What is the ruling on drawing half of a living being's face from the side, or covering the other half with hair or a hat? What is the ruling on drawing living beings from behind? And what is the ruling on separating the head from the body in drawing?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
There is no harm in drawing the face without the body, or drawing part of it without another part, or effacing it in a way that obscures its features. As for drawing the complete body of animate beings, it is not permissible except out of necessity or need, regardless of whether the drawing is from the back or the front, unless it is without features. Some scholars state the permissibility of drawing animate beings if the head is separated from the body. However, merely drawing a line on the neck is not like separating the head from the body, and its ruling is the same as that of a complete image.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/126339
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 126339
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy