I am a painter and I paint cityscapes and scenery that does not have any living being in it such as people, animals or any other thing.
I just paint sea, sky, buildings, flowers etc. With the intention that Allah is the only creator and how beautiful he has made the world.
Will my earning from selling these paintings be considered halal?
According to the majority of the scholars, it is permissible to draw anything that is non-living and does not have a soul.
لا بأس بتصوير الأشياء التي يصنعها البشر، كصورة المنزل والسيارة والسفينة والمسجد وغير ذلك اتفاقا
There is nothing wrong with making images of things that are made by man, such as homes, cars, ships or mosques etc. This is agreed upon.
لا بأس بتصوير الجمادات التي خلقها الله تعالى - على ما خلقها عليه - كتصوير الجبال والأودية والبحار، وتصوير الشمس والقمر والسماء والنجوم، دون اختلاف بين أحد من أهل العلم، إلا من شذ
There is nothing wrong with images of inanimate things that Allah has created, such as images of mountains, valleys and seas or images of the sun, moon, sky and stars. There is no difference on this except rare exceptions.
جمهور الفقهاء على أنه لا بأس شرعا بتصوير الأعشاب والأشجار والثمار وسائر المخلوقات النباتية، وسواء أكانت مثمرة أم لا، وأن ذلك لا يدخل فيما نهي عنه من التصاوير. ولم ينقل في ذلك خلاف، إلا ما روي عن مجاهد أنه رأى تحريم تصوير الشجر المثمر دون الشجر غير المثمر
According to the majority of the jurists, there is nothing wrong with images of grass, trees, fruits and all plants, be they fruit bearing or otherwise. There is no difference of opinion recorded on this except the narration regarding Mujahid, that he considered images of fruit bearing trees to be forbidden
This is because several of the hadith that prohibit images are specific to images of beings with souls. For example:
إنها ثلاث لن يلج ملك ما دام فيها أبدا واحد منها: كلب أو جنابة أو صورة روح
There are three things, such that when one of them is with you no angel will enter upon you: a dog, janabah, an image of a living thing
And the hadith that says that a person would be told to give a soul to the image they made. This implies that the image of something that originally does not have a soul would be permitted:
من صور صورة في الدنيا كلف يوم القيامة أن ينفخ فيها الروح
Whoever makes a picture in this world will be asked to put life into it on the Day of Resurrection
And the hadith where Gabriel told the Prophet to deform a statue so that it looks like a tree. This implies that the image of a tree is permissible as that form was retained:
فمر برأس التمثال الذي بالباب فليقطع فيصير كهيئة الشجرة
So order the head of the image which is in the house to be cut off so that it resembles the form of a tree
Anything man-made was permitted to make in the first place, so making an image of it is also permitted.
In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
Answer: You can only make unanimated things as per the Hadith:
Hadith -Bukhari 4:47, Narrated 'Aisha
I stuffed for the Prophet a pillow decorated with pictures (of animals) which looked like a Namruqa (i.e. a small cushion). He came and stood among the people with excitement apparent on his face. I said, "O God’s Apostle! What is wrong?" He said, "What is this pillow?" I said, "I have prepared this pillow for you, so that you may recline on it." He said, "Don't you know that angels do not enter a house wherein there are pictures; and whoever makes a picture will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and will be asked to give life to (what he has created)?"
The main reason for prohibition is that it is like if you want to copy God. See the Hadith:
Abu Hurayrah (may God be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "God, may He be exalted, says: 'Who does more wrong than the one who tries to create something like My creation? Let him create a grain of wheat or a kernel of corn.'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari)
Ibn `Abbas said to a man whose profession was picture making that:
”If you insist on making pictures I advise you to make pictures of trees and any other unanimated objects.”
Sources:
