Question Summary:
i just wanted to know if it is permissible for children to play with dolls and keep them in your house, as i have heard from someone that when Hazrat Aisha R.A was a child she played with dolls. if it is not permissble then please can you state why?

Question Detail:

assalamualikum, i just wanted to know if it is permissible for children to play with dolls and keep them in your house, as i have heard from someone that when Hazrat Aisha R.A was a child she played with dolls. if it is not permissble then please can you state why? 

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
 
It is not permissible to have dolls in the house or to allow children to play with them. There are many Ahadith that have explicitly mentioned the impermissibility and punishment of having something that resembles a living being. The following Hadith is just one of many:
فقال ابن عباس لا أحدثك إلا ما سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول سمعته يقول ( من صور صورة فإن الله معذبه حتى ينفخ فيها الروح وليس بنافخ فيها أبدا ) .(صحيح البخاري، 2/53، الفكر)
The Prophet (SalAllahu Alayhi Wasallam) says: “One who makes an image (of a living being), surely Allah Ta’ala will punish him until he does not blow life into it and surely he will never be able to blow life into it.”
After such grave punishment is mentioned for one who makes images of a living being, how can it be permissible for one to posses such items and give them to their children to play with? The simple fact that the Prophet (SalAllahu Alayhi Wasallam) has forbade us from this is reason enough for us to refrain from having anything that resembles a living being.
As for the incident of Aishah (RadhiAllahu Anha) having dolls a group of Fuqahaa have mentioned that there is no clear explanation about how her dolls were. Therefore, it is very likely that her dolls did not have any obvious similarity to a real being. Rather, her dolls were void of any distinct features that resembled a living being.
A second group of Fuqahaa including Imam al-Bayhaqi has simply mentioned that this incident took place prior to the prohibition of images. Therefore, this incident cannot be used to sanction the use of dolls. Nevertheless, none of the Fuqahaa have given the permissibility of playing with dolls we find commonly these days. 
واحد( اشترى ثورا أو فرسا من خزف ) للأجل ( استئناس الصبي لا يصح و ) لا قيمة له ف ( لا يضمن متلفه وقيل بخلافه )
(رد المحتار، 5/ 226، سعيد)
(Fatawa Mahmodiya, 19/ 500-502, Farooqiyah)
(Ahsan ul-Fatawa, 8/ 201, Saeed)
وقد استشكل هذا الحديث بما روى من تحريم الصور. فقال بعض العلماء: إن قصة حديث الباب قبل تحريم الصور، وإليه مال البيهقي، وقال بعضهم: محل التحريم ما كان واضح الصورة، وما كانت تلعب به عائشة لم يكن واضح الصورة...
(تكملة فتح الملهم، 5/ 148، كراتشي)
قال القاضي فيه جواز اللعب بهن قال وهن مخصوصات من الصور المنهي عنها... وقالت طائفة هو منسوخ بالنهي عن الصور هذا كلام القاضي.
(سرح النووي على مسلم، 15/ 200، المعرفة)
فيه جواز اللعب بهن، وتخصيصهم من الصور المنهي عنها لهذا الحديث...وذهبت فرقة الى أنه منسوخ بالنهي عن الصور.
(شرح صحيح مسلم للقاضي عياض، 7/ 447-448، الوفاء)
 
And Allah knows best
Wassalamu Alaikum
Ml. Sajid bin Shabbir,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah