The Scourge Of Photography

#سلسلة_المسائل_المهمة_ ✍️ #فتاوى_صوتية: - ⬇️ ســؤال : احتاج إلى اليوتيوب هل يجوز؟ https://telegram.me/AbulYamman

رسالة مستلة من الكتاب بتقديم الشيخ عدنان المصقري، جزاه الله خيرا.

نداء إلى إخواني طلبة العلم: الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد: قد بذلت وسعي في تأليف هذا الكتاب وتحرير المسألة، وذلك لقلة من تطرق لها بهذه الدقة. واجتهدت أيضا في إيصال هذا الكتاب للمشايخ طلبا للتنقيح والتوجيه والإرشاد، ولكن قدرتي هنا محدودة. ولكي تصل هذه المادة إلى أهل التحقيق والعلم، أطلب من كل أخ يقرأ هذا المنشور ولديه تواصل مع شيخ، أو عالم، أو طالب علم متمكن، أن يوصل هذا الكتاب إليه ليقرأه ويبدي رأيه وتوجيهه ونصحه فيما يخص المادة نفسها ثم نشرها. ساهموا في نشر السنة وبيان الحق، ونسأل الله أن يجعل هذا العمل خالصا لوجهه الكريم. الكتاب: https://t.me/fitnatTasweer/3 الملخص: https://t.me/fitnatTasweer/5

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته I'd like to retract my recommendation to use apps like PipePipe and NewPipe. Apparently YouTube has a rigid, strict prohibition on downloading content from their platform, in any way shape or form. One has to either use YouTube or simply not be able to reach that content there. I apologize for the previous suggestion, I was not aware they have such a restrictive condition. والله المستعان. لعله خير. We need our own platform anyway, instead of a filthy one like YouTube. —Al-Qaddari

XY Problem What is it? The XY problem is asking about your attempted solution rather than your actual problem. This leads to enormous amounts of wasted time and energy, both on the part of people asking for help, and on the part of those providing help. * User wants to do X. * User doesn't know how to do X, but thinks they can fumble their way to a solution if they can just manage to do Y. * User doesn't know how to do Y either. * User asks for help with Y. * Others try to help user with Y, but are confused because Y seems like a strange problem to want to solve. * After much interaction and wasted time, it finally becomes clear that the user really wants help with X, and that Y wasn't even a suitable solution for X. The problem occurs when people get stuck on what they believe is the solution and are unable step back and explain the issue in full.

I also advise you to take advice and knowledge from people of knowledge, not beginners sharing quotes and snippets of them. This is your personal life. Just like you don't treat yourself based on online medical articles, but instead ask an actual doctor about your specific case. I highly suspect this stems from false information. You might be able to hear that the sheikh is weirded out by the question and described circumstances, because yes, it doesn't sound right without having to analyze it. So, please check what you know about the issue of marriage, and know that the speech of scholars varies from one situation to another, and one big glaring problem beginners do is to take a speech from here and apply it there and spread it like it's some absolute general rule. Please know that you need to formulate your specific situation and tell the people of knowledge your specific case and your worries.

From time to time we see another mutation of this question. I could only guess there is systematic failure making people put themselves in these situations. I'm craving a rant, because this is not good at all, but, here is a suggestion: You're suffering from what's called the XY problem. You keep assuming a solution, and asking sheikhs why that solution is not working. You should instead ask them about your problem: We are Muslim women living in countries far from Muslim lands, and we're unable to find Muslim men so we could get married. And men from countries far from ours [describe what they find a problem]. Could you please advice us and offer us practical solutions to this issue? It keeps us worried because [vent here] We would highly appreciate guidance regarding this, as it is a widespread issue among Muslim women in the lands of kuffār. Feel free to use that as inspiration, and ask more than one sheikh, which is good, unlike what's happening with this remote-lawful-look question. No is no. No phrasing will make it a yes.

Summary: Question: The suitor is far, can we use tasweer since he wants to see the sister before he travels to her? Answer: No.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته. هل تنصحون الأخوات بالتواصل مع الإخوة الملتزمين بالشريعة عبر التطبيقات؟ أحيانًا يكون الإخوة في الخارج يدرسون الإسلام، وتكون الأخوات في بلدانٍ بعيدة. فإذا تواصلوا عبر هذه التطبيقات، فكيف تنصحون الأخوات بشأن الرؤية الشرعية؟ هل يرسلن صورةً، أو يظهرن بوجوههن للإخوة في مكالمةٍ مرئية بوجود وليهن؟ أم ينتظرن حتى يتمكن الإخوة من زيارة بلدانهن؟ وماذا إذا اشترط الأخ النظر إليها اولاً لأنه في بلدٍ وهي في بلدٍ آخر؟ وكم مرةً يجوز للأخ أن ينظر إليها؟ جزاكم الله خيرًا. ⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️ الشيخ #محمد_العنسي حفظه الله --------------------------------------------------- 📓ٴl مـجـمـوع رســـائـل الـــصـــنـــدوق "٣٦٣١٠" لإرسال سؤالك للمشايخ اضغط هنا :   ➥          @BOT_9_9 قناة الصندوق : ➥            @BOT_9_9_1 --- قناة مرئيات وبطائق الصندوق : ➥            @BOT_9_9_

Summary of the Answer to Question 11: Question: What is the ruling on attending a family member’s wedding when there will be photography and video recording? Should I avoid attending in order to preserve family ties? The issue is not that you may appear in a photograph or video. Rather, the munkar is the act of producing images and videos of animate beings, and this is the wrongdoing that you are witnessing. {وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ} Allāh says: Those who do not witness and do not attend the gatherings where falsehood and disobedience is taking place. When a Muslim is present in a place where ḥarām is occurring, there are two possible situations: ① If they are able to change the evil by giving sincere advice and forbidding the evil and their advice is likely to be accepted, then they should remain and attempt to change the munkar. ② If they are unable to change it, or they know their advice will not be accepted, then he should leave, not remain in the gathering and he does not participate in the evil. A Muslim should not participate in or remain present where acts of disobedience—such as photography, video recording, music, or free mixing—are taking place if they are unable to change them. Therefore, if a person knows they cannot change the wrongdoing and that speaking out will have no effect, they should not attend. This will be a form of reprimand of the wrongdoing: “Sorry, I’m not going to come to your wedding if you’re engaging in ḥarām” — said with every politeness. However, if we keep quiet about munkar and bāṭil (falsehood), participate in the munkar, for fear of damaging family bonds, then nothing is left of our religion. For example, some groups avoid speaking about tawḥīd or warning against shirk because they fear people will leave them or become upset. This affair of pleasing the people and not pleasing Allāh — this is a sickness. We have to be firm in our religion. “Sorry uncle, I’m afraid I can’t attend places where Allāh ﷻ is being disobeyed. If you’re going to cut me off because of this, then you have no right to do this, and the meeting is with Allāh.” The greatest concern of a believer should be meeting Allāh with a clear conscience and having no proof against them on the Day of Judgement. Family members, friends, even your wife or your children, will criticise and accuse you in this world, but what matters most is remaining upright before Allāh ﷻ by adhering to the Kitāb and the Sunnah. So don’t ever give in and do something which is displeasing to Allah ﷻ out of fear that other people will become displeased with you and sever ties. Index: https://t.me/uponthepathofsalaf/301

Part 2: Protect Your Time Against the Illusion of Virtue السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته We have to be incredibly careful not to fall into the trap of endless debating. It is so easy to find yourself active in a gazillion groups (WhatsApp, Telegram, and social media) completely convinced that spending hours typing back and forth is daʿwah or defending the Sunnah. But we need to check our intentions, because this is a very subtle delusion. It is the trap of trading high-value deeds, like actually memorizing the Qur’ān, pursuing structured knowledge, or rectifying your own character, for a mere illusion of productivity. It feels virtuous to win an argument online, but if it doesn't bring you closer to Allāh or build real knowledge, it produces absolutely zero fruit, and might even produce thorns tearing your deeds away. If you look at the people of actual knowledge, the scholars we claim to follow, they do not behave like this at all. At all. You will not find them camping out in comment sections or debate threads. In fact, they frequently and explicitly advise their students to stay far away from jidāl (fruitless argumentation). Constant arguing dims and extinguishes the light of knowledge in a person's heart, as some of the Salaf said. Real scholars avoid this because they are actually busy with what is beneficial and they deeply value their time. They understand that time is their primary capital. They are fully occupied with authoring books, teaching students, addressing real-world community issues, and correcting their own souls. They simply do not have hours to throw away on circular debates. The reality of these digital spaces is simple: if you have the time to sit in group chats all day, arguing back and forth over settled matters, it is a sign that you aren't doing the heavy, grueling lifting of actual, beneficial work. Sincere, structured seeking of knowledge leaves you with no time for internet arguments. Follow the way of the scholars and do not be tricked into wasting your life under the guise of virtue. Drop the endless debates, guard your time, and channel your energy into what will actually benefit you when you stand before Allāh. —Al-Qaddārī #advice@sourgeOfPhotography #gentleness@sourgeOfPhotography

Part 1 — The Cord and the Boundary: Knowing Your Audience in Taṣwīr Discourse السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته My advice to myself and to my brothers who are convinced of the impermissibility of taṣwīr is simple: let go and move on from this issue. You seek knowledge to benefit yourself, those around you, and those who ask you. You yourself have benefited, al-ḥamdu lillāh. But those around you? Maybe not. Should you exhaust yourself responding to every single doubt they throw at you? Absolutely not. It is from lack of ḥikmah (wisdom) to not realize the type of people you are dealing with; there are two completely different categories of people: * The Common Folk: These are the people drowning in a world where photography is normalized. For them, accepting that taṣwīr of animate beings is ḥarām is incredibly heavy. With them, you hold the cord of Muʿāwiyah, you go soft, you show empathy, and you remain gentle to keep them connected to the truth. * The Bad-Faith Polemicists: These are the ones actively digging in the mud and fishing in murky waters. They aren't looking for truth; they are looking for loopholes, chasing obscure exceptions, and weaponizing clips of mistaken scholars to justify their desires. Exhausting your energy on the latter group is completely contrary to what the Prophet (ʿalayhi as-salām) did. Nor is it the way of the salaf. They were only drawn to those they believed stood a genuine chance of seeking and accepting the truth. They didn't waste precious time arguing with everyone in Makkah, and when the Prophet (ʿalayhi as-salām) was rejected and driven out by the people of aṭ-Ṭāʾif, he didn't stay to debate them; he left, prayed for their guidance, and moved on. The earth is wide, full of people who actually deserve your advice, sincere people who don't even know what you are talking about exists in the first place. Why are you wasting your breath on people whose arguments have already been objectively proven to be contradictory? And even if a sincere person ultimately disagrees with you, you will still find ease in dealing with them; they will admit that images shouldn't be overused, and they themselves won't agree with the visual chaos happening today. But as for those who cherry-pick what is obscure and ambiguous just to argue…well, there is a literal āyah about them in sūrat Āl ʿImrān. So, my brothers and sisters, move on. That is the true methodology of the scholars. Channel your energy toward those who actually need it. Don't hand ṣadaqah to someone who turns around, scrutinizes your bills to check if they're authentic, and complains that they aren't squeaky clean. I personally have already moved on. I wrote a book on the subject, translated a substantial amount of guidance into English, which is more than enough. Any more specifics or details require learning Arabic first before delving into the nuances of ḥadīths and texts of scholars. Anything more I choose to do now is purely at my own leisure and convenience. I share it because I decided to, completely detached from the toxic drain of online discourse. —Al-Qaddārī #advice@sourgeOfPhotography #gentleness@sourgeOfPhotography

I'll Just Follow Ibn Bāz and Use Taṣwīr For Daʿwah Zayd: I'll just follow Ibn Bāz and use taṣwīr for daʿwah. Thinking about it, it only makes sense. Islām is not strict, and this opinion of saying photography is impermissible in all cases is so extreme—it doesn't work well practically. Bakr: But that's ḥarām. You can't use ḥarām for daʿwah; that defeats the purpose... Zayd: Look, akhī, Allāh told us to ask the people of knowledge, and Ibn Bāz is from the people of knowledge, so why are you blaming me for following Allāh's commands? Bakr: But even Ibn Bāz says taṣwīr is ḥarām. He clearly made a mistake here... Zayd: Oh well, you should not have the audacity to claim an imām like him is wrong. I trust his understanding more than yours, and if Allāh asks me, that will be my proof. It's literally in the Qurʾān, سبحان الله. Bakr: You're right, akhī. Who am I to oppose an imām like Ibn Bāz... And since we don't oppose imāms, and we just give in to their sayings, disregard other imāms, and avoid any form of personal ijtihād, then I'll drink nabīth, marry women with the intention of divorcing them, recite the Qurʾān in Japanese in ṣalāh, listen to music, deal with ribā, and see if there are other sayings by scholars who deemed such things permissible throughout the history of Islāmic fiqh. I might even teach this to Muslims, so we can make Islām easier for them. Zayd: What?! That's so not the way of Islām! Those scholars were mistaken, and other scholars proved that and excused their lapses! Don't just follow legal loopholes, akhī, because you might end up not praying, not doing any act of worship, and committing all ḥarām acts!! You need to have taqwā, leave what is suspicious, and follow the clear evidence!!! Bakr: Hah! How ironic. Zayd: Oh... NO! It's not the same!! Bakr: May Allāh guide us and you. Inspiration: https://t.me/uponthepathofsalaf/310

Note: We do look for reconciliation between the statements and actions of the people of knowledge, as they often have a reason that we mistake as a contradiction. The books of scholars are full of this, and they're the ones who gather all pieces of the puzzle. The difference between the Prophet ﷺ and them is that there is a chance they are mistaken, but, we don't rush to that conclusion, as that's not from respecting scholars. So, there is a moderate stance, we don't believe their actions must be correct no matter what, and we don't use cases where a scholar is mistaken (decided by other scholars) as a reason to go against the religion. The case with ash-shaykh al-Fawzān is just a matter of unfortunate circumstances, not a contradiction. He was asked himself about this apparent contradiction and he said he does not allow them but they do it anyway, and that the sin is upon them. #fawzan@sourgeOfPhotography

A questioner asks concerning the view of Shaykh Al-Fawzān on taṣwīr. How can we reconcile between his action and his fatwa? Answer: As for that which is maʿrūf (known) the Shaykh حفظه الله makes picture-making ḥarām and he speaks very severely about this. He refutes those that make pictures, and he refutes those that make picture-making permissible in many different audios and many different books. This is found also in his Kitāb at-Tawḥīd. He rebukes them and says this is falsafah (philosophy). The speech that says video recordings are allowed, and that the Prophet ﷺ only meant that which is drawn with the hands and not photographs—he refutes this much, and that’s enough. He supports this with evidences. As for his action, Allāhu aʿlam. He’s not a prophet. It’s not for us to reconcile between his actions and his statements as we do with the Prophet ﷺ. {وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًۭا كَثِيرًۭا} “Had it been from other than Allāh, they would surely have found therein many contradictions and differences.” Allāh has not burdened us to look for reconciliation between the statements and actions of people. We have been commanded to follow the revelation of Allāh. If it is a must that we search for this, then perhaps it seems that the Shaykh is not able to change the evil with his hand. You find him giving the fatwa that picture-making is ḥarām, while picture-making is present in the exact same majlis that he’s in. Even in the Ḥaram, you find him almost crying. The Shaykh—his voice, wallāhi—is crying. Saying: “Fear Allāh, oh my brothers, this is taṣwīr, in the Ḥaram.” So it seems that the Shaykh is doing inkār of the munkar with the ability Allāh has given him, which is the tongue. “من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده فان لم يستطيع فبلسانه فان لم يستطيع فبقلبه وذلك أضعف الايمان” “Whoever among you sees an evil, then let him change it with his hand. If he is not able, then with his tongue. If he is not able, then with his heart, and there is no īmān below that.” Source: https://t.me/uponthepathofsalaf/306 #qa@sourgeOfPhotography #fawzan@sourgeOfPhotography

When a scholar is granted tawfeeq, they see through technology. Videos are just a vast number of static images, hence, indeed, worse, even if it's just the count comparison. Imagine stealing one penny vs a million. Yes a million is a bunch of pennies, but…!

Question: What is the ruling on video recording? We request a concise answer so we can present other questions as well. Sheikh Al-Albāni raḥimahullāh: We have also discussed this issue in various gatherings in some of the countries we visited in the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia). In summary, video recording is the worst form of image-making (taswīr), as the prohibition of images in the Shari'ah is based on two primary reasons. The first is imitation, as mentioned in some authentic hadiths: “Those who imitate the creation of Allāh.”  The second reason is that images and statues were a cause for idol worship among pre-Islamic nations. This is referenced in Sūrah Nuh, peace be upon him, where Allāh the Exalted says: “And they said, ‘Do not abandon your gods; do not abandon Wadd, nor Suwa’, nor Yaghuth, and Ya‘uq, and Nasr.’”  According to the books of Tafsir that rely on transmitted narrations, these five were righteous servants of Allāh. Over time, Shayṭān inspired to their people to carve statues of them as a means of commemorating their virtues—similar to what we sadly see today in some Muslim countries, where statues of leaders are erected in public squares in their memory. As time passed, through Shayṭān’s whispering, these statues came to be worshipped besides Allāh. Thus, Allāh sent the Prophet Nuh to call them back to the worship of Allāh alone, but they refused and urged one another not to abandon their idols, as mentioned in the Āyah. Therefore, in principle, there is no difference between hand-drawn images, photographic images, or videos—they all fall under the same ruling. In fact, video is even more severe in terms of its imitation of Allāh’s creation. For example, the idols they used to carve were lifeless and motionless; images on walls or curtains are similarly still. Even such static images were condemned by the Prophet ﷺ. When he entered upon Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) and saw a curtain with images on it, he said: “The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Judgment are those who imitate the creation of Allāh.” If that was the case for static images, then how much more severe would it be for moving images—such as videos—where the figure appears lifelike, as if it were a real person created by Allāh? For this reason, video is considered more severely prohibited than any previous form of image-making prior to the invention of this device. As you know, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ cursed all image-makers, saying: “Allāh has cursed the image-makers,” and also, “Every image-maker is in the Fire,” and, “Angels do not enter a house in which there is an image or a dog.” This is a concise summary in response to the question.

Al-Albānī — Videography Is The Worst Form Of Taṣwīr Translated by al-Ustāth Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad bnu Aḥmad Bā ʿAlawī. Source: https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/1656

The Scourge Of Photography pinned «السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته، Feel free to print, distribute, and profit from this book, its summary, and anything I wrote regarding the issue of photography. The same applies to translations, if the original content allows it. جزانا الله وإياكم خيرا.…»

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته، Feel free to print, distribute, and profit from this book, its summary, and anything I wrote regarding the issue of photography. The same applies to translations, if the original content allows it. جزانا الله وإياكم خيرا. كتبه عبد الرحمن بن ميهوب القداري، 17 محرم، 1447 هـ.