Q422 :I am often dismayed to see people wearing
shirts and blouses which display images of birds, animals and even
human beings. They even go inside a mosque to offer prayers. The other
day, I felt greatly annoyed to see a man wearing a shirt with an advert
of Goodyear tires, showing a star boxer encircled with tires around his
waist.
A422 : I have in the past distinguished between
statues and engravings on the one hand and pictures as we know them
today, which are either paintings or photographs, on the other.
Statements in Hadith, which speak of “pictures” being distasteful or
forbidden, clearly mean the first type, i.e. statues and engravings. As
for photographs and paintings, these are of a different nature. We may
mention in this connection that the Prophet once used a piece of cloth
with pictures on it for prayers. After he finished, he expressed his
dislike to that piece of cloth and said that it distracted him from his
prayers. From this we deduce that it is discouraged to use such
material for a prayer mat. Its use, however, does not affect the
validity of prayer. When the Prophet mentions that pictures are
strongly discouraged, he makes the exception “unless they be printed on
material.” This means material which is used for making clothes. On the
basis of this, I must say that I am surprised by the strength of your
criticism of people using such material. It is true that some people
may find the sight of a man wearing a shirt with a large picture of a
bird or a horse rather unpleasant. It may be even more so if it has the
picture of a human being, but we cannot say that it is forbidden. Nor
can we say that photography, as it is used today, is forbidden. Indeed,
it has numerous beneficial uses. If it is used for a bad purpose, as in
the case of pornography, it benetes forbidden. I should perhaps also
explain that it may be very unwise for a man to wear such a colourful
shirt with attractive pictures inside the mosque, especially if he
attends congregational prayers. By doing so, he may cause other
worshippers to be distracted of their worship. Displaying
advertisements of the type you have mentioned may be also unsightly. If
the one who is wearing such an ad receives a fee for wearing it, it is
all right, provided that what he is advertising is permissible. Thus,
an advert for car tires is acceptable but one for a brand of cigarettes
is forbidden. [Added: One most netmon use of photographs in many
Muslim countries is leader worship. Some states have made it mandatory
for the government offices to display the photographs of their leaders,
as a sign of respect. Such an idea is far from Islamic and is
forbidden. However, if one has special feelings for a particular
person, even a leader, and he makes a display of this, it is all right.
The very concept of any kind of homage to be attached to photographs is
not permissible. That is to say, it is the niyyah that makes the
difference in such cases.]
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )