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Fatwa CenterWhy the angels do not enter a house where there is a dog or a picture
Question
my question is on the hadith that house in which pictures are hung and dogs are kept, angels dont enter that house. I want to know why??.if this is the case how come ppl die in many houses which has pictures and angel of death shouldnt come inside then.is this hadith authentic??.the other doubt i have is that why salah is not accpeter if one wears clothes which has an image of living creature on it say for example a horse.in what way it makes sense.why are plants an exception even they are livng beings.i heard that on the day of judgement we will be told to give life to them since we imitated gods creation. suppose if i draw a pic that doenst mean that i want to immitate allahs creation. kindly explain may allah reward you
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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
The narration that clarifies that the angels do not enter a house where there is a dog or a picture is an authentic narration which is reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim 
and it is mentioned in Fatwa 88213. Since the narration is authentic, then a Muslim person should submit himself and be pleased with it even if he does not know the wisdom thereof. If he knows the wisdom, he should be more certain about it.
The scholars may seek the wisdom behind the angels not entering a house with a dog or a picture therein, however, it cannot be authoritatively asserted that what they mentioned is the very wisdom except with evidence.
For instance, An-Nawawi 
said that it is due to that being an act of disobedience, or due to dogs eating impure food, or because having a dog and pictures at home is imitating the non-Muslims or for other reasons. Anyway, it is authentic that there is a prohibition in this regard whether or not the wisdom is known.
As regards the misconception of the angel of death and other angels entering the house where such things exist, then the answer lies in what As-Safaareeni from the Hanbali School of jurisprudence, and others said, that the angels meant in the narration are the angels of Blessings and Mercy. As regards the angel of death and the angels who are appointed to record our deeds, then the narration does not apply to them, as they never leave the human being.
With regard to performing the prayer while wearing clothes which contain pictures, then this is disliked; the evidence and wisdom for this is clarified in Fatwa 90506.
Concerning the exception of trees and the like, then this is due to the evidence in this regard and this is mentioned in Fatwa 83249. Even though these things have a life, it cannot be said that they have a soul. It is for this reason that Ibn 'Abbaas 
said: "If you must make a portrait of anything, then let it be a tree or what does not have a soul."
If a person draws a forbidden picture, he is imitating Allaah's creation whether or not he intends to imitate, so such pictures are forbidden in any case.
Finally, we would like to emphasize again that a person is obliged to totally submit himself to the religious texts, and not contradict it by one's own reasoning, because our minds are not able to realize all the wisdoms of the Islamic legislation.
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