would order anything containing images to be broken or torn down, as the Prophet ﷺ would not leave anything containing images without breaking it or tearing it down. (1) For if they were unlawful in every circumstance, there would be no benefit in leaving them intact.

Supporting this is the fact that Umm Salamah—the narrator of the hadith—had a small silver bell in which she placed some hairs from the Prophet’s ﷺ hair. People would seek healing through it, and they would be cured by Allah’s permission. This is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (2), and it constitutes a use other than eating and drinking.

If someone were to argue: The Prophet ﷺ singled out eating and drinking because they are the most common uses; and a ruling linked to something because it is most common does not entail that it is restricted to it. This is like Allah’s saying: “And your stepdaughters under your care, born of your wives” [al-Nisa 4:23]. Restricting the prohibition of marrying a stepdaughter to her being under one’s care does not preclude the prohibition; rather, she is forbidden in marriage even if she was not under his care, according to the majority of the scholars (3).

We say: This is correct. However, the Messenger ﷺ linked the ruling to eating and drinking because the community’s display of luxury in eating and drinking is more pronounced than its display of luxury in other matters, and this is a reason that warrants restricting the ruling.