The Representation of God in Islam and Its Prohibition: Strategies Used by Iranian Children When Asked to Draw God

Abstract

Traditionally, the act of drawing, and specifically drawing God and the prophets, is forbidden in Islam. No verse in the Qur’an indicates a prohibition against drawing in general; however, Muslim scholars do interpret some verses of Qur’an and other prophetic writings as prohibiting the representation of God. In this research, I tested the degree to which children are conscious of this prohibition by asking them to draw God. We collected over 3000 drawings from six cities in Iran. The participants ranged in age from 7 to 14 years. Here, I explore religiosity in the context of contemporary Iran, and present my findings describing various strategies used by Iranian children to accomplish the task of drawing God. Only nine children used the words “sin” or “not permitted” in their descriptions. I found that as participant age increased, so did the likelihood that the participant would indicate that he/she could not draw God, giving reasons such as “God is supreme, incomparable, and beyond imagining,” or, “God is not able to be drawn.” My findings show that children demonstrate increased awareness of this prohibition as they age; this increased awareness potentially reflects a parallel increase in exposure to Muslim teachings on this topic.