aselamu alaykum I've read your fetawa regarding the keeping of dolls. my question is, i share a room with my little sisters and it's full of dolls such as barbies, bears and the like....i tend to cover them with cloth or put them in wardrobes but it's still hard as my sisters play with it all the time. So is it a must to cover thos things at other times?is there age limite to keep dolls? how about older girls that keep their dolls which they used to play in thier childhood?can we let a boy play with boy's doll such as superman and the like? how about the garments of children which has an image of a cartoon character? It's sometimes difficult to find a children cloothing which doesn't have those images. Jezakumullah kheyr. I hope you answer my qeustion with some evidences.

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.

The matter is as we mentioned in Fataawa 83314 and 84972 that it is permissible for young girls to play with and keep such dolls as the Prophet approved of 'Aa'ishah playing with them.

It is permissible for girls to play with such dolls as long as they are below the age of puberty; if it is said that it is permissible for them to play with dolls after reaching the age of puberty when there is a need, then this is something possible.

'Aa'ishah narrated: "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, surprisingly: "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].

Ibn Hajar when interpreting the narration about 'Aa'ishah playing with dolls, said: ''Al-Khattaabi said: ''Playing with dolls is not like entertaining with all other kinds of portraits about which the prohibition is mentioned, rather, the Prophet permitted 'Aa'ishah to play with such dolls because she had not yet reached the age of puberty at that time. I [Ibn Hajar] said: ''We cannot be absolutely certain about this, but this is something possible, because 'Aa'ishah was fourteen years of age at the battle of Khaybar, she has either completed fourteen years, or passed it or nearly reached that age, as regards the battle of Tabook, she has definitely reached the age of puberty, so the narration which says that she reached the age of puberty in Khaybar is more preponderant, and this opinion can be reconciled with what Al-Khataabi said, as this is more appropriate in order to avoid any contradiction.''

It appears, Allaah knows best, that it is permissible as well for boys to play with dolls which suit their condition and because they are in need for playing with them.

The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopaedia reads: ''We have already reported the statement of Al-Haleemi, that the boys are permitted to play with toys because this makes them happy, and this renders them active, strong and cheerful, and allows them to get a good cultivation and more education. Therefore, the matter is not only restricted to young girls, rather this also applies to young boys; this is the view of Abu Yoosuf who said: "It is permissible to sell toys, and it is permissible for boys to play with them." His evidence about the permissibility of boys playing with toys or dolls is the narration about the fasting of young boys, which is reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim and which reads: "We make them a toy made of wool, and when one of them cries for food, we give him the toy."

It is also permissible to keep such toys at home as long as they are despised and not honoured, and it is not an obligation to cover them or to get rid of them.

The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopaedia also reads: "If one acquires a doll, then according to the view of the majority of scholars this is permissible, like when it is kept on the floor, or on a carpeted area, or on the bed and the like." However, it is more appropriate if these dolls are kept outside the house unless there is a necessity for keeping them inside the house. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 87266.

As regards wearing clothes on which there are pictures, we have already clarified the ruling in Fatwa 87564. However, it should be noted here that one should avoid some pictures which may indicate some wrong beliefs or which propagate for a crime or Zina (adultery or fornication).

Allaah Knows best.