Assalaamu alaykum. I wanted to ask; years ago, I bought many figurines, all made of plastic (they are used for gaming in something similar to chess). I am now trying to dispose of them as they are in the shapes of people and animals. I phoned the "baladiya" in my country (Qatar), but the baladiya said that they do not incinerate things anymore; they just store them in a warehouse. I am desperate to dispose of these miniatures as I think it might be haram to have them, but I worry that if I give them to the baladiya to store, someone could simply take them, and then I will have sin on me because of it. I am desperate to get rid of them, but burning them anywhere in Qatar is most likely illegal, and because the miniatures are made of plastic, the fumes would be toxic and dangerous for my health and anyone else who would smell them. It is really difficult for me to get rid of them, given what I have mentioned above, so can I leave them with the baladiya to store in a warehouse and be free of any possible sin? To have this responsibility lifted from me? I am desperate to get rid of them, but I do not know what to do. I fear that if I throw them in the trash, anyone can find them and then take the miniatures for themselves, and then I will have sin on me for it.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

What is permissible to do in regard to the forbidden images is to take them down if they are erected or to destroy their features – by cutting off their head and so on – but it is not obligatory to destroy them completely or to get rid of them completely. So if you blur their features in a manner that eliminates their image, then you have done what is necessary.

The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia reads:

“It is necessary to change the image from its forbidden state to a state that is not forbidden, but it is not necessary to destroy it altogether. It is sufficient to take it down if it is erected. If it must remain in its place, then it is sufficient to cut off its head from the body, pierce a hole in its chest or its abdomen, scratch its face (from the wall), erase it, blur it with paint that removes its features, or to wash the image if it can be washed. The evidence for this is the hadeeth which was narrated by ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who related that the Prophet sent him to Madeenah and ordered him to level every grave, destroy every idol, and blur every image.

There are other narrations to the same effect, but none of them indicate destroying the image or getting rid of it completely, unlike what is stated about destroying the idols.”

Allah knows best.