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What is the ruling on heirs selling paintings that their father gifted during his lifetime, and do they sin by selling them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Firstly: It is permissible to sell paintings featuring natural scenes or inanimate objects, and their price is lawful because they fall under permissible things.

Secondly: If the paintings depict living beings, the details are as follows: 1. If the image is a complete depiction of a living being, it is prohibited, and selling it is impermissible, based on the hadith: "Indeed, when Allah forbids something, He also forbids its price." However, if it is for children's toys, then selling it is permissible. 2. If the image is only of a head or a part without which life cannot be sustained, then selling it is permissible according to the majority of scholars because it does not fall under the ruling of prohibited images.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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