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What is the ruling on keeping photographs in albums for memory?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is Haram (forbidden) to sculpt animate beings, this is by consensus. As for photographic images of inanimate objects like trees, they are permissible. Contemporary scholars differ on the ruling concerning personal photographic images. Some forbid them, clinging to the generality of Hadith that prohibit image-making and warn image-makers, such as the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image," and his saying: "The people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers," justifying this by stating that it imitates Allah's creation. Others permit them, saying that capturing an image with a device is not imitating Allah's creation, but rather transferring an image that Allah has created. It is better to avoid this type of image-making to avoid doubt. Image-making is forbidden if the image is of something that is impermissible to look at, such as photographing women without necessity, or photographing nakedness, as this is a great sin and a temptation.

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

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