Regarding the Sharia ruling on drawing portraits, Dr. Rajab Abu Maleeh gives a brief summary of the scholarly views on it as thus:
‘Things that have no living soul including trees, buildings, whatever they may be, etc., are permissible to be drawn without a disagreement among Muslim scholars. As for that which has a living soul including human beings and animals, there is a disagreement concerning drawing them as long as this drawing does not take the form of a statue, which is also unanimously forbidden.’