Why having anime figure is not prohibited in Islam with hadith evidence
C.J Ahmed-05.04.2023
Having anime figures is halal in Islam although it is considered haram by some scholars of fiqh who . use the following hadith toprohibit it,
The prophet (sal) said :
'Who does more wrong than the one who tries to create something like My creation? Let him create a grain of wheat or a kernel of corn.'"
(Sahih Al Bukhari)
Ali (Rali) said:
"Shall I not send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any built-up tomb without levelling it, and do not leave any picture in any house without erasing it."
(Sahih Muslim and Nasai)
Ibn Abbas(Rali) Narrated that the prophet (sal) said:
"Every image-maker will be in the Fire, and for every image that he made a soul will be created for him, which will be punished in the Fire." Ibn 'Abbaas said: "If you must do that, make pictures of trees and other inanimate objects."
(Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet (sal) said:
"The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or pictures."
(Sahih Al Bukhari)
These are some of the many narrations mentioning the prohibition of making the pictures of living souls but for you to come to a clear conclusion, you need to look at all the hadiths and the below hadiths prove very clearly that figurines are halal.
1. Aisha (rali) narrated
"I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet (Sal). And I had girl-friends (playmates) who played along with me. They would hide (feeling shy) from him (Sal) whenever he entered. But, he ( Prophet (Sal)) would call them to join and play with me"
(Bukhari and Muslim)
2. Aisha(Rali) narrated
Then the side of the curtain which was over the dolls of 'Aa'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) was uncovered. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: What is this, O 'Aa'isha? She said: My dolls. She then said: then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw amongst them a winged horse which was tied up. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: What is this? I said: A horse. He said: A horse with two wings? I said: Didn't you hear that Sulaiman (Solomon - peace be upon him) had horses with wings? Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laughed" (in another narration his teeth could be seen because of his laughter)
(Sahih Sunan Abu Dawud-Graded Sahih by Albani in Ghaayat al-Maraam)
From the above hadiths it is clear that this ruling applies to anime figures of animate objects and if keeping dolls is halal, then anime figures are also halal in Islam.
Some scholars erroneously argue that this incident took place before the prohibition of images. Ibn Hajar raheemaullah was one of them. He said in his Fath Al Bari,
“If the doll of Aisha (Rali) had clear features, then this was before the prohibition of picture-making, otherwise the doll did have prominent features”.
This is only his opinion based on mere assumptions. There is no evidence from the Quran or sunnah saying so. The other wrong argument is that this was permissible for Aisha (Rali) because she had not attained puberty. This is also erroneuos because the hadiths does not make any such distinctions between an adult an a child and there is no evidence whether such an incidence happened before Aisha (Rali)'s puberty.
3. A'isha (Rali) narrated :
"We had a curtain with us which had portraits of birds upon it. Whenever a visitor came, he found them in front of him. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to me: Change them, for whenever I enter the room) I see them and it brings to my mind (the pleasures) of worldly life. She said: We had with us a sheet which had silk badges upon it and we used to wear it. This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Ibn Muthanna but with this addition: 'Allah's Messenger (Rali) did not command us to tear that."
(Sahih Muslim)
If having images of animate beings was such a strict matter, the prophet (sal) would have not acted so leniently. In the above hadith the prophet (Sal) ordered Aisha (Rali) to remove the images not because it was forbidden but because it was reminding him of worldy pleasures. This hadith clearly proves that portraits of living beings is not forbidden in Islam
Having figurines or toys is not haram in Islam because of the available proof which states that dolls or anime figures is not haram.
Having anime figures is halal in Islam although it is considered haram by some scholars of fiqh who . use the following hadith toprohibit it,
The prophet (sal) said :
'Who does more wrong than the one who tries to create something like My creation? Let him create a grain of wheat or a kernel of corn.'"
(Sahih Al Bukhari)
Ali (Rali) said:
"Shall I not send you on the same mission as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any built-up tomb without levelling it, and do not leave any picture in any house without erasing it."
(Sahih Muslim and Nasai)
Ibn Abbas(Rali) Narrated that the prophet (sal) said:
"Every image-maker will be in the Fire, and for every image that he made a soul will be created for him, which will be punished in the Fire." Ibn 'Abbaas said: "If you must do that, make pictures of trees and other inanimate objects."
(Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet (sal) said:
"The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or pictures."
(Sahih Al Bukhari)
These are some of the many narrations mentioning the prohibition of making the pictures of living souls but for you to come to a clear conclusion, you need to look at all the hadiths and the below hadiths prove very clearly that figurines are halal.
1. Aisha (rali) narrated
"I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet (Sal). And I had girl-friends (playmates) who played along with me. They would hide (feeling shy) from him (Sal) whenever he entered. But, he ( Prophet (Sal)) would call them to join and play with me"
(Bukhari and Muslim)
2. Aisha(Rali) narrated
Then the side of the curtain which was over the dolls of 'Aa'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) was uncovered. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: What is this, O 'Aa'isha? She said: My dolls. She then said: then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw amongst them a winged horse which was tied up. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: What is this? I said: A horse. He said: A horse with two wings? I said: Didn't you hear that Sulaiman (Solomon - peace be upon him) had horses with wings? Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laughed" (in another narration his teeth could be seen because of his laughter)
(Sahih Sunan Abu Dawud-Graded Sahih by Albani in Ghaayat al-Maraam)
From the above hadiths it is clear that this ruling applies to anime figures of animate objects and if keeping dolls is halal, then anime figures are also halal in Islam.
Some scholars erroneously argue that this incident took place before the prohibition of images. Ibn Hajar raheemaullah was one of them. He said in his Fath Al Bari,
“If the doll of Aisha (Rali) had clear features, then this was before the prohibition of picture-making, otherwise the doll did have prominent features”.
This is only his opinion based on mere assumptions. There is no evidence from the Quran or sunnah saying so. The other wrong argument is that this was permissible for Aisha (Rali) because she had not attained puberty. This is also erroneuos because the hadiths does not make any such distinctions between an adult an a child and there is no evidence whether such an incidence happened before Aisha (Rali)'s puberty.
3. A'isha (Rali) narrated :
"We had a curtain with us which had portraits of birds upon it. Whenever a visitor came, he found them in front of him. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to me: Change them, for whenever I enter the room) I see them and it brings to my mind (the pleasures) of worldly life. She said: We had with us a sheet which had silk badges upon it and we used to wear it. This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Ibn Muthanna but with this addition: 'Allah's Messenger (Rali) did not command us to tear that."
(Sahih Muslim)
If having images of animate beings was such a strict matter, the prophet (sal) would have not acted so leniently. In the above hadith the prophet (Sal) ordered Aisha (Rali) to remove the images not because it was forbidden but because it was reminding him of worldy pleasures. This hadith clearly proves that portraits of living beings is not forbidden in Islam
Having figurines or toys is not haram in Islam because of the available proof which states that dolls or anime figures is not haram.