Question #306:
Is it permissible to keep newspapers at home, even though it is not being read. Rather it is being used as table spread during meals and for other cleaning purposes.
Answer :
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Iftāʾ was asked:
Q: What is the ruling on pictures found in newspapers and Islamic magazines? Is it permissible to possess and keep the photos taken as mementos without hanging them on the wall?
A: It is not permissible to keep the photos taken as mementos, but they should be wiped out, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to ʿAlī (may Allāh be pleased with him):
Spare no portrait unwiped out, and leave not a high grave unlevelled. Related by Imām Muslim in his Saḥīḥ (authentic) Book of Ḥadīth
As for the pictures found in a book, a magazine, or a newspaper which you need to keep, you could just wipe out and deform them. May Allah grant us success.
May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muḥammad, his family, and Companions.
Ash-Shaykh Ibn Bāz raḥimahullāh was asked:
Q: I am a secondary school student. My hobby is to read, so I subscribe to many Islamic, cultural and military magazines. Some of these magazines, rather most of them, contain photos of human beings. I keep these magazines in my private library, though I know many of the Ḥadīths regarding Muṣawwirs (ones who make pictures and statues, or photographs of living beings) and that angels do not enter the home in which there is a dog or a picture. Kindly, point out clearly this question to me!
A: There is nothing wrong with keeping books, newspapers, and useful magazines even though they include pictures. But if the pictures are of women, they should be removed, and if they are pictures of men, it is sufficient to remove the head, acting upon the Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) Ḥadīth reported in this respect.
Compiled by: ʿAbd an-Nūr al-Hindī