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Fatwa CenterEntering a house that contains pictures related to Hinduism
Question
I have a non-Muslim tutor. On select days of the week, I have to go to his house to study. My teacher is Hindu. His house has a picture of someone who might be some important figure in Hinduism, I do not know. I do not know if they worship this person. What I wish to know is if it is permissible to go to this teacher if my alternatives are not good? Would I be committing shirk (polytheism) if I stayed?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
There is no harm on you in entering and sitting in this person’s house with the presence of that picture, especially in case of a need for going to him. You are not committing shirk by staying in his house. Ibn Qudaamah 
said:
"It is not prohibited to enter a house containing images; rather, it is permissible to refuse an invitation to someone’s house if it contains images because of the existence of such images therein. The host's right to having his invitation accepted by his fellow Muslims is waived as a punishment given the prohibited items in his house. A guest is not obliged to leave the house of the host upon finding images therein according to the preponderant scholarly view adopted by Imaam Ahmad. Al-Fadhl ibn Ziyaad narrated that he (Imaam Ahmad) said, 'If he (a guest) sees pictures on the drapes that he did not see when he entered, then the matter is less stringent than if they were on the wall.' He was further asked, 'What if the guest did not see the pictures except after the table, on which food is served, is spread for him; should he leave?' He answered, 'Do not make things difficult for us! If he saw such pictures, he should advise and reproach the hosts and forbid such an act.' This means that he is not obliged to leave the house. This is also the view of (Imaam) Maalik, who believed that such an act is non-prohibitively disliked (makrooh tanzeehan) and not forbidden." [Al-Mughni]
Allaah knows best.
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