Can Muslims make statues of living things for non worship purpose . E.g: to beautify a place
Are Muslims allowed to do this or is it completely prohibited?


Making statues has been discouraged by the Islamic tradition. However, it is interesting to note that in the Qur'an the word Tamathil (statues) has been used twice. Once in a positive tone and once in negative:

  1. When he said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoted?" 21:52

The first verse clearly refers to polytheistic statues.

In the second verse, statues are among those things for which the family of David is supposed to be grateful. They obviously cannot be polytheistic statues. It raises the question whether statues per se are forbidden or not? Apparently the answer is in negative.

  • Is drawing people prohibited in Islam? same applies for statues.... – servant-of-Wiser Apr 14 '15 at 20:06
  • @servantofWiser Thanks! The link does not takes into consideration the usage of 'tamathil' in the Qu`ran. – a_fan Apr 15 '15 at 5:45
  • "tamathil" what is that? – servant-of-Wiser Apr 15 '15 at 5:45
  • Please refer to the above quoted verses. Tamathil is the arabic word for statues. – a_fan Apr 15 '15 at 6:00

Your Answer

