Fatwa ID: 05919

Answered by: Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Question:

Is it permissible to write duas, names etc on a paper in front of the Ka’abah and take a picture? Or is this a Bida’ah?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

عن عائشة رضي اللّه عنها قالت : قال رسول اللّه ﷺ من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد

Ayshah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “If anyone introduced in this our religion something that is not there then it is rejected.” (Mishkatul Masabih, Pg 27)

With regards to the above Hadeeth:

المعني من أحدث في الإسلام رأيًا لم يكن له من الكتاب و السنة سند ظاهر أو خفي ملفوظ أو مستنبط فهو مردود عليه

“The meaning of ‘whoever introduces an opinion into Islam’ is [such an opinion] that does not have an apparent or hidden support from the Book and the Sunnah, either articulated or deduced, thus it is rejected.” (Mirqat Al Mafatih, Vol 1, Pg 337)

Writing things on paper and taking a picture of it was, evidently, not something that was done in the Prophet ﷺ ’s time and is not mentioned in Qur’an or Hadeeth. There is also nothing outright prohibiting such action (as long as nothing impermissible is done to take the picture e.g., including an animate object in it). When one has gone for Umrah or Hajj, they should be focused on worship. Everything else should be avoided.

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham