What is the Ruling of using IMO for Video Calling?
Answered by our Shaykh, the ‘Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu ‘Abdirrahmān Yahya bin ‘Ali Al-Hajūri – may Allāh preserve him – on the 21st, Dhūl-Hijjah, 1441H
Question:
The calling (app) which is called IMO with voice and video, what is the ruling on it? May Allāh bless you.
Answer:
This calling app instead of you taking a picture of him and him taking a picture of you from close, they advanced in it until it became from far, according to the connection and oscillation, so you are taking picture of him and him of you, you are looking at his picture and he is looking at yours with speaking and conversating, so in this is picture making, and in the hadith:
“ولعن المصور“
“And he cursed the picture maker.”
And he said:
“إن الذين يصنعون هذه الصور يعذبون يوم القيامة، ويُقال لهم أحيوا ما خلقتم“
“Verily those who make the likes of these pictures will be punished on the day of Judgement and it will be said to them give life to that which you created..”
And he said:
يخرج عنق من النار له لسان ينطق وعينان يبصر بهما، يقول: وكلت بكل جبار عنيد، وبمن دعا مع الله إله آخر، والمصورين
“A neck will come out of the fire with a tongue that speaks and two eyes that see, it will say I have been entrusted with every haughty tyrant and those who call on another diety besides Allāh and the picture makers.”
So avoid this; for verily it is his picture, and it should not be said that this is not the picture of so and so, from near or far, for if he took a picture of him from many meters away, (it) is like the one who took a picture of him from many kilometres away, a picture is a picture.
Question: And does the ruling differ if this app stores the video call or not?
Answer: It is a picture, if it wanted to store it it would store it.
Transcribed to Arabic by Abūl-Majd bin Muhammad (may Allāh reward him with good)
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi
Click on the link to view the Arabic: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/7583