What does Islam say about representations of holy figures?
Muslims do not possess pictures or depictions of any of the prophets, or even of the companions of Prophet Muhammad. Nor are pictures of persons, animals or heavenly figures part of the Islamic religious tradition. One reason for this is that the accuracy of pictures would likely be questionable, especially for older religious figures like Jesus, Moses or Abraham. Furthermore, Muslims believe it is not inconceivable that over time, highly revered persons represented visually could acquire an aura of divinity. Muslims are extremely wary of any practices which may lead to shirk, or ascribing divinity to anyone or anything in conjunction with God. Historically, the cautionary ethos of Islam regarding representational art mainly applied to subjects of a religious nature. Outside the realm of the sacred, many artists and artisans created paintings, ceramics and other items containing depictions of humans, animals and other figures. Publications such as zoology and biology books, and other m
