The Narration of Jibreel Refusing To Enter the House Of The Prophet ﷺ
حدثنا عبد الرزاق، حدثنا معمر، عن أبي إسحاق، عن مجاهد، عن أبي هريرة، أن جبريل عليه السلام جاء فسلم على النبي صلى اللّه عليه وسلم، فعرف صوته، فقال: " ادخل " فقال: إن في البيت سترا في الحائط فيه تماثيل، فاقطعوا رؤوسها، واجعلوه بساطا أو وسائد فأوطئوه، فإنا لا ندخل بيتا فيه تماثيل".
تعليق المحقق:
إسناده صحيح، رجاله ثقات رجال الشيخين.
مسند أحمد (8079) — ط الرسالة —.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated to us, Maʿamar narrated to him, from Abū Isḥāq, from Mujāhid, from Abū Hurayrah, that Jibrīl (ʿalayhi as-sallām) came and greeted the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam). Recognizing his voice, the Prophet said, “Enter”. Jibrīl then said: “There is a curtain on the wall in the house containing figures. Cut off their heads, and use it into a mat or cushions and tread upon it, for we do not enter any house in which there are figures”
Scholarly editor’s note:
Its isnād (narration chain) is ṣaḥīḥ (authentic), and its narrators are reliable, recognized by the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhārī and Muslim].
Cited in Musnad Aḥmad (Hadith 8079) — ar-Risālah edition.
This narration, which is the strongest in al-Musnad about that event, reports that Jibrīl (ʿalayhi as‑salām) said:
This directly refutes those who rely on weak reports that add the claim of merely stepping on the pictures while leaving them intact. Such reports are unreliable. The authentic guidance requires either removing the heads or doing both removal and treading — stepping on them alone is an unauthenticated addition.
To clarify the reasoning behind the treading, one can consider a practical example: when someone tears images of a disliked person and casts them on the ground, stepping on them expresses rejection or anger. Some may even spit on the torn pieces.
This point is further reinforced by the Prophet’s (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa‑sallam) reaction to ʿĀ’ishah’s curtain decorated with pictures. Upon seeing it, he became visibly angry — his face reddened and ʿĀ’ishah was scared.
This occurred despite his long absence, her being the most beloved person to him, and using the curtain to decorate the house in welcome.
This demonstrates clearly that tasweer is harām, a grave major sin, that provokes anger in those who truly understand that, and has an excellent role model in the Prophet, ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam.
This should, inshā' Allāh, help understand clearer how ḥarām and grave tasweer is.
Also, to those who say only the face is ḥarām: See how the texts mention ripping apart, wiping, destroying, and so on.
Also, how angry the Prophet ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam gets due to pictures woven into fabric (how clear would they be?).
“Remove the heads from the curtain and convert it into a carpet or cushions to be stepped upon”.
This directly refutes those who rely on weak reports that add the claim of merely stepping on the pictures while leaving them intact. Such reports are unreliable. The authentic guidance requires either removing the heads or doing both removal and treading — stepping on them alone is an unauthenticated addition.
To clarify the reasoning behind the treading, one can consider a practical example: when someone tears images of a disliked person and casts them on the ground, stepping on them expresses rejection or anger. Some may even spit on the torn pieces.
This point is further reinforced by the Prophet’s (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa‑sallam) reaction to ʿĀ’ishah’s curtain decorated with pictures. Upon seeing it, he became visibly angry — his face reddened and ʿĀ’ishah was scared.
This occurred despite his long absence, her being the most beloved person to him, and using the curtain to decorate the house in welcome.
This demonstrates clearly that tasweer is harām, a grave major sin, that provokes anger in those who truly understand that, and has an excellent role model in the Prophet, ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam.
This should, inshā' Allāh, help understand clearer how ḥarām and grave tasweer is.
Also, to those who say only the face is ḥarām: See how the texts mention ripping apart, wiping, destroying, and so on.
Also, how angry the Prophet ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam gets due to pictures woven into fabric (how clear would they be?).