(305) Chapter: Prohibition of Drawing Portraits

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited me after returning from a journey, and I had a shelf with a thin cloth curtain hanging over it and on which there were portraits. When he saw it, the colour of his face changed (because of anger) and he said, "O 'Aishah! the most grievous torment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be for those who imitate (Allah) in the act of His creation." 'Aishah said: We tore it into pieces and made a cushion or two cushions out of that.

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: This Hadith has already appeared earlier [Hadith No. 650]. We learn from it that the act of drawing (pictures of humans, animals and things that have a soul in them) or photography and hanging of pictures (of such things) for display or decoration in homes is a great sin. It is, however, permissible that sheets bearing such pictures are cut into pieces for making such things which are not sacred and people go on trampling them, as was done by `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) that she made pillow covers of these pieces.