Is it okay to collect and keep porcelain dolls in my house? They have real looking human features. They are not played with but just displayed on a table. Do they count as statues? Should I sell them or give them to a charity thrift store?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Statue-like three-dimensional figures of human or animal shapes are prohibited by scholarly consensus. An-Nawawi wrote, “Scholars unanimously agreed on the prohibition of three-dimensional figures and the obligation to change them.” [Sharh Saheeh Muslim] This opinion is based on many religious texts pertaining to the prohibition of tasweer (image-making) and the stern warnings issued to the image-makers. For example, Ibn ʻUmar narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, “The makers of images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection, and it will be said to them, ‘Breathe life into that which you have created.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Also, Ibn Masʻood narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, “Among the people who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The decisive factor in declaring a doll a prohibited statue is its being a complete shadow-casting image of a living being; the material from which the doll is made is irreverent with regards to the religious ruling. Some jurists held that it is prohibited to make statues out of a short-lived material such as dough and the like, let alone other materials. An-Nafraawi wrote:

“It is prohibited to make statues that cast shadows (three-dimensional figures), be it a beast, dog, or a human being, and hanging them on the wall or placing them on the floor; the ruling applies to those figures with a complete image whether made out of permanent materials such as stone or wood or made of temporary materials such as dough or other edible material.”

As for the ruling on selling or donating the prohibited dolls to charity thrift stores or the like, the basic principle is that it is impermissible unless the dolls can be of benefit after disfiguring them. In this case, it is permissible to sell such dolls or offer them as gifts according to some scholars. The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Fiqh says in relation to the images:

“As for an item that is prohibited to own or use, it is impermissible to buy it, sell it, gift it, deposit it, mortgage it, employ someone to guard it, or make it an endowment or a bequest, just like the rest of the prohibited items. The Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Allaah and His Messenger made the trade of alcohol, dead animals, pigs and idols illegal.’

This is the case if these statue-like figures are of no benefit after disfiguring them; if they were of benefit, however, then, according to the apparent view of some of the Shaafiʻi scholars, it is impermissible to sell them or offer them as gifts. T

he Shaafiʻi scholar Ar-Ramli wrote, ‘The statement of the Imaam (Ash-Shaafiʻi) in the chapter on the bequest indicates the permissibility of sale in this case; there should be no difference of opinion in this regard. This is evidenced by the statement he (An-Nawawi) cited in Ar-Rawdhah on the authority of Al-Mutawalli, and he did not express disagreement on the permissibility of selling the dice if it can be used instead of the statue-like chess pieces, otherwise it is impermissible.'

Similarly, Ad-Durr and Haashiyat Ibn ʻAabideen reads, 'It is impermissible to buy a bull or a horse statue made of ceramic for young children and such statue-like figures are legally worthless items, i.e. the sharee'ah does not acknowledge them as property (i.e. in case of property damage, the respondent is not liable to pay compensation). Other scholars held otherwise, suggesting that this is permissible in such a case and in case of property damage, the respondent is liable to pay compensation. Hence, if these statues are made of wood or copper, it is likely to be permissible (to sell or offer them as gifts) without difference of opinion because they can be of benefit (after being disfigured)...'” 

Allaah Knows best.