—the face itself, the eyes, the nose, the lips, and the like. All he does is direct a particular beam of light—whose properties are already known—so that the image is impressed upon a sheet of paper. He adds nothing to the form; in reality he has not “drawn” anything at all. The picture is captured solely by means of light, and therefore, in our view, he has not engaged in the act of depiction. All that has occurred is that the photograph has been developed on paper; what appears on that paper is Allah’s own creation—the very image He fashioned.

The proof is this: if a person were to write a book in his own hand and another then photographed those pages, when the photograph is produced no one would say, “This is the handwriting of the man who operated the camera.” Rather, they would say, “This is the handwriting of the original author who penned it.” The same logic applies here.

What remains to be considered is the motive for taking the photograph. If the purpose is unlawful, then the act becomes unlawful as a prohibited means—just as it would be forbidden to buy a weapon during civil strife or to purchase eggs for gambling. The item itself is permissible, but using it for a forbidden end is not. Conversely, if the aim is permissible—such as taking a photograph for a driver’s licence, an identity card, and the like—then there is no harm in it. This is the position we consider sound on the matter.

People today are sorely tested by this issue, for photographs have become widespread in every sphere. Nonetheless, a person must discern, verify, and distinguish between what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden and what they have not, so that we neither unduly restrict the servants of Allah nor plunge them into what He has prohibited.

All of the above concerns images of beings that possess a soul, for the Prophet ﷺ said that the image-maker “will be commanded to breathe life into it.” As for objects that have no soul—such as trees, the sun, the moon, the stars, and mountains—