Blessed Aniconism of Islam

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Salutations of peace and blessings upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, says:

وَلَقَدۡ اٰتَیۡنَاۤ اِبۡرٰہِیۡمَ رُشۡدَہٗ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ وَکُنَّا بِہٖ عٰلِمِیۡنَ

اِذۡ قَالَ لِاَبِیۡہِ وَقَوۡمِہٖ مَا ہٰذِہِ التَّمَاثِیۡلُ الَّتِیۡۤ اَنۡتُمۡ لَہَا عٰکِفُوۡنَ

And We gave Abraham his guidance from before, and We were concerning him well-knowing

When he said to his father and his people, “What are these images to which you are so devoted?”

(Surah 21, Ayah 51 & 52)

The word ابيه (his father) may not necessarily refer to Abraham’s biological father. It may refer to one of his paternal uncles, as in the example:

قَالُوۡا نَعۡبُدُ اِلٰہَکَ وَاِلٰـہَ اٰبَآئِکَ اِبۡرٰہٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِیۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ اِلٰـہًا وَّاحِدًا

They said, “We will worship your God; the God of your fathers Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac. One God”

(Surah 2, Ayah 133)

The Patriarch Jacob’s sons referred to Ishmael as his اب usually translated to mean father, although Ishmael was Jacob’s paternal uncle and not his biological father. Incidentally, the father of Abraham according to the Torah was Terah while the name that appears in the Quran is Azar, possibly indicating that Azar was not Abraham’s biological father but rather his paternal uncle. It is curious that in the Judaic tradition Abraham’s father Terah is identified as an idolater so perhaps he is the same individual as Azar, with Azar being his nickname due to his devotion to a particular idol that was named the same. Allah and His Apostle know best!

In the Ayah (21:52) the Patriarch Abraham عليه السلام rebukes his people for their devotion to التماثيل which literally means likenesses, for the idols that are worshiped are made in the likeness of living beings, resembling humans or animals, whether in the form of three dimensional statues or figurines, or two dimensional paintings, pictures or portraits. In order to close the door to idolatry, Islam has strictly prohibited the making of images of any living thing, even if that image is not intended to be worshiped or depict a deity. In fact, such a prohibition is found in the Mosaic Law too, as stated in the Second of the Ten Commandments:

לֹֽ֣א תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־לְךָ֥֣ פֶ֣֙סֶל֙ וְכָל־תְּמוּנָ֡֔ה אֲשֶׁ֤֣ר בַּשָּׁמַ֣֙יִם֙ מִמַּ֡֔עַל וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩ בָּאָ֖֨רֶץ מִתַָּ֑֜חַת וַאֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בַּמַּ֖֣יִם מִתַּ֥֣חַת לָאָֽ֗רֶץ

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Exodus 20:4)

This being the Second Commandment, preceded only be the commandment to have no other god before the Lord God, indicates the sensitivity of the matter and the gravity of the offense of making images of living creatures. Today, virtually every culture other than us Muslims deeply embraces the so-called fine arts of sculpting and painting. They find the Islamic rejection of such fine arts extremely estranging and even unnatural. That is because these cultures simply lack the level of zeal for the Oneness of God that animates Islam. When the Taliban destroyed the Buddha statues of Bamiyan in March, 2001, the entire world expressed their outrage including many ignorant Muslims who have fallen under the influence of modernity and secularity. I was a mere child at that time, living in the United States in a non-religious and Westernized family, but I was inspired by those events and developed a sense of love and respect for the Taliban because of what they did. Their willingness to endure international isolation and scrutiny because of that fiery zeal they had for the Oneness of Allah, and the hatred of idolatry moved me greatly and helped transform my psychology. I have a strong conviction that the single act of demolishing the Buddha idols of Bamiyan was so beloved to Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, that He blessed them with a remarkable triumph over the Americans and their allies in NATO and has given the country of Afghanistan into their hands. Many hypocritical or otherwise ignorant Muslims sternly criticized the Taliban for their epic act of iconoclasm, arguing that the Buddha statues in Bamiyan were no longer objects of worship but exquisite expressions of art that were part of Afghan and indeed world heritage. These sentiments they expressed makes evident that there is still some idolatry in their hearts.

One of the worst heresies of the Shi’a is their depiction of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and also the great Imams of the Prophet’s House, in paintings and portraits. Not only does this explicitly violate the Shari prohibition of making images of living beings which in this instance is likely a slippery slope to outright idolatry, it is totally sacrilegious. May Allah curse them for what they do!

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him & his family, said:

إِنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْمُصَوِّرُونَ

The people to be most severely punished by Allah on the Day of Resurrection are the image makers (Sahih al-Bukhari)

My Master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم did not even enter a place in which there was a cushion having an image woven on to it and said that the Angels do not enter a dwelling that contains an image.

The issue of photography has caused some controversy within the circles of the Ulama. While the majority and stronger view among our traditional Sunni Ulama, on the basis of caution and fear of God, is that photography of living beings falls under the same category of Taswir (making images) and is therefore prohibited, sadly, the widespread practice of the Muslim laity indicates that they are heedless. It is common to find portraits and photographs decorating the walls of Muslim homes, and for the cities and towns of the Muslims to be filled with billboards displaying pictures of individuals, especially female models. Not only does this perpetuate the sin of image making but also normalizes Tabarruj, the sin of causing temptation by women uncovering themselves or dressing in a provocative manner, contrary to the commandment of veiling. Even more disturbing, it is becoming quite common for there to be statues in Muslim countries and cities. Recently, a bronze statue of the cursed and ugly Ranjit Singh, a Sikh king who was cruel to the Muslims, was commissioned and placed in Lahore, Pakistan, apparently to celebrate Punjabi heritage. But the jealousy for Allah of some honorable Sunni Muslims was provoked and after they repeatedly vandalized the evil statue it was removed from public sight and handed over to the Sikhs to place in one of their temples. I encourage the vandalizing of such statues and billboards, especially in Muslim dominated areas. We must reverse this creeping culture of secularity which in the name of art and pluralism is attempting to transform the landscape of our societies. The propping up of such statues and graven images in the Muslim World is intolerable.

We see that historically the Ummah observed the prohibition of image making. The first coins minted by a Muslim government, under the Umayyad ruler Abd al-Malik, did not contain an image of the king or any other person or animal, but rather featured an inscription of the Kalimah

لا اله الا الله 

there is no deity except Allah

If we go further back in ancient history we see that Jewish coins, particularly those minted by the Hasmoneans, also did not feature any images of living beings in keeping with the Second Commandment.

This was in stark contrast to the way of the idolatrous and pagan nations of the world, who engraved images of their kings and their false gods on their coins.