Are Muslims allowed to picture Mohammed (PBUH) or Allah in their imaginations?

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attica

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I know that images of Mohammed and Allah are forbidden in Islam, but when people read about Mohammed, for example, and form an idea of his personality, are they allowed to form a pictorial image of him in their imagination? Or for Allah? Personally, when I read about any historical character in detail, an image of him tends to pop into my head of its own accord, whether or not there exist any pictures of him or her, based on what I understand people of that person's time, place and position to have looked like. What is the position of Islam towards such images?
 
I imagine God in all sorts of different ways, including visual images, which vary constantly, whilst all the time being aware that God does not actually look like any image I might form of him, not even knowing whether God has any kind of visual appearance at all. I make no effort to visualise God, it happens in my head outside of my control.
 
I have heard that there are old Islamic art pieces and writings which include depictions of the prophet Muhammad.
Is that correct or have I been misinformed?
 
Yes, that is true, I saw some of them in a museum of oriental art. They were of Persian origin, I think the eighth century.
 
السلام عليكم

Someone once said this, which I found interesting;

The injunction against images of Mohammad is only a particular instance of the wider stance of Sunni Islam against images, which too readily, in the eyes of many believers, lead to idolatry, awthaniya, the worship of images in the place of essence and truth. In this regard, Islam stands alone among world religions as the last great defender of literacy, the written word as medium of absolute truth, this at a point in human history when an onslaught of images and photos are coming to replace words as the prime content of communication. What is the internet for most people other than a rabid, intoxicating circulation of icons and idols? The medium, dixit McLuhan, is the message. That message, for many, is anathema.
Click to expand...
 
For me, images can convey meaning and truth better than words in some cases. For example, you read a description of someone suffering and compare it to a picture of someone suffering: you can understand that suffering much better when you see an image of the person than with the written word - at least, that's how it is with me, I don't presume to speak for others on this subjective type of perception.
 

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