Building snowman is a common winter activity, especially for children in places that experience snow. However, the question arises: is making snowmen permissible in Islam?
Is Making Snowman Permissible in Islam?
Yes, it is permissible but only without facial features.
In Islam, the act of creating images or figures with distinct human features, such as eyes, a nose, or a mouth, is often discouraged.
Scholars have pointed out that this falls under the prohibition of making images, as mentioned in various hadiths.
Snowmen with clear facial features resemble images of living beings, which could lead to their prohibition, as per many scholars’ interpretations.
Evidence
- Hadith from Al-Bayhaqi: Ibn `Abbas said, “The image is the head; if the head is cut off it is no longer an image.”
- Hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud: The Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed that the heads of statues be cut off to make them resemble trees.
- Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymin’s ruling: If the image has no clear facial features, it does not compete with Allah’s creation and is therefore permissible.
- Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah: If the image is headless or lacks features, it is not considered an image of a living being.
The hadiths and rulings from scholars make it clear that the main issue lies in creating complete images that resemble living beings. The hadiths show that even statues, when altered to remove facial features, are no longer considered problematic.
Bottom Line
Snowmen built without such features are viewed similarly to inanimate objects like trees or scarecrows, which do not fall under the prohibition.
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