Does a Drawing of an Animate Being in Front of Me Invalidate My Prayer?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If there is a drawing of an animate being in front of me during Jumu‘a prayer, does this make my prayer invalid, or is it acceptable if something is blocking the view? What should I do in such a situation?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Your prayer will remain valid despite the presence of this drawing in front of you. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

Nonetheless, you should avoid this kind of situation as it is sinful because it is disliked to pray when facing a drawing of a living being. [ibid]

The fatwa position of most of the later scholars is that if a prayer was performed with something prohibitively disliked, it is: (1) necessary (wajib) to repeat within the time and (2) recommended (mustahab) to repeat after the time. [Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.