Aided by a number of historical accounts and commentaries the impression that Islam has carried is that of forbid-dance when it comes to pictures and images of worldly things. Having its roots back in The Holy Quran, the topic about whether to make images or not has earned a lot of discussions.
Talking about the beliefs of older aged Muslims, we can clearly equate that the general concept was to avoid any and all kinds of images, especially projections of humans or other living creatures. The theological studies of all schools of thought have made it clear that the gravest prohibition is against trying to make images of Allah SWT and depiction of Muhammad PBUH. Creating images of the Prophet’s family and friends are also avoided but with a lesser degree of stringency.
The aforementioned and some other evidences lead to the belief that the projection of images onto paper, or anything of that matter, is disallowed in Islam. The more fundamentalist Muslims stand their ground believing that all manmade images of other creations are prohibited. On the other hand though, the liberal believers take it a little lightly. One common belief between both the liberal and the conservative minded Muslims is that imagery of any kind if made with the motive of idolizing is definitely and completely prohibited in Islam.
As the beliefs of Islam form around Quran and Hadith, it is only logical to dig into both of them if we wish to understand the reality of the matter. On numerous occasions, Quran refers to some nonbelievers, who were worshippers of images or idols (in Surah Al Aaraf or Surah Al Anbiya for instance). The belief that forbids imagery of all types –whether for idol worshipping or not, is found in clearer words in Hadith and not in Quran.
There are some noteworthy accounts from the life of the Holy Prophet PBUH that give the impression that all types of images are to be avoided. One commonly known Hadith being when the Prophet PBUH told Hazrat Aisha RA that the angels of mercy do not enter a house that has pictures. This is also supported by other Ahadith reported by the Imam Ali AS and Abdullah Ibn Abbas RA. Furthermore, many of the Islamic authorities have discouraged the practice which can be specially traced to historical events from the earlier Islam. The observance of this belief is clearly visible in the Islamic work of art.
Regardless of all, the main concept behind this can logically be the avoidance of humans trying to imitate God by the act of “creation” or in other cases when humans try to put a partner with God in the form of Idol worshipping. Overall the prohibition or acceptance of photography and painting in Islam continues to be a choice for most of the Muslims of today.
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