Is It Permissible to Partake in Customizing the Appearance of Figurines?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I participate in a platform where pre-made fictional characters resembling anime figures are provided, and I can only customize their appearance by selecting pre-existing features. Does this activity fall under creating living beings, as discouraged in Islam, or is it permissible since I am not originating anything new but only altering existing elements?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Customizing pre-made fictional characters within a platform, where you select from pre-existing features, is not considered originating images of living beings. This distinction is significant in Islamic jurisprudence, as the prohibition primarily applies to independently originating images of beings with souls.
The majority of scholars (Hanafi, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali) hold that creating images of living beings is impermissible, whether the images are three-dimensional or two-dimensional. However, the Maliki school considers two-dimensional images merely disliked (makruh), unless used for disrespectful purposes, in which case they are not even disliked but only less preferred (khilaf al-awla). [al-Mawsu‘a al-Fiqhiyya]
Given that you are not creating new depictions but working within a pre-designed framework, this activity aligns with the Maliki perspective, where such actions are permissible, especially when the context is free from immodesty or inappropriate elements.
As with all actions, it is essential to ensure that the use of these characters adheres to Islamic principles of modesty and morality. Allah (Most High) says, “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” [Quran, 5:2]
In conclusion, customizing these characters appears permissible within Islamic guidelines, especially when done with proper intention and responsibility. This matter is one of legitimate scholarly disagreement (khilaf sa’igh), and there is no objection to following the lenient Maliki position in this regard.
Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
