Why it is that Islam says that it's wrong to have pictures of animate things, yet Islamic nations have pictures if people and they also have TV?

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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

We have previously issued many Fataawa stating the evidence why it is forbidden to take pictures or make portraits of animates. There are many narrations of the Prophet in this regard, and we will summarize them in the following:

·        "The most grievous torment for the people on the Day of Resurrection would be for those who try to imitate Allaah in the act of Creation." [Al-Bukhari]

·        "Whoever draws a portrait, Allaah will punish him/her until he infuses life into it, and he/she will not be able to do so." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

·        "Image-makers will be in Hellfire. For every image they made, Allaah will create a soul that will keep on punishing them in Hellfire." [Muslim]

·        "Angels do not enter a house where there is a picture or a dog." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

There are many Prophetic narrations that prohibit taking pictures or making portraits of animates but this is not the place to mention them; you can for instance refer to Fataawa: 84583 and 88306.

As regards why some Muslims keep such pictures, then this is not an evidence for the permissibility of this forbidden act, because it is the legislation that is used as evidence against the people and not vice-versa. All perfect praise be to Allaah, there are many Muslims who do not keep pictures of animates and do not hang them up in their homes. It is such Muslims who should be imitated as they act according to the Sunnah of the Prophet .

Concerning the pictures on T.V., they are not stable, and as long as you close it, the pictures disappear. So they are not included in the Prophetic narrations that are previously mentioned, and Allaah knows best. But the great evil are the pictures that are full of women who are scantily dressed, deterioration [filth] and dissolution, in addition to music and other forbidden things, that are displayed on T.V.

Finally, it should be noted that many scholars nowadays do not see any harm about photographic pictures as they do not consider them to be included in the threat mentioned in the narrations about making portraits, as this kind of pictures does not imitate the creation of Allaah.   

Allaah knows best.