First: The scholars are unanimously agreed that three-dimensional statues of animate beings are prohibited, for the authentic, unequivocal texts leave no doubt on the matter. Such figures imitate Allah’s creation in the most blatant fashion, and the prohibition becomes still more severe and perilous when they portray scholars or righteous men, for that serves as a pathway to the gravest sin of all: associating partners with Allah.

Second: The majority of scholars make an exception for children’s dolls. Al-Bukhari (6130) and Muslim (2440) relate from ʿĀʾishah that she said, “I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and I had girl companions who played with me.” Images of this sort are far removed from the excesses of idolatrous statuary, and young girls need them to prepare for caring for their future children. That said, one must not go to extremes in producing such toys or indulge in artistic ingenuity until they take the form of lifelike statues, as is regrettably the case with most of them today.

Third: The scholars disagreed about flat, shadow-less photographic images. Some ruled them permissible, arguing that they are no more than a person’s shadow fixed by known chemical processes; otherwise the image that appears in a mirror, clear water, and the like would also have been forbidden. Allah knows best.