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Editing a book containing pictures

Publication : 19-03-2011

Views : 18117

Question

We are a new company wich is dealing about design. About more than 1 month ago we get a contract with a bank to edit a training book for it employees. The problem is that before we edit this book we thought that we will be able to edit a book without pictures, but the bank ask us to edit a book with pictures. We know that pictures is haram, so I asked to my brother that we can not edit such book, but my friend reply me that we can not stop our contract cause if we stop it the bank will lead us to the justice court and we may have very serious problems. So we continue our contract with this bank till we finished to edit this book, now the book is being printing and we will soon receive the paymenent of the bank for our work. So our dear sheikh here is another problem too, I just read that dealing with company wich are dealing with ribaa is haram, and the bank for wich we edited the book is a pure ribaa bank. So we will soon receive the payment of this bank, is this money haram ? If this money is haram, can I take back my personnal money I invest to buy the ink for the printer and to buy the orther things wich had a connection with this project. Can I pay the employee and the rent of the computer that we use for this project and all other equipements and electricity and bill phones ? Can we use the money of this bank to pay the taxes (like automotive insurances and so on …) and to pay back debts ? For the money wich will left what we will do with it ? can I give it to poor people or to build Islamic center or to use it for other dawah purpose ?.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If what is meant by your words “pictures are haraam” is photographs, this matter has been discussed previously in the answers to questions no. 13633, 10668 and 7918

Drawing pictures of animate beings by hand is haraam. See question no. 39806

You do not say anything in your question about the content of this book. If the book is an advertisement for the activities of the riba-based bank, then printing it is haraam because that involves helping the bank to deal in riba. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

So it is not permissible to accept any payment at all, and you should donate all income from this project to charity. 

But if the content of the book is permissible and by printing the book you are not helping the bank in its haraam activities or doing advertising for them, then take out of the money enough to purify it, i.e., the payment for printing haraam pictures. We ask Allaah to compensate you with something better, for whoever gives up something for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better than that. And Allaah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A