Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Those toys which are made

of wool are not considered to be images, because they do not have a

head apart from a piece of wool, and it does not have the features of

the face such as eyes, nose, mouth or ears. If an image does not have

a head or any facial features, it is exempt from the ruling prohibiting

images.

Even if we assume that it

is an image, this does not mean that all images are permitted. Rather

it is an exemption from the prohibition for a legitimate shar’i purpose,

which is to teach girls how to care for babies and to develop maternal

feelings in their hearts, in order to prepare them for the future.

Most of the scholars have

exempted the making of girls’ toys from the prohibition on making images

and statues. This is the view of the Maalikis, Shaafa’is and Hanbalis.

Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad narrated that most of the scholars said that this is

permissible, and he was followed in that by al-Nawawi in his commentary

on Muslim. He said: “Exempted from the prohibition on making images

that have a shadow are things that are used as toys for girls, because

of the exemption that was narrated concerning that. This means that

it is permissible, whether they are toys in the shape of people or animals,

three-dimensional or otherwise, and whether they are supposed to represent

real animals or not, such as a horse with wings…

The majority of scholars quote

as evidence for this exemption the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah

be pleased with her) in which she says:

“I used to play with dolls in the house

of the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him). I had friends who used to play with me. When

the Messenger of Allaah (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came in, they would hide themselves,

then he would call them to join me and play with me.”

According to

another report, she said that the Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from the battle

of Tabook or Khaybar, and there was a curtain in her alcove. The wind

blew and lifted the curtain, showing some dolls with which ‘Aa’ishah

was playing. He said, “What is this, O ‘Aa’ishah?” She said, “My daughters.”

Among them he saw a mare with wings made of leather.” He said, ‘And

what is this that I see in the midst of them?” She said, “A mare.” He

said, “What is this on it?” She said, “Wings.” He said, “A mare with

wings?” She said, “Have you not heard that Sulaymaan had a horse with

wings?” She said, the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled so broadly that I

could see his eyeteeth.

The Maalikis,

Shaafa’is and Hanbalis interpreted this as an exemption for making toys

because of the necessity of educating girls in how to bring up children.

This interpretation is obvious if the toy is in the form of a human,

but it is not obvious if it is in the form of a horse with wings. Hence

al-Haleemi used this report and others to support his argument. He said:

“There are two benefits of that in the case of girls, one immediate

and one which comes later. The immediate benefit is that they have fun,

which is one of the most effective means of child development. If a

child is well taken care of and feels happy and content, his development

will be stronger and better. That is because joy energizes the mind,

which in turn energizes the soul, and that has an effect on the body

and produces physical strength. The benefit which is seen later on is

that through that (play), the girls learn how to deal with children,

love them and feel compassion for them, and that becomes second nature

to them, so that when they grow up and see for themselves the things

they used to play at, they will find that the compassion they used to

play at is something very real indeed. Ibn Hajar quoted in al-Fath

from someone who thought that making toys was haraam, and that it had

been permitted at first but was then abrogated by the general prohibition

on making images. He responded by noting that the abrogation could have

been the other way round and that the permission to make toys came later,

on the grounds that in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased

with her) about her toys, there is the indication that this happened

at a later date, because it mentions that this happened when the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) came back from Tabook. So the apparent meaning is that

it happened later on. (al-Mawsoo’ah

al-Fiqhiyyah – Maaddat al-Tasweer)