What is the ruling on lightly and incompletely carving a human face onto wood?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Depicting living beings in sculptural form is impermissible, according to the unanimous agreement of scholars. If the facial features are apparent in the sculpture, it is not allowed, because the essence of a picture is the head, as stated in the : "The picture is the head, so if the head is cut off, there is no picture." What appears of the head in a sculpture is the face. So, if the face is not effaced, it is not permissible, but if it is effaced, there is no harm in it.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/106722
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 106722
- 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.
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