light?
The longest light wavelength is 750 nano meters, which approximates to 33,333 dpi. We are nowhere near that in photographic technology. We would never even approach that as human eye cannot see sharper than 250 dpi and thus we do not expect any manufacturer to develop a photo-printer that would print beyond the current 400 dpi or so. So applying the logic of the professor of Hadith, even though the photographs capture every hair, they do not make an exact replica of the person photographed.
We present the following Traditions to show that creating anything similar, but not exactly same, is a sin.
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The words "pictures grain" appear in 1 hadith(s) in Bukhari translation.
(1) Narrated Abu Zur'a: l entered a house in Medina with
Abu Huraira, and he saw a man making
pictures at the top of the house. Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying that Allah said, 'Who would be more unjust than the one who tries to create the like of My creatures? Let them create a
grain: let them create a gnat.' "Abu Huraira then asked for a water container and washed his arms up to his armpits. I said, "0 Abu i Huraira! Is this something you have heard I from Allah's Apostle?" He said, "The limit for ablution is up to the place where the ornaments will reach on the Day of Resurrection.'
(Book #72, Hadith #837)===
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The words "pictures disapproval" appear in 1 hadith(s) in Bukhari translation.
(1) Narrated Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) I bought a cushion having on it
pictures (of animals). When Allah's Apostle saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. I noticed the sign of
disapproval on his face and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I repent to Allah and His Apostle. What sin have I committed?' Allah's Apostle said. "What is this cushion?" I said, "I have bought it for you so that you may sit on it and recline on it." Allah's Apostle said, "The makers of these
pictures will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them, 'Give life to what you have created (i.e., these
pictures).' " The Prophet added, "The Angels of (Mercy) do not enter a house in which there are
pictures (of animals)."
(Book #62, Hadith #110)===
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The words "Gabriel picture" appear in 2 hadith(s) in Bukhari translation.
(2) Narrated Salim's father: Once
Gabriel promised to visit the Prophet but he delayed and the Prophet got worried about that. At last he came out and found
Gabriel and complained to him of his grief (for his delay).
Gabriel said to him, "We do not enter a place in which there is a
picture or a dog."
(Book #72, Hadith #843) ===
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The words "pictures unanimated" appear in 1 hadith(s) in Bukhari translation.
(1) Narrated Said 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 Allah's Apostle . 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." (Book #34, Hadith #428)
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One might say that we could put up with the inconvenience of not taking pictures for social purposes. But how could we do Dawah without video recording? Many a video of the recitation of the Holy Quran shows the reciter. However we do have the recitation of the Holy Quran at http://www.quranexplorer.com/ where the text is displayed and the section recited is highlighted. I believe the strategy of Quranexplorer is eminently suitable for Dawah.
Let me conclude by stating that live broadcast of any act involving one or more animate objects is Halal. The recording of that live broadcast is Haram. This is because in the live broadcast the technology extends the view of the viewer to the place of activity, whereas a recording produces the images even after the actors are long dead and buried. Live telecast of the prayers at the Holy Kaaba and Prophet's Masjid at Madina are Halal, while any video recording of the same are Haram. Taking pictures of the worshippers and selling them also are Haram.
As regards getting the pictures of the Holy Kaaba and other Masjids, we suggest that long exposure - many minutes - of these buildings be made. Due to the long exposure the images of the moving worshippers would get blurred and might become a light gray tone capturing the buildings alone in sharp contrast. Alternately the images of the worshippers may be erased using digital technolgy leaving the picture of the buildings alone for printing and selling.
Allah Subhana Wa Taala knows best.
Your brother,
Mohideen Ibramsha
Was Salaam
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--- On
Fri, 12/11/09, mohammed Davies <ma_davies44@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
From: mohammed Davies <ma_davies44@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Re: [MasjidNabwi] Taking Pictures in Islam
To: MasjidNabwi@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 12:50 AM
What is the Circustances of this report "Those drawing Pictures?"
is drawing pictures the same as taking a picture?
Why do we take the Picture of haram and the peoples praying there and sell it to the world?
What is the key wisdom behind this report?
From: adil naveed <adilnaveed@yahoo. com>
Sent: Wed, 9 December, 2009 6:02:12 PM
Subject: [MasjidNabwi] Taking Pictures in Islam
i understand taking photos is haram but can you please back it up for me with evidence,quotes, hadith and quran.
| Answer 17416 | April 12, 2006
|
1. Ibn Umar (R.A) states that Rasulullah (Salalaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said ?Those who draw pictures will be punished on the day of judgment. It will be said to them give life to that which you have drawn?. (Bukhari Muslim)
2. Ibn Abbas (R.A) states that Rasulullah (Salalaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said ?every picture maker will be flung into the fire of hell, for every picture he drew, a dummy will be made which will punish him in the fire? (Bukhari Muslim)
3. Ibn Abbas (R.A) states that Rasulullah (Salalaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said ?whoever draws a picture in this world, he would be forced to blow life into it in the Hereafter which he will never do?. (Bukhari Muslim)
And Allah Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Allah Knows Best
Adil Naveed
Owner - Moderator Islamicviews Yahoo group |