Images in Islam
27-9-2001 | IslamWeb
Question:
I am a student of BBA, North South University, Dhaka Bangladesh. I am a member of our Universities Photography Club. Some days ago I entered into this web site. And in the photography part I read the following statement. "Some scholars believe that it is lawful to draw living beings provided that one leaves out a vital part of that creature: like drawing a horse without its head or drawing its head without its rear…. etc. The evidence for this is the Hadith narrated by Al Ismail, that the Prophet said: "The picture is the head. If the head is left out there is no picture". So, if you are compelled to draw a being that has a soul, leave out a vital organ of that being that leaves it lifeless or make a slight separation between his body and a vital organ without it a being can not live". I can't understand the above statement. Will you please discuss it? If I take a picture of a man from his chest to head, is it OK? Or if I take a picture of a man without a part that he can't live without the part or if I take a picture of a man without a part but he can live without the part. Or if I just take a picture of a man but he is not really my subject, the subject is different. Statue is prohibited. What about dolls for play for children or simply decorating house? Please discuss it. I really want to know it.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
What is meant by this paragraph is that the majority of the scholars, including the four Imams, believe that any picture of a living being which lacks a vital organ is lawful. However, the Shaafi’i School of jurisprudence is of the view that it is forbidden to draw the head of a living being or make a statue of it. As for photography which is done with a camera or a video, then please refer to Fataawa 83249, 83020 and 82806.
Scholars permit dolls and toys for children, but they forbid using dolls and toys in decorating houses as this is not the purpose for which they were made lawful.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 83314.
Allah knows best.