Assalaamu alaykum. My mother has been keeping photos of me and the family in her collections wherever we go, but they are stored away in a box. She has also kept some of my childhood items for sentimental reasons to have a something to remember. She does not want to dispose of them. Therefore, am I obliged to remove them without her consent although it may cause her grief and anger? They are valuable to her; therefore, might I be sinful for moving them? I did try and encourage her to remove some, but she did not agree. There are my toys with faces and eyes and childhood books as well. These items are stored away in a box, therefore, would it still keep the angels away from the home? Secondly, what is the ruling regarding other important books that are kept in the home, such as educational ones and shopping brochures or magazines, etc.? Please do answer this question kindly, as I have not found a clear answer to my question after researching. May Allah reward you;.

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.

The scholars differed in opinion about photographic images of living beings; some of them held that they are permissible while some others held that they are forbidden.

The scholars also differed in opinion concerning keeping pictures in general; a group of scholars forbade it, among whom is Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen . The conclusion from his statement is that it prevents the angels from entering the house.

He was asked about keeping pictures as a souvenir, and he answered, “Keeping pictures as a souvenir is forbidden because the Prophet informed us that the angels do not enter a house in which there is a picture, and this is evidence that it is forbidden to keep pictures at home.”

So you should make every effort to convince your mother to remove these pictures or take them out of the house.

We hope that you are exempted from sin as long as you have advised her and encouraged her to dispose of them.

Sharh An-Nawawi on Saheeh Muslim reads:

“As for the saying of the Prophet ‘let him change it’, then this is a positive order according to the consensus of the Muslim nation. The Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet as well as the consensus of the Muslim nation all agreed that enjoining good and forbidding evil is an obligation, and it is also from advice, which is the religion…

As regards the saying of Allah (which means): {O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allah is your return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do.} [Quran 5:105], this verse does not contradict what we have mentioned because the correct view according to the scholars of Tafseer (exegesis) regarding the meaning of the verse is that if you do what you have been assigned to do, then the negligence of others does not harm you. This is like the saying of Allah (which means): {…and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.} [Quran 6:164]

Since this is the case, if an adult person fulfills the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, and the person who is addressed did not comply with the order, then there is no blame on the one who enjoined good, as he did what he is required to do, because he is only required to enjoin good and forbid evil, but he is not required to ensure acceptance from the addressee. Allah knows best.”

As for the study books, there is nothing wrong with keeping them, and the same applies to toys and dolls.

Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah narrated from his father, from ‘Aa’ishah that she used to play with dolls when she was in the presence of the Prophet . She narrated, “My playmates used to come to me, but they would leave (the house) because they felt shy of the Prophet ; so he would send them to (play with) me.”

The hadeeth narrated by Jareer reads, “‘Aa’ishah said, ‘I used to play with dolls in his (Prophet’s) house.’”

Moreover, ‘Aa’ishah narrated that when the Prophet arrived after the expedition of Tabook or Khaybar (the doubt is from the narrator on her behalf), the wind raised one end of a curtain which was hung in front of her store-room, revealing some dolls which belonged to her. He asked, “What is this?” She replied, “My dolls.” Among them, he saw a horse with wings made of rags and asked, “What is this that I see among them?" She replied, “A horse.” He asked, “What is this that it has on?” She replied, “Two wings.” He asked with astonishment, “A horse with two wings?” She replied, “Have you not heard that Solomon had horses with wings?” She then said, “Thereupon the Prophet laughed so heartily that I could see his molar teeth.” [Abu Daawood and An-Nasaa’i]

An-Nawawi said, “The toys for girls are exempted from the prohibition of making three-dimensional figures and taking them, as there is a concession in this regard.”

Ibn Hajar stated that it is possible that ‘Aa’ishah had reached the age of puberty at the time of the battle of Khaybar. As regards the battle of Tabook, then she had definitely reached the age of puberty.

For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 92512.

Allah knows best.