What is the ruling on embroidering images of people in their real form, or with changes to the facial features (such as the eyes, mouth, and nose), or replacing them with symbols, while keeping the rest of the body's form?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Embroidering only the face without the rest of the body is permissible. However, a complete image from which nothing essential for human life has been removed is forbidden. Merely removing the nose or an eye, or not embroidering the edges of the face, does not render the image permissible in the view of many scholars if it is otherwise complete. As for a woman photographing a non- man, this is not permissible, even if the image is incomplete, due to the potential for fitna (temptation, discord) and the man becoming attached to a woman who is not lawful for him.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/172430
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 172430
- 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