Question
> I create YouTube Shorts using one or more AI-generated images. I animate the images with simple effects such as slight zoom, fade, and transitions. I use a sound from YouTube Shorts' official "Add Sound" library. The sound contains no musical instruments, no beats, no background music, and no female voice. It contains only a male voice with Islamic content, such as praise of Allah, His Messenger (peace be upon him), or other Islamic reminders. I use the sound only through YouTube's official "Add Sound" feature as permitted by YouTube. Is creating and publishing such videos halal or haram according to Islam? Please provide evidence from the Qur'an and authentic Hadith.
Islamic Ruling & Answer
Verified1. 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 (แนฃuwar dhฤt al-arwฤแธฅ). The Hanafi jurists have discussed this matter in detail. Authentic hadiths contain a severe warning regarding making images of living beings. For example:
ุฅูููู ุฃูุดูุฏูู ุงููููุงุณู ุนูุฐูุงุจูุง ููููู ู ุงููููููุงู ูุฉู ุงููู ูุตููููุฑูููู
"The people who will receive the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection are the image-makers."ยป
(Sahih al-Bukhari: 5950; Sahih Muslim: 2109)
Similarly, the Prophet ๏ทบ said:
ุฅูููู ุงููู ูููุงุฆูููุฉู ููุง ุชูุฏูุฎููู ุจูููุชูุง ููููู ุตููุฑูุฉู
"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 scholarsโparticularly the scholars of Darul Uloom Deoband, Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Binori Town, and numerous other contemporary muftisโinclude 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 effectsโsuch as slight zoom, fade, or transitionsโand 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 ๏ทบ (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 elementsโnot 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
Answered by
Mufti Tosif Qasmi
June 30, 2026
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