al-Bukhārī (4/104, 499), Muslim (6/160–161), al-Nasā’ī (2/301), and Ahmad (2/4, 20, 141; 6/80), through various routes from Nāfiʿ, from him. Ahmad (2/26, 139) also narrated a similar report through ʿĀsim ibn ʿUbayd Allah, from Ibn Umar. It also has a corroborating report in Ahmad (2/380) from Abu Hurayra.
Nāfiʿ has another chain of transmission for it. Mālik said in al-Muwattaʾ (2/966/8), from Nāfiʿ, from al-Qāsim ibn Muhammad, from Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that she bought a cushion bearing images. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. She recognized the displeasure on his face and said, “I repent to Allah and His Messenger. What sin have I committed?” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked, “What is the matter with this piece of cloth?” She replied, “I bought it for you to sit on and use as a pillow.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Those who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection. It will be said to them, ‘Bring to life what you created.’” He then said, “The angels do not enter a house containing images.”
It was also narrated by al-Bukhārī (2/18; 3/311, 439; 4/105, 106, 499), Muslim (6/160), al-Nasā’ī (2/301), Ahmad (6/70, 80, 223, 246), and Abu Bakr al-Shāfiʿī in al-Fawāʾid (6/68/1), through Mālik and others, from Nāfiʿ, with this wording. In one version narrated by al-Bukhārī, she said:
“I stuffed a cushion for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which bore figures and looked like a small pillow. He stood between the two doors, and his face began to change. I asked, ‘What is the matter, Messenger of Allah?’ He asked, ‘What is the matter with this cushion?’ I replied, ‘It is a cushion I made for you to recline upon.’ He said, ‘Did you not know that the angels . . .?’”
Al-Shāfiʿī added: She said, “He did not enter until I had removed it.”
I say: This hadith likewise indicates what the preceding hadith indicated: that non-three-dimensional images are prohibited. It also contains another instructive point: such images prevent the angels from entering a house, even if they are treated without respect.