What Should You Do with Clothing Featuring Bird Images?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I own clothing with images of birds, and I’ve learned such prints are not permissible. Is it better to sell, donate, or discard these items, considering others should not wear them either? Would selling them result in haram income?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is permissible to donate or sell clothing with images of living creatures on it. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

This is due to a difference of opinion in other schools of thought that allow for not 3-dimensional images.

Also, some are without clothing or underclothed, and necessity would permit them to wear whatever they could get their hands on.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.