Monday 03/November/2025 – 10:12 PM
Dr. Hani Tammam, professor of jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, said that there is a clear difference between a statue that is worshiped other than God Almighty, and a statue that is considered a witness to a nation’s civilization, history, and achievements, explaining that Islam does not fight civilization or beauty, but rather fights polytheism and worship of other than God only.
Al-Azhari: The Companions kept the antiquities of Egypt and none of them called for their demolition
Tamam added during television statements: “When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered Mecca, he broke the idols because they were worshiped instead of God and in the Sacred House of God. As for the honorable companions, when they entered Egypt and saw the pyramids, statues, and ancient civilization, they kept them, and it was not reported that any of them called for their breaking, because they knew that what was meant by them was not worship, but rather admonition and respect.”
Tamam continued: “Are we today more understanding of the religion of God than the Companions?! These honorable companions lived in Egypt and coexisted with its antiquities. Rather, they respected them and did not see them as polytheism, because they represented human heritage and a great history that demonstrated the genius and strength of this people for thousands of years.
The professor of jurisprudence at Al-Azhar pointed out that strong evidence of this sophisticated understanding is what we see in the Sidi Abi Al-Hajjaj Al-Aqsari Mosque, which is located in the heart of a Pharaonic temple, as it is considered a unique model of the intermingling of civilizations, and in which saints and scholars throughout the ages prayed, without anyone denying the existence of these inscriptions or statues, because their goal was not worship, but rather to highlight the beauty of architecture and the splendor of human creativity.
Tamam explained that the Holy Qur’an itself indicated the legitimacy of the presence of statues in places other than places of worship, citing the Almighty’s saying regarding our master Solomon, peace be upon him: {They make for him whatever he pleases of sanctuaries and statues} [سبأ: 13] This is clear evidence that if statues are for art, preaching, and highlighting cultural achievements, then there is nothing wrong with them according to Islamic law.
He stressed that Islam is a religion of awareness and understanding, not a religion of ignorance and fanaticism, explaining: “Our problem today is that some people have extreme audacity in issuing judgments, declaring infidelity and innovation, as if they are interfering in divine affairs, even though religion is much broader and more welcoming than that.”
