Hadith on Pictures: Making images without a soul

Ibn Abbas reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Every maker of graven images will be in Hellfire. Every image he made will be given a soul to punish him in Hell.” Ibn Abbas said, “If you must do so, make images of trees or whatever does not have a soul within it.”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2110

Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim

عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ كُلُّ مُصَوِّرٍ فِي النَّارِ يَجْعَلُ لَهُ بِكُلِّ صُورَةٍ صَوَّرَهَا نَفْسًا فَتُعَذِّبُهُ فِي جَهَنَّمَ وقَالَ ابْن عَبَّاسٍ إِنْ كُنْتَ لَا بُدَّ فَاعِلًا فَاصْنَعِ الشَّجَرَ وَمَا لَا نَفْسَ لَهُ

2110 صحيح مسلم كتاب اللباس والزينة باب تحريم تصوير صورة الحيوان وتحريم اتخاذ ما فيه صورة غير ممتهنة بالفرش ونحوه

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Abu Amina Elias
Abu Amina Elias (Justin Parrott) is an academic librarian, researcher, and translator specializing in the Quran, Hadith, and their commentaries. He is a former instructor of Islamic Creed for Mishkah University.
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