(47) باب فِي الصُّوَرِ
Narrated Abu Talhat al-Ansari:
I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: The angels do not enter a house which contains a dog or a picture. Zaid b. Khalid al-Juhani said to Sa'id b. Yasar al-Ansari, the transmitter of this tradition: Go with me to 'Aishah, Mother of Faithful, so that we ask about it. So we went and said to her: Mother of Faithful, Abu Talhah has transmitted to us a tradition so-and-so. Have you heard the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioning that ? She replied: No but I tell what I saw him doing. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went on an expedition and I was waiting for his return. I got a carpet which I hung as a screen on a stick over the door. When he came I received him and said: Peace be upon you, Messenger of Allah, His mercy and His blessings. Praise to be Allah Who gave you dominance and respect. Then he looked at the house and saw the carpet; and he did not respond to me at all. I found (signs of) disapproval in his face. He then came to the carpet and tore it down. He then said: Allah has not commanded us to clothe stones and clay out of the sustenance He has given us. She said: I then cut it to pieces and made two pillows out of it and stuffed them with palm fibre, and he did not disapprove of it to me.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4153
In-book reference: Book 34, Hadith 134
English translation: Book 33, Hadith 4141