Pictures & Videos

Pictures of animate objects

Q: I live in Pakistan. In Pakistan we can only find CD's of games and movies which are pirated approximatly 1 dollar 100 Rs. I like to play games but buying the original game costs more money than my budget. They are eg. 50 dollars and more. Nowadays I download games from torrents. I want to ask that am I allowed to download or is there any other way?

Purse with an animate object

Q: I wanted to know that as in our religion it is haraam to keep pics, statues,photos in the home because we pray only Allah (Ta'ala). Now I have a purse with a key chain. On the key chain a small dog is hung. I bought that key chain because I liked that doll. I don't pray to that doll. It is always hung to my key chain of the purse. Wanted to know is it right or wrong to keep that key chain with that doll.

Raising funds using videos

Q: A charity trust run under the stewardship of scholars is doing fund raising by means of video appeals in the Masjid Jamat Khana. In these videos faces of people can be seen. Ulama condone this by attending the programme in the Masjid. Is raising funds in this way permissible and is it permissible to broadcast such videos in the Masjid Jamat Khana?

Photography

Q:

  1. Photography has been prohibited in Shariah.  This being so, how could one even fulfill his Haj/Umrah, as photograph is a mandatory requirement for passport/visa/ID card during the pilgrimage.
  2. Today, video telecasts are being used in Da'wah activities all over the globe.
  3. Please list what are the permitted forms of photography/videography allowed in Shariah, with regard to today's world we live in.
  4. Should we not resort to Ijma'a and Qiyaas for arriving at a solution to today's problems our Ummah faces, if we do not find solutions in Al Qur'an and Al Hadith?

I request your answer in detail.