Islamic Verdict on Drawing Living Creatures via AI

1. Traditional Rulings on Drawing Living Beings

• Classical scholars often prohibited drawing animate beings (humans and animals), especially if the image had a complete body and facial features, citing hadiths such as: “Those who will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers.”
  — (Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim)
• The rationale was linked to imitation of Allah’s creation and fear of idolatry (shirk), especially in an era where images and statues were worshipped.
• Some scholars allowed drawing as long as:
  • The figure is incomplete and can not sustain life (missing head, face, or significant organ, portrait).
  • It’s for educational or functional purposes (e.g., medical, scientific).

Summary Verdict

Drawing living creatures using AI is permissible in Islam, according to most modern scholars, as long as the content is halal, the intention is clean, and the images are not used for haram purposes.

This aligns with the permissibility of digital animation and imagery already accepted by many in the modern Islamic scholarly community based on Umum al-Balwa.

2. AI and the Nature of Creation

AI-generated art is different from traditional hand drawing in a few ways:

• Humans do not draw directly; instead, they input prompts, and a machine generates images based on data.
• The creator may not fully control the final output.

So, scholars today consider:

• Is the user creating or simply using a tool?
• Is it mubah (permissible) because it’s not handcrafted?
• Does it fall under tasweer (image-making) in the hadith sense?

3. Contemporary Scholarly Opinions

In the contemporary scholarly view, where digital images and animations of living beings are permissible, using AI to generate such images is also generally permissible, with a few ethical and Shariah-related guidelines.

Why It’s Considered Permissible:

1. No Direct Hand-Creation:
   • The user does not draw the creature by hand; rather, they input prompts or descriptions, and the machine produces the image.
   • This makes the process one step further removed from traditional image-making that classical scholars warned against.
2. Analogy with Animation and 3D Modelling:
   • If it’s permissible to use software like Photoshop or Blender to create humans/animals, then using AI tools like Midjourney or DALL·E is functionally similar, even easier.
3. Absence of Idolatry Risk:
   • AI-generated images are not made for worship or veneration, which was a central concern in classical prohibitions.
4. Widespread Use in Permissible Fields:
   • AI images are used in:
     • Education (e.g., biology diagrams)
     • Marketing/Branding
     • Islamic storytelling
     • Children’s books and cartoons
     • Art therapy and creativity
   • As long as the content and purpose are halal, the tool is neutral.

4. Conditions and Ethical Limits

Even when allowed, scholars emphasize that AI usage must follow Islamic ethics:

1. Avoid Nudity or Indecent Depictions
   • No drawing humans/creatures in a way that promotes shamelessness.
2. No Mocking of Religious Symbols
   • Avoid creating images that disrespect prophets, angels, or Islamic symbols.
3. No Worship or Sanctification
   • AI-generated beings must not be treated with reverence like deities or saints.
4. Avoid Deception
   • Don’t use realistic AI images to deceive people or fabricate false events.

5. What is Umūm al-Balwā?

ʿUmūm al-Balwā (عُمُوم البَلوى) is an important concept in Islamic legal theory (usūl al-fiqh), especially used by jurists when dealing with contemporary issues or when issuing legal concessions (rukhsah).

Meaning of ʿUmūm al-Balwā

Literal meaning:

• “ʿUmūm” = general or widespread
• “Balwā” = affliction, difficulty, or hardship

So, ʿUmūm al-Balwā means:

“A widespread difficulty or affliction that is hard for people to avoid.”

Juristic Usage

In Islamic law, ʿUmūm al-Balwā refers to:

A situation or hardship that has become so common and widespread among people that it becomes difficult to avoid, and thus the Shariah may allow a relaxation or exemption from a general rule in that specific case.

Examples of Application

1. Touching private parts during medical procedures or childbirth:
   In normal circumstances, touching ‘awrah (private parts) is haram. But in modern medical practice, this becomes ʿUmūm al-Balwā, and jurists allow it due to necessity and widespread need.
2. Use of impure substances in trace amounts in industrial products:
   Sometimes, very small quantities of impure substances are used in food or medicine due to modern processing. Scholars may tolerate it under ʿUmūm al-Balwā if avoiding it is too difficult and the substance is transformed (istihala).
3. Contact with non-mahram in unavoidable public settings:
   In workplaces, airports, hospitals, etc., brief interactions with non-mahrams may be tolerated where avoidance is nearly impossible — though with conditions like maintaining modesty.
4. Wudu with tap water from uncertain pipes:
   In large cities, the water may pass through rusty or impure pipes, yet it’s hard to avoid — so scholars may give ease under ʿUmūm al-Balwā.

Limits to ʿUmūm al-Balwā

• It does not justify every hardship — only those that:
  • Are truly widespread
  • Are difficult or impossible to avoid
  • Do not contradict clear and strong evidence from Qur’an or Sunnah
• Scholars use it carefully and usually in conjunction with other legal maxims, like:
  • “Al-mashaqqah tajlib at-taysir” – Hardship brings ease
  • “Ad-darurat tubih al-mahzurat” – Necessity makes the forbidden permissible

In Summary

ʿUmūm al-Balwā is a legal principle that allows jurists to ease certain rulings when a hardship becomes common and unavoidable, so long as it doesn’t contradict clear texts or bring greater harm.

It reflects the flexibility and mercy in Islamic law — always rooted in preserving people’s deen and wellbeing.

Excellent question — applying ʿUmūm al-Balwā (عُمُوم البَلوى) to the use of AI-generated images of living beings is a valid angle, especially for those who may still hold reservations about image-making (taswīr). Let’s explore how this legal maxim fits in:

6. How ʿUmūm al-Balwā Applies to AI Image Generation

In short:

Because creating or encountering digital images of living beings has become so common and unavoidable in daily life, especially in education, media, design, and communication, many scholars apply the principle of ʿUmūm al-Balwā to allow their use and even generation through AI.

a. Digital Images Are Widespread and Necessary

• In today’s world, images of living beings are everywhere: websites, textbooks, IDs, health apps, animations, games, etc.
• Avoiding them entirely is nearly impossible, especially in professional, creative, or educational fields.
• AI-generated images are now becoming a standard design tool, not a form of artistic pride or idolization.

This fits the ʿUmūm al-Balwā criterion: a hardship that is widespread and hard to avoid.

b. AI Images Are Not Traditional Taswīr

• Classical image-making involved drawing by hand with artistic intention, often resembling creation.
• AI generation is automated, non-intentional, and often abstracted — the user does not “create” like a painter; they prompt a tool.
• It’s more like data visualization or design output.

The legal analogy with taswīr is already weak — and ʿUmūm al-Balwā strengthens the permissibility.

c. Scholars Already Apply Similar Reasoning in Other Areas

Examples where ʿUmūm al-Balwā is applied today:

• Photography and video (even of people/animals) are generally permitted.
• Digital ID photos, passport photos, or school books with drawings of humans are all allowed — despite being images of living beings — because life now demands them.
• Animation in children’s Islamic education (cartoons, e-learning) is also justified similarly.

If photography and digital animation were made permissible via ʿUmūm al-Balwā, AI-generated images can follow the same route.

So What’s the Verdict?

Under the principle of ʿUmūm al-Balwā, generating images of living creatures through AI is permissible when:

• The images are not made for haram purposes (e.g., idolatry, porn, deception)
• The images are functional, educational, or aesthetic in permissible settings
• Avoiding such tools would cause undue hardship in fields like media, design, marketing, and education

This doesn’t give a blanket license, but it recognizes the necessity and ubiquity of digital imagery today — allowing scholars to give legal ease where it matters most.

Allah knows best.

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