Is editing photos of non-hijabi women or male students for social media halal?
Halal and Haram · Ahle Hadith / Salafi
Question
I am a girl.
I am currently working as an Assistant Press Secretary at the Girls’ Computer Programming Club of Daffodil International University. As part of my responsibilities, I sometimes have to edit photos of female students who are not wearing hijab/purdah and add the club’s logo to those photos. These edited photos are eventually posted on the club’s social media platforms by the Press Secretary, not by me.
I have a few questions regarding whether these responsibilities are permissible in Islam:
I do not personally post any of these pictures on social media. I only edit them as part of my assigned responsibilities, and the Press Secretary eventually posts them on the club’s social media platforms. Is my involvement in editing these pictures permissible in Islam, even though I know that they will eventually be posted on social media?
If I only edit pictures of male students and add the club’s logo, and these pictures are eventually posted on the club’s social media platforms, would my involvement in editing them be permissible in Islam?
I have also edited banners containing pictures of male teachers. These banners are eventually used publicly, and the related content may also be posted on social media. Although I did not place the order for printing the banners myself, I collected them from the printing shop afterward. Is my involvement in editing and collecting these banners permissible in Islam?
From an Islamic perspective, are these activities permissible for me, or would participating in such tasks be considered helping in something sinful, especially since the edited content is eventually published on social media?
I would like to understand whether I am doing anything impermissible through these responsibilities and what I should do in such situations.
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Answer
Wa ʿalaykum al-salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
We praise Allāh that you are concerned about the halāl and harām nature of your work. This is a sign of taqwā. May Allāh increase you in knowledge and steadfastness.
Summary Answer:
Your involvement in editing photos of non-hijabi women (even if you do not post them) is not permissible because you are directly facilitating the public display of women’s beauty (‘awrah) to men, which is a major sin. Editing photos of male students or male teachers for public/social media is also not permissible for you as a woman, because it involves looking at non-mahram men and facilitating their images being viewed by others, which leads to fitnah. Collecting banners with such images is likewise impermissible if you know their content. You must resign from these specific tasks or from the role entirely if you cannot avoid them.
Detailed Ruling with Evidence
1. Editing photos of non-hijabi women (even if you don’t post them)
Ruling: Harām (impermissible).
Evidence:
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Allāh says:
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornment except what normally appears.” (An-Nūr 24:31)
The majority of scholars (including the four imams) interpret “what normally appears” as the face and hands, but only when there is no fitnah. However, when a woman’s photo is published publicly, it becomes a means of fitnah, and the one who facilitates that publication shares in the sin. -
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever calls to guidance, he has a reward like the rewards of those who follow him, without detracting from their rewards in the least. And whoever calls to misguidance, he has sin like the sins of those who follow him, without detracting from their sins in the least.” (Muslim, no. 2674)
By editing these photos, you are directly enabling the Press Secretary to post them. Even though you don’t press “post,” you are the one who prepares the image for publication. This is helping in sin and transgression, which Allāh explicitly forbade:
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Al-Mā’idah 5:2) -
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymeen (رحمه الله) was asked about a person who works in a studio and edits photos of women. He replied:
“It is not permissible for him to do that, because it is helping in sin. Even if he does not take the photos himself, editing them and preparing them for publication is a form of cooperation in sin.” (Fatāwā Nūr ʿalā al-Darb)
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Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله) said:
“Publishing pictures of women – whether in magazines, on the internet, or on social media – is harām, because it leads to fitnah. The one who prepares these images, even if he does not publish them, is a partner in the sin.” (Silsilat al-Hudā wa al-Nūr, no. 700)
Conclusion: Your knowledge that these photos will be posted makes you a direct facilitator of sin. Your intention is not enough to make it halāl.
2. Editing photos of male students (non-mahram men)
Ruling: Harām for you as a woman.
Evidence:
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Allāh says:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze…” (An-Nūr 24:30)
And He says to women:
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze…” (An-Nūr 24:31)
This command applies to both genders. Looking at non-mahram men with desire is harām, and even without desire, it is a means of fitnah. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The eyes commit zina, and their zina is the look.” (Bukhārī, no. 6243; Muslim, no. 2657) -
Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) was asked about a woman who works in a media company and has to look at images of men. He replied:
“It is not permissible for her to look at non-mahram men, whether in person or in pictures, because that leads to fitnah. She must avoid such work.” (Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Bāz, 24/413)
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Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān (حفظه الله) said:
“A woman looking at pictures of non-mahram men is harām, just as a man looking at pictures of non-mahram women is harām. This is because the picture conveys the same fitnah as the real person.” (Al-Muntaqā min Fatāwā al-Fawzān, no. 2/123)
Conclusion: Even if the men are fully clothed, the act of a woman looking at them and preparing their images for public viewing is a means of fitnah and is impermissible.
3. Editing banners with male teachers and collecting them from the print shop
Ruling: Harām for the same reasons as above.
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You are looking at non-mahram men (the teachers) while editing.
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You are facilitating the public display of their images.
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Collecting the printed banners is also part of the facilitation, even if you didn’t order them. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The one who helps in a sin and the one who commits it are equal in sin.” (Reported by Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, and authenticated by al-Albānī in Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah, no. 1870)
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Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:
“Whoever helps in a sin, even by a small action, is a partner in it. This includes the one who prepares the means, the one who transports, the one who prints, and the one who distributes.” (Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 28/132)
4. General principle: Is it “helping in sin” if you don’t post it yourself?
Yes. The principle is that any action that facilitates a harām act is itself harām, even if you do not complete the final step. This is based on the Qur’ānic verse:
“And do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Al-Mā’idah 5:2)
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said:
“If a person knows that his action will lead to a sin, and he does it anyway, then he is a partner in that sin. For example, if he sells grapes to someone who will make wine, or he rents his property to someone who will use it for harām, then he is sinning.” (Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 29/307)
Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said:
“The one who helps in sin is like the one who commits it, if he knows that his help will lead to that sin.” (Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn, 3/120)
5. What should you do?
- Resign from these specific tasks immediately. Explain to the club that your religious beliefs prevent you from editing or handling images of women without hijab or of non-mahram men.
- If the club insists that you must do these tasks, then resign from the position entirely. It is not permissible to remain in a job that requires you to commit sin. Allāh says:
“And whoever fears Allāh – He will make for him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect.” (At-Talāq 65:2-3)
- If you can negotiate to only do text-based editing, coding, or administrative work that does not involve images of people, then that is permissible. But you must avoid any task that involves looking at or preparing images of non-mahram men or non-hijabi women.
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymeen (رحمه الله) said:
“If a person is forced to do harām work, he must leave it, even if he loses his job. Allāh will replace it with something better. Patience and taqwā are the keys to provision.” (Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, 2/345)
Final Advice
Dear sister, your concern shows that your heart is alive with īmān. Do not let the pressure of a university club or the fear of losing a position push you into sin. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever leaves something for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will replace it with something better.” (Aḥmad, no. 23074; authenticated by al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, no. 6290)
May Allāh grant you a halāl means of earning and keep you firm upon the truth.
And Allāh knows best.