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The Understanding Of Biblical Prohibition Of Images
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We say that even the images prohibited in Bible are those which are made of Allah or made with intentions of reverence of worship etc.
So my question is that what if these prohibition in Bible are absolute in their sense that no images are to be made. So how can we evidently and by ‘Qataee Daleel’ prove that these images are only those of with sentiments of worship. And not normal. I mean by looking at ahadith, we also find words that prohibit images in general sense, but the qataee Daleel here, is that it is only present in ahadith and nothing of an independent nature can be taken from hadith. But how will we find this qataee Daleel or evidence in the light of Islam or in the light of bible that would evidently strongly prove that in the bible too, images of worship sentiments are only meant.
And please also tell that if in Bible if it would have been really a general prohibition of Images then how the style of address would have been in Quran and Sunnah be according to it? What changes would have we seen in that case, instead of right what is right now?
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The Understanding Of Biblical Prohibition Of Images
updated 1 year, 12 months ago
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The biblical verses clearly prohibit the making of images of God. The same prohibition is mentioned in Ahadith. Some Ahadith mentions prohibitions of images of deities, while other mentions just the images, so we understand that these images are the very ones mentioned in some other narrations in which image of deities are prohibited. Moreover, some other Ahadith allow having images of ordinary things or even of deities but put under feet, this also confirms that not all images are prohibited.
Above all, we have criteria of prohibition from Quan 7:33. An image until it has something objectionable according to the said criteria, cannot be called prohibited.
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@Irfan76 sir what if it’s said that in Ahadith the concession was given about keeping pictures and not making them, and biblical prohibition is about making them. And even sir like the text in the translation of bible is just generally mentioning not to make images. And sir coming to the point of surah Araf, if we come to know that the prohibition of image is actually there, then wouldn’t doing it automatically come under ‘Ithm’ ? That Quranic teachers translate into ‘Sin’?
Sir also a few things came into my mind that somehow make it a little clear that in Islam images are not fully prohibited. Like the fact that in bible the text that indicate images prohibition say that nothing like that in sky or land or sea is to be made, without distinguishing animate or inanimate object but we see in a Hadith that angel jibraeel saying prophet to cut a head of an image so that it looks like a tree, it means turning it into a form of tree was suggested. Secondly, that even if we say that in bible it may be possible that all images are prohibited previously then the same attitude or injuction would have been also renewed and passed on to the Ummah to prophet by Ijma and tawattur. That separately making images is also a sin. Even if things were prohibited or injunctions were made in previous prophet’s shariah then Prophet Muhammad would have also passed it on as a separate injuction, am i right sir? Am i right about these points?
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@Irfan76 sir there’s another verse started to be of bible that does make a sort of distinguishing factor between animate and inanimate object, so i think the point of Hazrat jibraeel suggesting the prophet can be again countered that it’s not like in Bible, there was no distinguishing thing between animate and inanimate object, rather it may be said that this thing can be found too
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%204%3A16-18&version=NIV
So now i think only the proper evidence that would remain would be, that the companions of Prophet and Ummah not knowing about these injunctions in previous scriptures and then despite that too the prophet did not project this injuction as a separate Ijma and tawattur level injuction as a Sunnah.
Sir can it be said that prophet did not transfer this thing through Ijma and tawattur as a separate injuction about images?
And what if this is said that maybe already the companions and Muslims knew about injunctions of images along with their distinction of animate and inanimate object, that’s why we don’t see Prophet passing it on to Ummah through Ijma and tawattur? Because the Ummah already knew this?
Can you please explain these 2 questions, keeping in mind the background of what i wrote?
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We need not to speculate if we have a clear injunction in the Quran about the criteria of prohibition. The verse starts with the word Innamaa, which means only these are prohibited.
We do not infer from Ahadith, but rather apply the said criteria to whatever is quoted or misquoted or quoted with missing details in Ahadith. That what is prohibited to keep, its making is also prohibited.
Ijma and Tawatur applies to Sunnah and transmission of Quran, not to the concepts and understanding of problems.
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@Irfan76 okay sir, i mean i only wanted to ask if a thing is prohibited in Islam then it would be in 2 sources of Islam, Quran and Sunnah. So in Quran we don’t find such prohibition separately on images. So i wanted to ask that is it same with sunnah as well?
Sir like prohibition of coitus during menses is ghamidi Sahab told that it is from Sunnah, so is there also such prohibition made on images making in Sunnah as well?
(Sir i used to think that anything if is prohibited in Quran then it’s prohibited. And other than in Quran, if Allah decides to prohibit anything else, it would come through the prophet propagating it separately to level of Ijma and tawattur and then it would have become a separate Sunnah starting from Prophet Muhammad saw. And even if it’s not starting from Prophet, but is a part of religion then still the prophet would have taught it to level of Ijma and tawattur. So i was asking that did it reach to Ijma and tawattur separately? The prohibition on making images? (or prohibition of making animate images), just like prohibition of coitus during menses, prohibition of making images?)
Sir can you please tell me about this that what level was it and propagated? (To level of Ijma or tawattur, or only Khabar e ahad).
And sir also can you tell me if the way i understood, written inside brackets that if something other than in Quran would have been prohibited in religion then… If there’s problem in this understanding, then explain what is correct understanding
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