بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين، أما بعد:

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih Al-'Uthaymeen rahimahullah is one of the most decorated scholars of our era. His works provide an invaluable source of knowledge for students and scholars alike. But while it is reassuring to see him being held in high regard and benefitted from, it is also distressing to see how some of his opinions are sometimes exploited. It's important to note that whenever there's a difference of opinion on any matter, the different scholastic views have to be weighed against the Qur'an and Sunnah such that whatever agrees with the proofs is accepted, and whatever contradicts the proofs is rejected. One of the more contentious views held by Sheikh 'Uthaymeen which we find being exploited is the Sheikh's stance concerning Tasweer (making images of animate beings); photography and videography in particular. Sheikh 'Abdurrahman ibn Nasir Al-Barrak waffaqahullah said: “Whoever examines the statements of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih Al-Uthaymeen rahimahullah concerning photography, looking at pictures and acquiring them, notices that his perception of reality is somewhat distorted, that is: he did not envision the reality accurately, and that is why in his statements on this subject there are some surprising things that have occurred from him rahimahullah which the people of whims and desires may exploit to promote what fits their desires from visual media programs and publication of all kinds of images in newspapers and magazines.” So how is the Sheikh's stance being exploited? Some of those who adopt Sheikh Uthaymeen's stance in the issue of tasweer have extended it to include aspects which he himself deemed impermissible. Rather than stop where the Sheikh stopped, they have taken his allowance of Tasweer and run with it, ignoring all of the exceptions he sets out. Thus in highlighting these exceptions, we will clearly see Insha'Allah the disparity between Sheikh Uthaymeen's stance on the one hand and the actions of those who exploit his stance on the other. 1st exception: Sheikh 'Uthaymeen rahimahullah says: أما الاحتفاظ بهذه الصور فإنه لا يجوز Storing pictures is NOT PERMISSIBLE! In his Majmoo' (2/271), he gives some examples: التصوير للذكرى كتصوير الاصدقاء وحفلا الزوج ونحوها لأن ذلك يستلزم اقتناء الصورة بلا حاجة وهو حرام ... “Taking pictures for memorabilia, such as taking pictures of friends, wedding ceremony, and the like, as this entails acquisition of pictures without need, and this is FORBIDDEN!” He also says (2/274): مَن عنده صور للذكرىٰ فإن الواجب عليه أن يتلفها؛ سواء كان قد وضعها على الجدار، أو وضعها في ألبوم، أو في غير ذٰلك؛ “Anyone who has pictures for memorabilia MUST DESTROY THEM; whether he has placed them on the wall, in an album, or elsewhere...” On the contrary, you will find some of those who adopt Sheikh Uthaymeen's stance storing images of almost every single occasion in their lives. You find them sharing them on their accounts and status' and displaying them on their profile pictures. Where are they from Sheikh 'Uthaymeen's stance? 2nd exception: Sheikh 'Uthaymeen rahimahullah encourages to deface pictures by defacing the head - even if these pictures are taken for other than memorabilia: هذه الصور المشار إليها في الكتب بعض المجلات الدينية إذا تمكن الإنسان من طمسها -أي طمس وجوهها ورءوسها- فهذا خير؛ لأن الصورة هي الرأس، حقيقة الإنسان تعرف برأسه، عين الإنسان تعرف برأسه ووجهه، فعلى هذا فالواجب أن يطمس الرأس والوجه. “These images being referred to that are found in books and some religious magazines, if one is able to deface them - that is, to deface their faces and heads - then that is better. Because the image is the head, the reality of a human is known from the head...Therefore, it is WAJIB TO DEFACE THE HEAD AND FACE.”