Is it permissible to buy phone cards with pictures of women on them?

Question: 19229

There is a brother who has a phone store, and he has some doubts about the money he earns through this store. He sells phone cards for cell phones or land lines on which there are pictures of women in make up or young men. Is the money that he gets from that halaal? Please note that there are other kinds of cards which do not have any pictures of people on them, so should he avoid the first kind?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

It is not
permissible for the companies that produce phone cards to put pictures of
women on them, and it is not permissible for printers to print these cards,
because these pictures degrade women and make them like products to be
marketed, and because they are a source of temptation for young men who may
be provoked and tempted into doing evil deeds.

With regard
to the one who buys these cards to sell them, if the image is what the
purchaser wants and he will keep it, then it is not permissible to buy them
or sell them. If the image is not what is wanted and the card will
eventually be thrown into the trash, then it is permissible to buy them and
sell them.

Most of
these cards are bought to be used for phone calls, not because there are
pictures on them.

If he can
erase the picture or remove it without affecting the sale, then he should do
that. If he can find other cards which have no pictures, then he should not
ignore them and buy the first kind, rather he and others should refrain from
buying them; perhaps not buying them will put pressure on them and they will
stop putting pictures of women on these cards.

See also the
answer to question no: 44029

For
information on the fatwas on making pictures of women and on women’s
pictures in magazines, please see the answer to questions no.
47244,
3107 and
7636.

And Allaah
knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

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