Question:
Assalamu Alaikum,
Regarding drawing and animating for a living:
1. Are we allowed to draw non-living things from our imagination even if they do not exist/we don’t know of? Such as a colour not seen on flowers/trees or different coloured planets?
2. Are we allowed to animate natural movement of non-living things? Like a flower growing from seed? Water moving? Grass moving from wind?
3. Can we animate the above in ways they do not typically move? Like a tree seemingly walking?
4. If I know correctly, you cannot draw heads with facial features or even full bodies with no facial features but can draw random body parts by themselves like hands or one eye. Can you animate body parts that are completely detached like one hand waving?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In general, all animate objects that contains facial features are prohibited, in the form of pictures, printed, on clothing or any other object.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house where there are (animate) pictures.” [Bukhari]
An image will be considered as animate and prohibited if the facial features of that animal are apparent. If the facial features are not present or have been removed or covered completely, it will not be considered as a prohibited picture of animate objects. Such objects or pictures will be permissible[1].
If the objects are in the shape of a flower, trees or body parts as in your query, and do not contain any facial features then it will be permissible to design and draw. It will be permissible to animate these objects also.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best.
Mufti Arshad Ali
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
www.fatwa-tt.com /www.jaamia.net
[1] وتفيسر قطع الرأس في هذا الباب أن يمحي رأس الصورة بخيط يخاط عليها، بحيث لا يبقي للأصل أثراً أصلاً، أو يطلي على رأسه شيئاً بحيث لا يبقي للرأس أثراً أصلاً (المحيط البرهاني – 5 /309
