AI GENERATED IMAGES: THE SHARĪ'AH PERSPECTIVE

By

Ustadh Olatunji Ibrahim

Lately, I have been seeing different AI images of beings with a soul flying around amongst even people who are students of knowledge. I personally think many of this people must have used the AI images of beings with a soul because they did the Qiyās(analogy) of it not different from a PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE which some of our scholars like Shaykh Ibnu uthaymeen, Luhaydān, Abdurrahman Abdulkhāliq have permitted. While some others just got carried away by the blues forgetting the statement of the prophet "Seeking knowledge is compulsory upon every Muslim" "طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم".

A'lī bn Shaqeeq said he ased A'bdullahi bn Al-mubārak about the meaning of the narration and He said : It is the knowledge which he must possess whenever he intends to approach anything, he mustn't do it until he asks about.

قال علي بن الحسن بن شقيق، قال: قلت لابن المبارك: ما الذي لا يسع المؤمن من تعليم العلم إلا أن يطلبه؟ وما الذي يجب عليه أن يتعلمه؟ قال: لا يسعه أن يقدم على شيء إلا بعلم، ولا يسعه حتى يسأل.

 Many of us lately don't pay attention to this, we just extrapolate what we used to know and assume we have done the right thing.

Scholars who permitted photographic pictures based their argument on the fact that THE IMAGE IS ACTUALLY OF THE HUMAN OR THE BEING WITH A SOUL BEING SNAPPED AND NOT A NEW CREATION. 

يقول ابن عثيمين رحمه الله: الصور الفوتوغرافية الذي نرى فيها، أن هذه الآلة التي تخرج الصورة فوراً، وليس للإنسان في الصورة أي عمل، نرى أن هذا ليس من باب التصوير، وإنما هو من باب نقل صورة صورها الله عز وجل بواسطة هذه الآلة، فهي انطباع لا فعل للعبد فيه من حيث التصوير، والأحاديث الواردة إنما هي في التصوير الذي يكون بفعل العبد ويضاهي به خلق الله، ويتبين لك ذلك جيداً بما لو كتب لك شخص رسالة فصورتها في الآلة الفوتوغرافية، فإن هذه الصورة التي تخرج ليست هي من فعل الذي أدار الآلة وحركها، فإن هذا الذي حرك الآلة ربما يكون لا يعرف الكتابة أصلاً، والناس يعرفون أن هذا كتابة الأول، والثاني ليس له أي فعل فيها....

Note the emboldened words, it wil be important in making the separation between AI generated images and photographic images.

Shaykh Abdurrahman bn Abdulkhāliq said photographic images are similar to a man standing in front of a mirror and as such it is not an imitation of the creation of Allah because THE IMAGE IS ACTUALLY THAT OF THE CREATION OF ALLAH.

Now, to give a ruling on AI generated images, we need to understand what it is.

الحكم على شيء فرع عن تصوره.

An AI image generator is a sophisticated tool that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to create images from textual descriptions or prompts. These generators analyze the input text and generate corresponding visual representations, ranging from realistic photographs to abstract artworks.

Basically, you tell the application to create the image of a being of your choices of height,skin colour, head size.....and there you have it. 

Game lovers will understand this better, I remember the years of playing PS1 and there is a stage where you can build your own players, you give them their speeds, height, skin colour....

YOU ARE BASICALLY CREATING ANOTHER CREATION OF YOUR OWN DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF ALLAH. And as such, we don't apply the same difference of opinion amongst scholars on photographic pictures on AI generated images.

Allah the most said in a narration Abu Hurayrah reported from the prophet which he reported from his lord:

Who is more unjust than the one who tries to create a creation(beings with a soul) like mine?! I challenge them to create a a life small ant, or a wheat grain or barley grain (which will be palatable to them).

And who can withstand the challenge of Allah?!

عن أبي هريرة قالَ اللَّهُ عزَّ وجلَّ: ومَن أظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ ذَهَبَ يَخْلُقُ كَخَلْقِي، فَلْيَخْلُقُوا ذَرَّةً أوْ لِيَخْلُقُوا حَبَّةً أوْ شَعِيرَةً. صحيح البخاري.

May Allah give us the strength and piety to abstain from it and all that are Impermissible.

I will like to mention that whenever we want make use of AI generated images for educational purposes or forensic purposes as the case maybe except when the head is important in case of a criminal on the run, we shouldn't put the head, as such it becomes just like trees and other beings without a soul. This is based on the principle The head is the image. 

 الصُّورَةُ الرأْسِ ، فإذا قُطِعَ الرأسُ فلَا صُورَةَ

This was taken from a statement Al-imaam Al-bayhaqī reported from A'bdullahi bn Al-a'bbās.

Also, the command of angel jibril to the prophet when he soul a screen on the door of the prophet having an image with a soul. He said :command that the head is cut, and as such it becomes like the form of a tree.

قال فمر برأس التمثال يقطع، فيصير كهيئة الشجر .

I will also like to mention the statement of Ashaykh Muhammad bn Ibrahim Āl-shaykh:

"Some of those who permit photographic images claim that it is similar to the appearance of a face in a mirror or other polished surfaces, but this is false. If the reflection of the image in the mirror or other polished surfaces disappears, the photographic image remains on paper and other surfaces, stable and unchanged. Associating it with hand-drawn images is clearer, more evident, and more authentic than associating it with the reflection of an image in a mirror or other polished surfaces. Thus, photographic images and the appearance of an image on polished surfaces differ in two aspects: first, stability and permanence..."

وقد زعم بعض مجيزي التصوير الشمسي أنه نظير ظهور الوجه في المرآة ونحوها من الصقيلات، وهذا فاسد، فإن فقدت المقابَلة ظهور الصورة في المرآة ونحوها بخلاف الصورة الشمسية فإنها باقية في الأوراق ونحوها مستقرة، وإلحاقها بالصور المنقوشة باليد أظهر وأوضح وأصح من إلحاقها بظهور الصورة في المرآة ونحوها.

 فإن الصورة الشمسية وبُدو الصورة في الأجرام الصقيلة ونحوها يفترقان في أمرين: أحدهما: الاستقرار والبقاء....

Wallahu a'lam.