Is Creating YouTube Shorts With AI Images and Voice-Only Islamic Audio Halal?

1. AI-Generated Images and Simple Animation

If the images used depict living beings (humans or animals), then this falls under the issue of images of animate beings (ṣuwar dhāt al-arwāḥ). The Hanafi jurists have discussed this matter in detail. Authentic hadiths contain a severe warning regarding making images of living beings. For example:

إِنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْمُصَوِّرُونَ

 "The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection are the image-makers."»

(Sahih al-Bukhari: 5950; Sahih Muslim: 2109)

Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ said:

 إِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ لَا تَدْخُلُ بَيْتًا فِيهِ صُورَةٌ

"The angels do not enter a house in which there is an image."

(Sahih al-Bukhari: 3225; Sahih Muslim: 2106)

Based on these narrations, the Hanafi jurists have ruled that making images of living beings is impermissible. However, contemporary Hanafi scholars differ regarding modern digital images. Many leading Hanafi scholars—particularly the scholars of Darul Uloom Deoband, Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Binori Town, and numerous other contemporary muftis—include digital images within the general prohibition mentioned in these hadiths as a matter of precaution. Other contemporary scholars distinguish digital images from traditional printed images.

Therefore, if a video contains AI-generated images of living beings, there is a recognized difference of opinion among contemporary Hanafi scholars. As a matter of precaution, it is better to avoid such images, especially when the Islamic purpose can be achieved without them. However, images of inanimate objects such as landscapes, mosques, Islamic calligraphy, the sky, mountains, and similar subjects are not included in this prohibition.

2. Applying Simple Animation Effects (Zoom, Fade, and Transitions)

If the animation consists only of technical effects—such as slight zoom, fade, or transitions—and does not create new lifelike movements (such as walking, speaking, or bodily motion), then these effects are not independently prohibited. Rather, their ruling follows the ruling of the underlying image itself.

3. Using an Islamic Audio from YouTube's "Add Sound" Library

If the audio contains:

- no music,

- no musical instruments or beats,

- no unlawful content,

- no female voice used in a melodious manner,

- and consists only of a male voice reciting the praise of Allah, praise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (within the limits of Shariah), Qur'an, supplications, or Islamic reminders,

then listening to or using such audio is not inherently impermissible. The ruling depends on the content of the audio and the absence of prohibited elements—not on the fact that it comes from YouTube's official "Add Sound" library.

4. Using YouTube's "Add Sound" Feature

If YouTube officially permits the use of the sound through its designated "Add Sound" feature, and its use does not violate anyone's copyright or legal rights, then there is no separate Shar'i prohibition in using it on that basis.

References

- Sahih al-Bukhari: 3225, 5950, 5954, 7557

- Sahih Muslim: 2106, 2107, 2109

- Al-Durr al-Mukhtar by Allama al-Haskafi

- Radd al-Muhtar by Allama Ibn Abidin

- Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah