Is taking photographs haram?

Why the texts are read so differently

The prohibitions themselves are not in dispute. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"The most severely punished people on the Day of Resurrection are the image-makers."— Sahih al-Bukhari 5950 and Sahih Muslim 2109, from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

And:

"Every image-maker is in the Fire."— Sahih Muslim

What the scholars disagree about is whether a camera falls under these words at all. The hadith speaks of taswir — a person fashioning an image with his own hand, in imitation of Allah's creation. The question is whether pressing a shutter is that act or something else.

The position that it is forbidden

Shaykh Ibn Baz held that photography is prohibited whether made by hand or by any other means, and he did not accept the distinction between drawing and a camera. In his words, the whole of image-making is an evil, and the Prophet ﷺ cursed the image-makers. He applied the ruling to images of anything with a soul — a pigeon, a chicken, a camel, a person, a sparrow — on paper, on cloth, on wood, or in three dimensions. He also cited the Prophet's ﷺ action when he saw a pictured cloth in Aisha's رضي الله عنها house: he seized it and tore it, saying that the people of these images will be punished and told, "Bring to life what you created."

IslamWeb records this as an established position among contemporary scholars, and gives the reasoning behind it: photography is image-making in language, in the Sacred Law and in custom; it involves mudahah (attempting to rival Allah's creation); it is a means to veneration of images; it imitates the practice of the idolaters; the images prevent the angels from entering the house — which IslamWeb notes applies even according to those who permit photography; and it wastes wealth. On this view, photographing living beings is forbidden even of one's wife or children, and nothing is permitted except what necessity or genuine need requires, such as a passport photograph.

The position that the camera is not image-making

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen drew a distinction that decides the whole question for him. In the photographic process, he argued, the person does nothing to the image itself — the device produces it instantly, and the one who operates it has no hand in forming it. It is, in his words, the transmission of an image that Allah عز وجل created, by means of a device; it is an impression in which the servant has no act of image-making. The hadith, he held, concerns image-making that is the servant's own act and by which he rivals Allah's creation.

He illustrated it this way: if someone writes you a letter and you photograph it, the resulting image is not the act of the one who operated the camera — he may not even know how to write — and everyone recognises the writing as the first person's. The second has no act in it.

But this permission is not unconditional, and this is the part most often missed:

• For a need, it is permitted: Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen named a residency permit or a driving licence — people need these.
• Kept merely as a memento, it is not permitted: he held that acquiring photographs for the sake of remembrance is forbidden, citing the hadith that the angels do not enter a house containing an image.
• For an unlawful purpose, it becomes unlawful: he applied the principle that the means takes the ruling of its end — tahrim al-wasail.

Al-Albani rejected this reasoning forcefully. He argued that if there is no difference between an idol carved over days and one produced by pressing a button, then there is no difference between an image drawn with a pen and one produced by a camera — the only difference is the instrument. He described the distinction as a modern literalism, and warned that it leads to making lawful what Allah has forbidden by the flimsiest of devices, comparing it to the Jews who were forbidden fat, melted it down, sold it and ate its price.

The view that it is permitted in principle

IslamWeb, in a separate fatwa, states that photographing living beings is permitted in origin and does not fall under the prohibited image-making, and that this is the preponderant view with them — whether the image is still or video. On this view, permission does not require a religious purpose, and keeping such photographs is not forbidden, whether of the living or the dead. The same source notes that the matter is one of genuine disagreement: some contemporary scholars forbid it, some permit it, and some suspend judgement. It adds that the view prohibiting photography beyond what necessity or pressing need requires has a strong basis, and advises abstaining from it in order to leave the disagreement and to keep one's religion clear.

Note that this permissive ruling concerns photography. Drawing living beings by hand is a separate question: IslamWeb states that the majority of scholars hold it forbidden when the form is complete, with an exception for children's toys, and that incomplete forms — such as a head or chest alone — are permitted by many scholars.

Where the positions differ

In practice

If you follow Shaykh Ibn Baz or al-Albani, you avoid photographing living beings altogether except where necessity or real need requires it. If you follow Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, the photograph itself is not the problem — the purpose is: take what you need, and do not accumulate images for remembrance or use them for anything unlawful. If you follow the permissive view, the ruling still changes the moment the image involves uncovering what must be covered, or is used for something forbidden.

What all of them agree on is that the texts prohibiting image-making are authentic and severe, and that a Muslim should not treat the question lightly. Where the scholars differ this sharply on a matter of this weight, leaving what is disputed is the safer course.

Key takeaways

• The prohibition texts are agreed upon; what is disputed is whether a camera falls under them.
• Shaykh Ibn Baz forbade all photography of living beings, permitting only what necessity requires.
• Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen held the camera is not image-making, so it is permitted for need and forbidden for mere remembrance or an unlawful purpose.
• Al-Albani rejected the camera-versus-hand distinction and held photography forbidden.
• IslamWeb holds photography permitted in origin, while noting the prohibiting view has a strong basis and advising caution.

Further reading

• Majmu' Fatawa wa Maqalat al-Shaykh Ibn Baz
• Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen
• Jami' Turath al-Albani fi al-Fiqh

And Allah knows best.