136—Muslim also narrated from Aisha, who said: We had a curtain bearing the image of a bird. Anyone entering would see it directly before him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, “Move this elsewhere, for whenever I enter and see it, I am reminded of worldly life.” p. 107

Authentic. It was narrated by Muslim (158/6), and likewise by Ahmad (49/6).

(Note) Following the hadith, the author said:

“He, peace be upon him, did not order her to cut it up . . . This makes clear that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, allowed there to remain in his home a curtain bearing the image of a bird and a drape bearing images.”

I say: As for the drape, he did not allow it to remain; rather, he tore it down and ripped it apart, as stated in the preceding hadith and elsewhere.

As for the curtain bearing the image, it is true that he allowed it to remain. But when did this occur—before such things were prohibited or afterward? If it occurred before the prohibition, it cannot validly be cited as evidence that they are merely disliked, as the author holds, because it occurred before the prohibition. If it occurred afterward, it could validly be cited as evidence that they are merely disliked. Yet there is absolutely no way to establish this. The reports must therefore be reconciled according to the principle that prohibiting evidence takes precedence over permissive evidence when the two conflict and their chronology is unknown. This is precisely what al-Nawawī did, saying:

“This is understood to have occurred before it was prohibited to keep anything bearing an image. Hence, before this final occasion, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would enter, see it, and not object to it.”

(Another Note) Following his preceding remarks, the author mentioned:

“Because of these hadiths and others like them, some of the early Muslims said: ‘Only figures that cast a shadow—that is, three-dimensional figures—are prohibited; there is no harm in images that cast no shadow.’”

I say: This unnamed scholar was none other than al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad, and al-Nawawī characterized—