Question
Salam, I have been drawing for as long as I can remember as a hobby I really enjoy it and I have had a lot of experience with it and have become quite good at it. I’ve always showed a lot of aunties and my parents my drawing and they all were really supportive. A couple years back, I found out that drawing faces is haram which I found quite surprising since my parents have never mentioned this to me and I did more research on it and it said that it was okay as long as my intention wasn’t to compete with Allah or his creations. I took a break from drawing and have gotten back into it recently. I really enjoy it but I can’t help but feel a sense of guilt because my mind still feels unsure. I want to clarify that I have never intended to imitate Allah’s creation, compete with Allah, or claim that I can create life. I simply draw fictional 2D anime characters as an artistic hobby because I enjoy it, and I would also like to have a hobby that keeps me away from screen because I really don’t have anything other than it. Another reason drawing is important to me is that I am trying to have a hobby that keeps me away from screens. I have tried many different hobbies during the year that I stopped drawing, but I have not found anything that gives me the same sense of enjoyment and satisfaction. Drawing feels like a safe place for me, and because it is something I have practiced for so long, I am able to create things that I feel proud and satisfied with. I am not particularly good at drawing other types of things, so I do not get the same feeling from them. Could you please advise me on what I should do and how I should proceed? Is it permissible for me to draw fictional 2D anime characters with faces? Does my intention make a difference, and are there different scholarly opinions on this matter? I am genuinely confused and would really appreciate some guidance and clarification. JasakAllah.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salamu alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.
Sister in Islam,
We understand how much this hobby means to you, and we appreciate that you have asked rather than pushed the guilt aside.
In principle, the Prophet, peace be upon him, prohibited the making of images of living beings, and he warned those who make them of a severe punishment. This prohibition applies to drawings and paintings as well as to sculptures. What is prohibited is the depiction of a being with a soul, meaning humans and animals, in a form that is complete enough to be recognized as such. The prohibition does not depend on the intention of the artist. The intention to compete with Allah is not the reason for the prohibition, and its absence does not lift it. The wisdom behind the prohibition is broader than one intention, and includes closing the door that led earlier nations into the worship of images, and the honour of the human form.
Accordingly, drawing anime characters with faces is not permissible, even though they are fictional and stylized, because they are recognizable depictions of human beings. Some contemporary scholars have permitted drawings that are not three-dimensional, and you may come across that view, but given the severity of the warning in the hadith literature, it should be avoided.
However, it is permissible to draw human figures without facial features, or with the head omitted, as what remains is not a depiction of a living being. It is permissible to draw landscapes, buildings, trees, flowers, the sea, skies, patterns, calligraphy, clothing, objects, and everything that has no soul. The art of Muslim civilizations flourished within exactly these limits, and many artists have found that working within the limits sharpened their skill rather than dulling it. Your years of practice are not wasted. Your control of line, proportion, shading, and colour transfers to all of this, and your characters can remain in your work as faceless figures, which is in fact a recognized style.
You may keep drawing, and redirect it in the manner above. Whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, He gives him something better in its place.
And Allah knows best
Mufti Mirza-Zain Baig
And Allah Ta'ālā knows best.
Answered by
Mufti Mirza-Zain Baig
B.Ed, CSAA
Montréal, Canada · Canadian Centre for Islamic Research and Ifta
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