Is drawing the head with its features, without a body, permissible, or does it fall under the ruling of prohibiting the drawing of animate beings?
The jurists differed on the ruling concerning an image if a part essential for life is removed from it, or if it is drawn incomplete (such as a head only), holding two opinions:
The first opinion (the majority of jurists): The image becomes permissible and does not fall under the ruling of forbidden images. They argue that the punishment and the command to blow the spirit into it apply to those who make a complete image, not an incomplete one.
The second opinion (some Shafi'is and some contemporary scholars): The image remains forbidden as long as the head is present. They cite the , "The image is the head; if the head is severed, there is no image," and the hadith of Jibreel, in which he commanded the cutting of the statue's head to make it like a tree.
The latter view holds that the hadith "The image is the head" poses a problem for the opinion of the majority, and that caution dictates refraining from depicting the head alone, especially if it is a drawing.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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