Little_Lion
IB Veteran
- Messages
- 528
- Reaction score
- 97
- Gender
- Female
- Religion
- Islam
I recently came to Islam, and have been an artist and to a lesser degree, a musician my whole life. I know that the Prophet (saw) has delivered to us messages about allowable creativity, but I've gotten so many different interpretations from people, often without any supplied evidence, that it has left me very confused. More than anything I would like to make beautiful things to put in a visual or auditory sense my love of Allah, but sometimes I would also just like to draw for fun. I hope people don't mind some very specific questions in regard to visual arts and the arts in general.
1.) It has been made VERY clear that creating any work of art that is meant to be, or could come to be, worshiped is strictly against Allah, even if it is meant to represent Him or His Prophets (saw). Is it haraam to create art of humans that is not meant to be worshiped? Can you draw portraits of family members, for example? Or if drawing actual people is not allowed, can you draw images of fictional people (for example, to illustrate a story with fictional characters)?
2.) Is it haraam to paint or draw any of Allah's creation? Can you paint animals, or landscapes?
3.) Can you draw or paint fantasy creatures, such as a Pegasus or gryphon, that were not created by Allah? How about fantasy-style creatures based on those that actually exist, such as a cartoon like Bugs Bunny (but obviously behaving well)?
4.) Is all of the above is haraam, is there any allowance if the piece is to show the glory of Allah? For example, if painting a landscape of a city would be haraam, would painting a mosque be okay?
5.) I would love to write and illustrate a book for young non-Muslim children, insha'Allah, to teach some of the hows and whys of Islam in case they have Muslims in their class, but are afraid to ask questions. So that I could avoid any biases of color, I wanted to use anthropomorphized animals as the characters. Would it be haraam to use animal characters as human substitutes in this fashion, showing them reading the Qur'an and praying? Note: this would only be for representations of your average Muslim, NOT for any representations of the Prophet (saw).
6.) I have never heard a female singing a nasheed. Have I just not been exposed to it, or is it haraam?
7.) I've heard many conflicting reports/opinions on the use of musical instruments; some say none can be used at all, some say only hand drums, some say any as long as the music is in praise of Allah, some say music that is not detracting from Allah's grace is okay (for example, instrumental classical music, instrumental movie scores). I know that I'll probably hear a range here as well, but so that I can begin to keep it straight insha'Allah, do certain schools adhere to different ideologies in this, or is it a matter of more personal interpretation?
8.) In ages past, Muslim artists did in fact draw and paint our beloved Prophet (saw) in scenes of battle. I am well aware that graphical representations of blessed Mohammad (saw) are haraam; however, as I am studying Middle Eastern history, should I happen to come upon one of these images in my studies in a textbook or online, is there anything I should do? Du'a for the artist for Allah's forgiveness? Should I do wudu or any other action for having seen something so against our current practices?
Jazak'Allah khayr, thank you all for your thoughtful responses.
1.) It has been made VERY clear that creating any work of art that is meant to be, or could come to be, worshiped is strictly against Allah, even if it is meant to represent Him or His Prophets (saw). Is it haraam to create art of humans that is not meant to be worshiped? Can you draw portraits of family members, for example? Or if drawing actual people is not allowed, can you draw images of fictional people (for example, to illustrate a story with fictional characters)?
2.) Is it haraam to paint or draw any of Allah's creation? Can you paint animals, or landscapes?
3.) Can you draw or paint fantasy creatures, such as a Pegasus or gryphon, that were not created by Allah? How about fantasy-style creatures based on those that actually exist, such as a cartoon like Bugs Bunny (but obviously behaving well)?
4.) Is all of the above is haraam, is there any allowance if the piece is to show the glory of Allah? For example, if painting a landscape of a city would be haraam, would painting a mosque be okay?
5.) I would love to write and illustrate a book for young non-Muslim children, insha'Allah, to teach some of the hows and whys of Islam in case they have Muslims in their class, but are afraid to ask questions. So that I could avoid any biases of color, I wanted to use anthropomorphized animals as the characters. Would it be haraam to use animal characters as human substitutes in this fashion, showing them reading the Qur'an and praying? Note: this would only be for representations of your average Muslim, NOT for any representations of the Prophet (saw).
6.) I have never heard a female singing a nasheed. Have I just not been exposed to it, or is it haraam?
7.) I've heard many conflicting reports/opinions on the use of musical instruments; some say none can be used at all, some say only hand drums, some say any as long as the music is in praise of Allah, some say music that is not detracting from Allah's grace is okay (for example, instrumental classical music, instrumental movie scores). I know that I'll probably hear a range here as well, but so that I can begin to keep it straight insha'Allah, do certain schools adhere to different ideologies in this, or is it a matter of more personal interpretation?
8.) In ages past, Muslim artists did in fact draw and paint our beloved Prophet (saw) in scenes of battle. I am well aware that graphical representations of blessed Mohammad (saw) are haraam; however, as I am studying Middle Eastern history, should I happen to come upon one of these images in my studies in a textbook or online, is there anything I should do? Du'a for the artist for Allah's forgiveness? Should I do wudu or any other action for having seen something so against our current practices?
Jazak'Allah khayr, thank you all for your thoughtful responses.
