By: Dr. Yusuf Al Qardawi

The Home
The home is the place in which an individual protects himself from the elements and in which he finds freedom from the restrictions and pressures of society. It is a place of rest for the body and relaxation for the mind. That is why Allah Ta’ala, in mentioning His favors to His servants, says: And Allah has made for you in your houses, places of rest…. (16:80)

The Prophet (peace be on him) loved spaciousness in the home and considered it as an element conducive to happiness in this life, saying, Happiness has four elements: a good wife, a spacious house, a good neighbor, and a comfortable riding beast.1 He often used to pray fervently, “Our Lord, forgive me my sin, make my house spacious, and bless me in my sustenance.” He was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate so often in these words?” He replied, “Is anything left out?”2

The Prophet (peace be on him) urged people to keep their houses clean as a vital expression of Islam, which is a religion of cleanliness. Cleanliness is a distinctive characteristic of a Muslim. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said, Assuredly, Allah Ta’ala is good and loves goodness, is clean and loves cleanliness, is generous and loves generosity, is hospitable and loves hospitality. So keep your rooms and courtyards clean, and do not be like the Jews.3

Items Related to Luxurious Living and Paganism
The Muslim may adorn his house with various kinds of flowers, decorated fabrics, and other permitted ornamental objects: Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants? (7:32)

The Muslim is certainly free to desire beauty in his home and elegance in his clothing, shoes, and other items related to personal appearance. Once the Prophet (peace be on him) said, ‘Anyone who has an atom of pride in his heart will not enter the Garden’. A man then asked, ‘What about the one who likes to wear a handsome robe and good shoes?’ The Prophet (peace be on him) replied, ‘Surely Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.’4 In another version of this hadith, a handsome man came to the Prophet (peace be on him), saying, “I love beauty and have been given some of it, as you can see, to the extent that I dislike anyone’s having a better pair of sandals than I. Is this pride, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet (peace be on him) replied, “No. Pride is to reject the truth and to view other people with contempt.”5

However, Islam disapproves of excess, and the Prophet (peace be on him) disliked the Muslim’s filling his house with items of luxury and extravagance, traits condemned by the Qur’an, or with items related to paganism, the very thing against which the religion of the Oneness of God has fought with every weapon.

Gold and Silver Utensils
In accordance with what has been stated above, Islam has prohibited the use of gold and silver utensils, and of pure silk spreads in the Muslim house. The Prophet (peace be on him) warned that anyone who deviates from this path may incur severe punishment in the Hereafter. On the authority of Umm Salmah, Muslim reported in his Sahih the Prophet’s saying, “Whoever eats or drinks from gold or silver utensils is indeed filling his stomach with the fire of hell.”6

Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of al-Hudhaifah that “The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) forbade us to drink or eat from gold or silver dishes or to wear silken garments or to sit on silken cloth. He said, ‘They are for them (the unbelievers) in this world and for us in the Hereafter.’7 Moreover, what is prohibited for practical use is also forbidden to be given as a gift or used as an ornament.

These prohibitions concerning utensils, spreads, and similar articles apply to men and women alike, for the purpose of this legislation is to rid the house of excessively luxurious items. Ibn Qudamah expresses this idea in clear terms as follows:

Men and women are equal in this regard because of the generality of the hadith, and because the reason for this prohibition is the show of extravagance and pride on the one hand and the injury to the feelings of the poor on the other. The wearing of gold and silk has been permitted to women so that they may beautify themselves for their husbands; this is an exemption which does not extend to other uses. If it is said, ‘If the reason you have stated is correct, then utensils made of rubies and other precious materials would also have been prohibited because they are more expensive (than gold and silver)’ to this we reply, ‘The poor are not familiar with such things, and their feelings will not be injured even if they see the rich using them.’ Moreover, the rarity of such things in itself makes their use prohibitive, and hence the need for prohibiting them on the basis of extravagance becomes superfluous.8

Earlier we mentioned the economic reasons for prohibiting the use of gold ornaments for men. In the present case this reason is even weightier and more obvious. Gold and silver are universal monetary standards which facilitate the establishing of prices and the carrying out of transactions between nations, thus promoting trade and commerce. It is Allah’s favor that He guided people to use them as a means of exchange. The proper economic usage of gold and silver, then, is their free circulation; they are not to be hoarded in houses as coins or, worse yet, to be tied up in household articles and ornamental objects.

Imam al-Ghazzali has beautifully enunciated this point in the chapter entitled “Al-Shukr” (Thankfulness) in his book, Ihya al’Ulum al-Din, in the following manner:

Anyone who melts down gold and silver coins to make vases and containers is ungrateful for Allah’s bounty and is worse than the one who hoards them. It is like using the mayor of a city for sweeping its streets or for sewing garments, or to do jobs which are normally carried out by the lowliest of people. To imprison him would be less insulting. Now, materials such as porcelain, iron, lead, and copper can replace gold and silver for making vases and containers, but they cannot replace them as money or as standards of exchange. If a person cannot grasp this point (through his own reasoning and knowledge), we would tell him that the spokesman of Allah has explained it: ‘Whoever eats or drinks from gold or silver utensils is indeed filling his stomach with the fire of hell.’9

Let no one suppose that this prohibition constitutes a severe restriction on the Muslim in his own home, for among wholesome and permissible things there is a great variety from which to choose What beautiful vases, containers, and pots have been made of glass; porcelain, copper, and many other materials! Likewise, bedspreads, cushions, and tablecloths of great beauty are fabricated from cotton, linen, and various other materials.

Islam Prohibits Statues
Islam has prohibited the keeping of statues in the Muslim home. By statues is meant complete, solid figures which have not been disfigured or otherwise defaced. Their presence in a house is considered sufficient to drive away the angels, who represent Allah’s mercy and His pleasure. As the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said, “Assuredly the angels do not enter a house in which there are statues (or figures).”10

According to the commentary of scholars, a person who keeps statues in his house is similar to unbelievers, whose practice is to keep and venerate idols in their homes. The angels are repelled by this; they do not enter such a house and abandon it.

It is also forbidden for the Muslim to engage in manufacturing statues, even if he makes them for non-Muslims. The Prophet (peace be on him) said: “Among the people receiving the harshest punishment on the Day of Resurrection will be the makers of figures,”

or, in another version, “of Allah’s creation.” 11

He also said, On the Day of Resurrection, the maker of a figure will be asked to breathe a spirit into it, and he will never be able to do so,12 meaning that he will be asked to bring it to life in order to reproach and humiliate him.

The Wisdom of Prohibiting Statues
A. One of the reasons for this prohibition, although not the only one, as some people may suppose, is to safeguard the belief in the Oneness of God and to be far-removed from the practices of idolaters, who fashion statues and idols with their own hands and then sanctify them, standing before them in adoration.

Islam’s sensitivity in safeguarding the belief in the Unity of God is very acute, and assuredly this caution and concern is quite justified. In the final analysis, the worship of idols originated when people began making statues of their dead or pious ancestors in order to remember them. Gradually they began to venerate them, adding to this veneration little by little until they had made the statues into gods, worshipping them besides God, asking them for help, fearing their anger, and imploring them for blessings. This is what happened, among earlier communities such as the people of Wadd, Suwwa’ Yaghuth, Ya’uq, and Nasra.

It is not surprising that a religion which seeks to halt all corruption should block every passage through which shirk (polytheism), either open or hidden, may slip into the minds and hearts of the people. Among such passageways is the imitation of idolaters or of the followers of other religions who have exaggerated respect for their saints. Moreover, Islam’s legislation is not merely intended for one or two generations but is for all mankind for as long as it shall exist on this planet.”. What may seem unlikely in one environment may become acceptable in another, and what appears impossible at one time may materialize into reality at another.

B. Another reason for this prohibition concerns the maker of statues, the sculptor, himself. Sculptors tend to feel pride in their work, as if they had created something out of nothing or had given life to clay or stone. A sculptor once completed a figure after a great deal of labor; it was so perfect and so beautiful that he stood before it, lost in admiration of its fine lines and features until, overwhelmed with pride and exhilaration, he said to it, “Speak! Speak!” This is why the Noble Messenger (peace be on him) said, Those who make figures will be chastised on the Day of Resurrection. They will be told, ‘Put life into what you have creased.’ 13

And in a hadith qudsi, Allah Ta’ala says: Who does greater wrong than he who desires to create the like of what I create? Let them create an atom! Let them create a grain of barley!14

C. Those who engage in this art stop at nothing, producing statues of nude or erotic figures and the deities and saints of other religions. A Muslim is not permitted to acquiesce in regards to such practices.

D. Finally, statues have been, and still are, symbols of aristocratic and luxurious living”. People in high places fill their palaces, halls, and chambers with statues fabricated of many materials. It is not surprising that a religion which declares war on luxury in all its manifestations, should prohibit the Muslim from having statues in his home.

References:
1- (Reported by Ibn Habban in his Sahih.)
2- (Reported by al-Nisai and Ibn al-Sunni with a sound chain of transmitters.)
3- (Reported by al-Tirmidhi.)
4- Reported by Muslim.
5- Reported by Abu Daoud.
6- Reported by Muslim.
7- Reported by al-Bukhari.
8- Al-Mughni, vol. 8, p. 323.
9- lhya al-‘Ulum al-Din. see vol. 4, Thanksgiving and Praise.
10- Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim; the wording is from Muslim.
11- Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
12- Reported by al-Bukhari and others.
13- Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
14- Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.