Pictures on household products
6-6-2007 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalamu aleikum! What is the ruling on animate pictures that are on pampers packs, different food stuffs and different things necessary for home? I mean is it important to remove them all at home but considering the fact that they are many and they frequently come home as you know that many things sold in shops now have animate pictures on the covers? Or is removing all these animate pictures on these things waived in this case as it’s really difficult to do that like in the case with animated journals, magazines and books which contain a plethora of animated pictures concerning which sheikh Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy upon him) said that it is enough to cover or remove the front page only? And if it is waived in this case do the angels steel enter the house despite the fact that these animated pictures are still present and not removed on these packs?
Answer:
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.
It is permissible, Allaah willing, to buy these products on which there are pictures, because these pictures are disgraced, and some scholars 
permitted this kind of pictures. The evidence about this is that 'Aa'ishah 
said: "We had a curtain which had a picture of a bird, and if a person enters, he will find it right in front of him, then the Prophet told me: “Move this curtain to another place, because every time I enter, I see it." [Muslim]. The evidence here is that if it was forbidden, the Prophet would have ordered her to tear it out and destroy it, but he just asked her to move it. In addition to this, these pictures have become widespread and it is very difficult to avoid them, hence their permissibility comes under removing the hardship from the nation.
As regards whether or not these pictures prevent the entrance of the angels to the house, then the scholars differed in opinion about this. Some of them are of the view that these pictures are included in the general narration which reads: "The angels do not enter a house where there is a dog or a picture." This is the view chosen by An-Nawawi and Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami . However, there are other scholars, like Al-Khattaabi and Al-Qaadhi 'Iyadh who are of the view that such images do not prevent the angels from entering. This view is the preponderant opinion, but the first one is better in order to be on the safe side.