Is that is it still a sin to draw characters.if someone`s niyath is not to pray, but just to show off, their nimaz is not accepted, right?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalamualaikum
Dear
brother in Islam, I have a question which has been bothering me for a long
time.
One of
my past times is, and has been for a very long time, to draw anime and manga.
That is, cartoon versions of humans.
I have
not drawn cartoon versions of REAL people, but instead just figments of my
imagination. One day, my mother told me that Allah All-mighty hates people who
draw human figures.
But my
question is that is it still a sin to draw characters that are not real people,
but rather cartoons? My mother told me that Allah said something in the Holy
Quran that people who draw living creations are testing Allah, naouzubillah.
But
does`nt it also depend on your niyath, or the reason you`re doing it? I have no
intentions of challenging Allah when I draw, but rather I pray to Allah at
times that my drawing comes out properly.
For
instance, if someone`s niyath is not to pray, but just to show off, their nimaz
is not accepted, right? So then, does`nt it all depend on the niyath? Please
tell me if I am right or wrong, and if I should stop drawing. I have always
loved drawing these and it has been my passion, so I would love to find a way
to continue drawing these cartoon characters without having a feeling of guilt.
Thankyou
so much.
Wassalam.
Your
sister in Islam.
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Shirk
pictures and intentions
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Question: But
does`nt it also depend on your niyath, or the reason you`re doing it?.... For
instance, if someone`s niyath is not to pray, but just to show off, their nimaz
is not accepted, right? So then, does`nt it all depend on the niyath?
Sahih Muslim Hadith 4688 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws)
say: ‘The first man (whose case) will be
decided on the Day of Judgment, will be a man who died as a ‘martyr’. He shall be
brought (before the Judgment Seat). Allah will make him recount His blessings
(i.e. the blessings which He had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them
(and admit having enjoyed them in his life).
(Then) will Allah say: ‘What did you do (to requite these
blessings)?’ He will say: ‘I fought for
Thee until I died as a martyr.’ Allah
will say: ‘You have told a lie. You fought so that you might be called a
"brave warrior". And you were called so (after your death).’ (Then)
orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward
and cast into Hell! Then there will be
brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and
recited the Quran. He will be brought, Allah will make him recount His
blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his
lifetime). Then will Allah ask: ‘What
did you do (to requite these blessings)?’
He will say: ‘I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the
Quran, seeking Thy pleasure.’ Allah will say: ‘You have told a lie. You
acquired knowledge so that you might be called "a scholar", and you
recited the Qur'an so that it might be said: "He is a Qari" and such
has been said.’ Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged
with his face downward and cast into the Fire!
Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had
granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought, Allah will make him recount
His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his
lifetime). Allah will (then) ask: ‘What
have you done (to requite these blessings)?’
He will say: ‘I spent money in every cause in which Thou wished that it
should be spent.’ Allah will say: ‘You
are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (you): "He is a
generous fellow", and so it was said.’ Then will Allah pass orders and he
will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into Hell!’
Indeed Sister, it is indeed true and the absolute majority
of the scholars and the jurists in Islam are of the opinion that the reward of
every ‘good’ deed one does will depend entirely upon the intention of the
person doing the deed.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.1 Narrated by Umar bin Al Khattab
I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying,
"The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will
get the reward according to what he has intended.”
But if an evil transpires as a direct result of one doing
a deed, even though the person did not actually intend to do evil, in many
cases one will be accountable for that evil. For example, if one has an
accident and were to hurt or kill someone….although the person did not actually
intend to hurt or kill another person, the person will be held accountable for
the evil that transpired as a direct result of his deed.
Thus although it is absolutely true that the reward of
every ‘good’ deed will depend entirely upon the intention or ‘neeyah’ of the
person doing the deed; it is not always the case when an evil transpires,
albeit unintentionally, as a direct result of one’s deed.
Your Qeustion: One
of my past times is, and has been for a very long time, to draw anime and
manga. That is, cartoon versions of humans.
I have not drawn
cartoon versions of REAL people, but instead just figments of my imagination.
One day, my mother told me that Allah All-mighty hates people who draw human
figures.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.834 Narrated by Muslim
We were with Masruq
at the house of Yasar bin Numair. Masruq saw pictures on his terrace and said,
"I heard 'Abdullah saying that he heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "The people who will receive the
severest punishment from Allah will be the (animate) picture makers.' "
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 7.841 Narrated by Abu Talha
The Messenger of
Allah (saws) said, "Angels (of Mercy)
do not enter a house where there are (animate) pictures."
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 7.845 Narrated by Abu
Juhaifa
that he had bought
a slave whose profession was cupping.
The Prophet forbade taking the price of blood, and the price of a dog,
and the earnings of a prostitute, and cursed the one who took or gave (Riba')
usury, and the lady who tattooed others or got herself tattooed, and the (animate)
picture-maker.
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 4.450 Narrated by Abu Salim
Once Gabriel
promised the Prophet (saws) that he would visit him, but Gabriel did not come,
and later on he said, "We Angels, do not enter a house which contains a (animate) picture, or a dog."
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 4.448 Narrated by Abu Talha
I heard the
Messenger of Allah (saws) saying; "Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house
wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature (a human being or an
animal)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 3.428 Narrated by 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 Messenger (saws).
I heard him (saws) saying, 'Whoever makes a (animate) 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."
It is absolutely forbidden in Shariah for a believer who
sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day to make portraits or draw pictures of
animate creatures, regardless of whether the pictures are of real people or a
figment of one’s imagination.
Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, that is the ‘Law’; and
although it is incumbent upon a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and
the Last Day to unconditionally obey every Law of Islam, it would only be
prudent for one to strive to comprehend the wisdom behind the ‘Laws’ of
Islam….so that their hearts may be content and they may follow the Wise
Guidance and Commands of their Lord and His Messenger (saws) with absolute
conviction.
Allah Subhanah has singled out ‘shirk’ or associating other
deities with Allah as the one single biggest sin in Islam. Many amongst mankind through the ages used to
make images and portraits of the pious amongst them or even only as a figment
of their imagination, and as times and generations went by, the ignorant
amongst them would start worshipping these images and thus involve themselves
in the abomination of ‘shirk’! Thus
Allah and His Messenger (saws) guided the believers to abstain from making and
glorifying images and portraits, and thus eliminated the very root that might
lead some amongst them to the evil path of ‘shirk’!
Beloved Sister, the guidance of Islam is so comprehensive
that when Allah Subhanah Declares something as ‘haraam’ or prohibited….it is
not only that specific thing which is forbidden, but Allah Subhanah guides the
believers to abstain from everything that leads or might lead to the
‘haraam’!
For example: Allah Subhanah has Declared ‘zina’
(fornication and adultery) as ‘haraam’ for the believers…..thus every single
thing that leads to this evil abomination of ‘zina’ is also deemed forbidden in
Islam! The Guidance and Commands of the
concept of the ‘hijaab’, the free mixing of non-mehrams of the opposite sex,
the casual meeting of two non-mehram members of the opposite sex alone, etc.
are all prohibited because there is a chance the violation of these guidelines
may lead one to the abomination of ‘zina’.
Similarly, Allah and His Messenger (saws) have declared
the consumption of ‘intoxicants’ as unlawful for the believers; thus (in their
ignorance) one may argue that a sip of wine does not intoxicate and therefore a
sip is not unlawful!!! Not only has
Islam declared even a ‘drop’ of that which intoxicates as unlawful, Islam has
prohibited the believers from even approaching anything that involves
‘intoxicants’!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah
Maidah verses 90-91:
O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), games of chance, idols,
and divining arrows are all abominable works of the Shaytaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may
attain success. Indeed, the Shaytaan seeks to sow enmity and hatred
among you by means of ‘khamr’ (intoxicants) and gambling, and to prevent you from the Remembrance of
Allah and from Salaah. Will you
not, then, abstain from these things?
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2776 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Allah's Messenger (saws) invoked the curse of
Allah on ten people in connection with wine: the wine-presser, the one who has
it pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who conveys it, the one to whom it
is conveyed, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who benefits
from the price paid for it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is
bought.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4477 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
The Prophet (saws) said, "He who
believes in Allah and the Last Day must not sit at a cloth (table or gathering)
where wine is being circulated."
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3679 Narrated byAisha, Ummul Mu'minin
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: ‘Every
intoxicant is forbidden; if a ‘faraq’ (a quantity) of anything causes
intoxication, a handful of it is also forbidden!’
Your Statement: I
have not drawn cartoon versions of REAL people, but instead just figments of my
imagination. One day, my mother told me that Allah All-mighty hates people who
draw human figures.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.846 Narrated by Ibn Abbas
I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying,
"Whoever makes an (animate) picture in this world will be asked to put
life into it on the Day of Resurrection, but he will not be able to do so!"
Beloved Sister, if one is aware of the ‘Hindu’ religion,
one would know that almost every single one of their 330 million ‘gods’ of the
Hindu religion are based on mythology or the figment of someone’s imagination! The ‘gods’ like ‘Ram’, or ‘
Thus my beloved Sister in Islam, as far fetched as it may
seem to you today that someone amongst human beings might be so ignorant to
take the ‘harmless’ animate cartoon creatures you so like to draw as ‘gods’ or
‘deities’ and start their worship someday in the future….know that the absolute
majority of the ‘images’ or ‘gods’ or ‘deities’ the pagans worship were and are
but a figment of someone’s imagination at the time of their creation!
Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, regardless of whether
one accepts or comprehends the wisdom behind the Laws of Allah or not, it would
be incumbent upon every believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day
to unconditionally submit their will to the Will of Allah Subhanah, and
unconditionally obey each and every Command of the Lord and His Messenger
(saws).
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verse 36:
It does not behove a believing man and a
believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in
a matter, they should exercise an option in that matter of theirs. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger,
has indeed strayed into manifest error.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister