MUFTI TAQI USMAANI’S FATWA ON TELEVISION PICTURES
On the question of television, Mufti Taqi Usmaani expresses his personal view as follows:
“The images appearing on live programs or recorded programs on television are not the pictures in the strict sense envisaged in the Ahadih of the Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wasallam, unless they are printed in a durable form on paper or on any other object.”
Before we proceed to analyze the misconception which Mufti Taqi Saheb is propagating in the extraordinary attempt to legalize haraam television, it will be salubrious to cite what Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi (rahmatullah alayh) – august father of Mufti Taqi Saheb – averred on the type of dubious and deceptive argument which Mufti Taqi Saheb and the liberal scholars are peddling. Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi (rahmatullah alayh) in his response to the worn out argument which the liberal scholars of his time had presented for legalizing photography, wrote in his book, Aalaat-e-Jadeedah (Modern Instruments):
“In the Saheeh Hadith Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: ‘In my Ummah there will be people who will change the name of liquor and consume it. They will publicly engage in music and singing. Allah Ta’ala will cause the earth to swallow them. He will transform some of them into apes and swines.’ ”