Sahih Muslim The Book of Clothes and Adornment

the people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Judgment will be those who try to emulate Allah'sAllah's creation

Chapter: The Prohibition Of Making Images Of Living Beings, And The Prohibition Of Using Images That Are Not Subjected To Disrespect In Furnishings And The Like; The Angels (Peace Be Upon Them) Do Not Enter A House In Which There Is An Image Or A Dog

Authentic hadith of Sahih Muslim Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih Muslim 2107i

Narrator:Ā’ishah

وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَزُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، جَمِيعًا عَنِ ابْنِ عُيَيْنَةَ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لِزُهَيْرٍ - حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَائِشَةَ، تَقُولُ دَخَلَ عَلَىَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَدْ سَتَرْتُ سَهْوَةً لِي بِقِرَامٍ فِيهِ تَمَاثِيلُ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ هَتَكَهُ وَتَلَوَّنَ وَجْهُهُ وَقَالَ ‏"‏ يَا عَائِشَةُ

أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُضَاهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ فَقَطَعْنَاهُ فَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُ وِسَادَةً أَوْ وِسَادَتَيْنِ

‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah'sAllah's peace and blessings be upon him) came into my place, and there was a curtain with some images on it that I had hung along a platform of mine. On seeing it, he tore it up, and the colour of his face changed, and he said: "O ''Ā’ishah, the people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Judgment will be those who try to emulate Allah'sAllah's creation." ''Ā’ishah said: "So, we tore it and made one or two cushions out of it."

Reported by Muslim (No. 2107i, 2107f), Al-Bukhari (No. 5954, 6109), An-Nasa’i (No. 5356, 5357, 5363) and Ahmad (No. 22952, 23395, 23417, 23424, 24450, 24655).

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered the place of 'Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) in his house and found that she had covered a small cabinet, wherein things are kept with a piece of fabric that had images of living beings on it. The color of his face changed by way of anger for the sake of Allah, and he took it away and said: People who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Judgment will be those who try to emulate Allah's creation with their images. ‘Ā’ishah said: So, we made one or two cushions out of it.

Lessons

Forbidding evil on seeing it without any slackness unless it involves a greater evil.
Punishment on the Day of Judgment varies according to the gravity of the sin.
Making images of living beings counts as one of the major sins.
One of the rationales behind the prohibition of image-making is the imitation of Allah's creation, whether the image-maker has intended it or not.
The Shariah is keen on protecting properties by making use of them after removing what is prohibited therein.
It is forbidden to make images of living beings in any form, even if they are treated with disrespect.

Explanation in Arabic

دَخَلَ النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بيتَه على عائشة رضي الله عنها فوجدَها قد سترتْ الخِزانة الصغيرة التي يُوضَع فيها المتاع بقماش فيه تصاوير لذوات الأرواح، فتَغَيَّرَ لونُ وجهِهِ غضبًا لله ونَزَعَه، وقال:

أشدُّ الناس عذابًا يوم القيامة الذين يُشابِهون بتصاويرهم خلقَ الله.

قالت عائشة: فجعلناه وِسَادَة أو وسادتين.

إنكار المنكر وقتَ رؤيتِه وعدم التراخي في ذلك، ما لم يكن في ذلك مفسدة أكبر.
العذاب يوم القيامة يتفاوت بحسب عِظَمِ الذنب.
تصوير ذوات الأرواح من كبائر الذنوب.
من حِكَمِ تحريم التصوير مضاهاة خلق الله تعالى، سواءً قصد المصوِّرُ المضاهاة أو لم يقصد.
حرص الشريعة على حفظ الأموال بالاستفادة منها بعد تجنيبِها ما يحرم فيها.
المنع من صناعة صور ذات الأرواح على أيِّ شَكْلٍ كان، ولو كانت ممتهنة.

Classical commentary

An-Nawawi — Sharh Sahih Muslim

قَوْلهَا : ( وَقَدْ سَتَّرْت سَهْوَة لِي بِقِرَامِ ) السَّهْوَة بِفَتْحِ السِّين الْمُهْمَلَة. قَالَ الْأَصْمَعِيّ : هِيَ شَبِيهَة بِالرَّفِّ أَوْ بِالطَّاقِ يُوضَع عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْء. قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْد : وَسَمِعْت غَيْر وَاحِد مِنْ أَهْل الْيَمَن يَقُولُونَ : السَّهْوَة عِنْدنَا بَيْت صَغِير مُتَحَدِّر فِي الْأَرْض , وَسُمْكه مُرْتَفِع فِي الْأَرْض , يُشْبِه الْخِزَانَة الصَّغِيرَة , يَكُون فِيهَا الْمَتَاع. قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْد : وَهَذَا عِنْدِي أَشْبَهَ مَا قِيلَ فِي السَّهْوَة. وَقَالَ الْخَلِيل : هِيَ أَرْبَعَة أَعْوَاد أَوْ ثَلَاثَة يُعْرَض بَعْضهَا عَلَى بَعْض , ثُمَّ يُوضَع عَلَيْهَا شَيْء مِنْ الْأَمْتِعَة. وَقَالَ اِبْن الْأَعْرَابِيّ : هِيَ الْكَوَّة بَيْن الدَّارَيْنِ , وَقِيلَ :…

Scholar	Grade	Applies to	Work
Muslimd. 261 AH	Authenticصحيح	The hadith	صحيح مسلم No. 2107

Grades of other versions (2)

AuthenticAl-Albani صحيح — صحيح الجامع (997)
AuthenticAl-Bukhari صحيح — صحيح البخاري (5950)

Other versions

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 5954

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) returned from a journey when I had placed a curtain of mine having pictures over (the door of) a chamber of mine. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw it, he tore it and said, "The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to…

أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُضَاهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَتْ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ وِسَادَةً أَوْ وِسَادَتَيْنِ

Narrated by Ā’ishah

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 6109

The Prophet (ﷺ) entered upon me while there was a curtain having pictures (of animals) in the house. His face got red with anger, and then he got hold of the curtain and tore it into pieces. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Such people as paint these pictures will receive the severest punishment on the Day…

‏ مِنْ أَشَدِّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُصَوِّرُونَ هَذِهِ الصُّوَرَ ‏"

Narrated by Ā’ishah

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih Muslim 2107f

The most grievous torfnent for the people on the Day of Resurrection would be for those who try to imitate Allah in the act of creation.

إِنَّ مِنْ أَشَدِّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُشَبِّهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ‏"

Narrated by Ā’ishah

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sunan an-Nasa'i 5356

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] came from a journey, and I had hung a curtain on which there were images over a niche. He took it down and said: 'The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to match the creation of Allah.'"

"‏ أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُضَاهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ‏"

Narrated by Ā’ishah

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sunan an-Nasa'i 5357

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] entered upon me, and I had put up a curtain on which there were images. When he saw it, his face changed color, then he tore it down with his hand and said: 'The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to imitate the…

"‏ إِنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُشَبِّهُونَ بِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ‏"

Narrated by Ā’ishah

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sunan an-Nasa'i 5363

"The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be those who try to match the creation of Allah."

إِنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الَّذِينَ يُضَاهُونَ اللَّهَ فِي خَلْقِهِ ‏.‏

Narrated by Ā’ishah

See all 15 versions

Not graded Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Musnad Ahmad 22952