Short answer
Yes. The Bible's own commandment forbids it. The commandment against images forbids making a carved image or likeness. Then it says, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them". Moses told Israel they saw no form of God (﷾) at Mount Horeb (Sinai), so they were to make no image. The prophets mock people who bow before what their own hands have made. Jesus prayed with his face to the ground, to God (﷾) alone, and the Gospels never show him using an image. Yet many churches are full of statues and icons of Christ, Mary and the saints, and people kneel before them. Islam's answer is to worship God (﷾) alone, with no image. A mosque has no pictures or statues of people or animals. Muslims face the Kaaba only as the direction God (﷾) set, and they bow to God (﷾) alone.
Full explanation
What the commandment forbids
The commandment against images is the second in the Jewish and most Protestant numbering. Catholics count it within the first. It has two parts. The first forbids making a carved image or a likeness of anything in heaven or on earth. The second forbids bowing down to such things or serving them. The Law repeats it: no standing image or image of stone to bow down to. The images of other gods were to be burned, not kept.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”
“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.”
“The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.”
Israel saw no form at Horeb
Moses explains why God (﷾) gave no image of Himself. God (﷾) spoke from the fire at Horeb, and the people saw no form of any kind. So they were not to make a likeness of a man or a woman, or of anything else. They were not to bow down to the sun, moon and stars. Every image of God (﷾) is something a human being has imagined.
“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.”
The prophets on bowing before made things
The Psalms say idols have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. Isaiah describes a man who burns half a tree to cook his food. He carves the rest into a god, falls down before it and prays to it. Isaiah also describes people who hire a goldsmith and carry the result on their shoulders. They cry to it, though it cannot answer them.
“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”
“Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.”
“They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.”
How Jesus worshipped
Jesus told Satan that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped and served. He taught that God (﷾) is a Spirit, to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. When he prayed, he fell on his face before God (﷾), as the Psalm calls people to bow and kneel before their Maker. The Gospels never show Jesus praying before an image. The First Letter of John closes with a warning to Christians to keep away from idols.
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
How Catholic and Orthodox Christians defend images
The Catholic Church teaches that the Second Council of Nicaea, a gathering of church leaders in 787, approved the veneration (deep respect) of icons. Icons are holy pictures of Christ, Mary, the angels and the saints. It holds that the honour given to an image passes to the person it shows. It calls this veneration, not the worship due to God (﷾). Christians add that God (﷾) Himself ordered golden cherubim (winged heavenly beings) and a bronze serpent. They also say that Christ is "the image of the invisible God". Critics said icons are not in scripture. The icons' greatest defender was John of Damascus, a monk and writer who died around 749. He answered that "the Trinity" and "consubstantial" (of one being) are not found in scripture in so many words either. He rested icons on unwritten tradition. Each point is answered below.
Teaches that the seventh ecumenical council, Nicaea II in 787, upheld the veneration of icons of Christ, Mary, the angels and the saints against the iconoclasts. It holds that this veneration does not break the commandment against idols, because the honour given to an image passes to the person it portrays, and it is a respectful veneration, not the adoration due to God alone.
“And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
Defending icons against the charge that they are unscriptural, John asks where the Old Testament or the Gospel speaks of the Trinity, consubstantiality, one Godhead or three persons in so many words, and argues that the Church holds many things by unwritten tradition, images among them.
Christians who reject images in churches
Not all Christians accept images. The Heidelberg Catechism of 1563 is a founding document of Reformed Protestants. It teaches that God (﷾) may not be pictured at all. It also rejects images in churches as books for the unlearned. God (﷾) teaches His people by His Word, not by images that cannot speak.
A Reformed Protestant catechism. It teaches that God cannot and may not be pictured in any way, and that images of creatures may not be made or kept in order to worship them or to serve God through them. Asked whether images may be allowed in churches as books for the unlearned, it answers no: Christians should not be wiser than God, who teaches His people by the preaching of His Word, not by dumb images.
What the Qur'an and the Prophet (ﷺ) taught
The Qur'an tells believers to shun idols and never to give God (﷾) partners. It says that on the Day of Judgement God (﷾) will ask Jesus whether he told people to worship him and his mother as gods. Jesus will answer that he only told them to worship God (﷾). It tells people not to prostrate to the sun or the moon, but to God (﷾) who created them. The Prophet (ﷺ) heard of a church in Ethiopia with pictures in it. He condemned, in the strongest words, the practice of building places of worship over good men's graves and putting pictures in them. So a mosque has no pictures or statues of living beings, and the art of the mosque turned to pattern and writing instead.
“Such (is the Pilgrimage): whoever honours the sacred rites of Allah, for him it is good in the Sight of his Lord. Lawful to you (for food in Pilgrimage) are cattle, except those mentioned to you (as exception): but shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false,- Being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to Allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place.”
“And behold! Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah'?" He will say: "Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. "Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.”
“Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve.”
Aisha reports that Umm Habiba and Umm Salama told the Prophet (ﷺ) of a church they had seen in Ethiopia with pictures in it. He said that when a righteous man died among those people, they built a place of worship over his grave and put those pictures in it, and that they would be the worst of creatures before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.
Do Muslims bow to the Kaaba?
No. Muslims bow to God (﷾) alone. They face the Kaaba because God (﷾) told believers to turn their faces toward the Sacred Mosque wherever they are (2:144). This keeps all Muslims praying in one direction. The Qur'an calls the Kaaba "My House", a house honoured as God's (﷾) and set apart for His worship. It is not a god. God (﷾) made a covenant with Ibrahim and Isma'il to sanctify it for those who worship there (2:125). It also says, "prostrate to Allah" (41:37). Muslims do not pray to the Kaaba. It is a building, not a likeness of anything, and neither is the Black Stone. Before 2:144 Muslims faced Jerusalem. The direction changed because God (﷾) commanded it (2:142-144), not because of any power in a building. Umar, a companion of the Prophet (ﷺ) and later the second caliph, kissed the Black Stone. He said he knew it was a stone that could neither harm nor benefit. He said he kissed it only because he had seen the Prophet (ﷺ) kiss it. Ibn Hajar, a hadith scholar of the fifteenth century, quotes al-Tabari, an early scholar of the Qur'an and history, to explain why Umar spoke so. Umar wanted no one to think the Stone has power of its own, as the pagans believed of their idols.
“We see the turning of thy face (for guidance to the heavens: now Shall We turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee. Turn then Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque: Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction. The people of the Book know well that that is the truth from their Lord. Nor is Allah unmindful of what they do.”
“The fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qibla to which they were used?" Say: To Allah belong both east and West: He guideth whom He will to a Way that is straight.”
“Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il, that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).”
“Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve.”
Al-Bara ibn Azib reports that after arriving in Madinah the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed facing Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months, until the direction of prayer was turned to the Kaaba.
Abis ibn Rabi'a reports that Umar came to the Black Stone and kissed it. Umar said that he knew it was a stone that could neither harm nor benefit, and that had he not seen the Prophet (ﷺ) kiss it, he would not have kissed it.
On Umar's words to the Black Stone, Ibn Hajar quotes al-Tabari: Umar said this because the people had only lately left the worship of idols. He feared that the ignorant would think touching the Stone was the veneration of certain stones that the Arabs practised before Islam. He wanted people to know that he touched it to follow the Prophet (ﷺ), not because the Stone benefits or harms by itself, as the pagans believed of their idols. The commentary adds that Umar's words refute the idea, held by some ignorant people, that the Black Stone has a special property of its own.
Point by point
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2131-2132
Teaches that the seventh ecumenical council, Nicaea II in 787, upheld the veneration of icons of Christ, Mary, the angels and the saints against the iconoclasts. It holds that this veneration does not break the commandment against idols, because the honour given to an image passes to the person it portrays, and it is a respectful veneration, not the adoration due to God alone.
Cited for
Christians do not worship images. They venerate them, and the honour passes to the person the image shows.
The response
The commandment does not only forbid worshipping an image as a god. It forbids the act itself: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them." Bowing down to a statue is that act, whatever name is given to it. The difference between veneration and worship is not in the commandment.
Where it lands — The commandment forbids bowing to an image, so renaming the bow does not keep it.
John of Damascus, Apologia against those who decry holy images, part III
Defending icons against the charge that they are unscriptural, John asks where the Old Testament or the Gospel speaks of the Trinity, consubstantiality, one Godhead or three persons in so many words, and argues that the Church holds many things by unwritten tradition, images among them.
Cited for
Icons are not named in scripture, but neither is the word Trinity. The Church holds teachings that rest on tradition, and icons rest on it too.
The response
A word like Trinity names a teaching. The commandment names an act and forbids it: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them." A tradition cannot contradict what the commandment says in plain words.
Where it lands — The commandment names the act of bowing to images, so tradition cannot cancel it.
Exodus 25:18 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 25, verse 18
“And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.”
Cited for
God commanded golden cherubim on the ark, so God does not forbid all images in worship.
The response
Exodus 20:4 forbids making "any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above". Exodus 25:18 orders golden cherubim, winged heavenly beings. The cherubim stood in the Most Holy Place, where only the high priest entered once a year. The Bible records no one bowing to them or praying to them. God's (﷾) order for particular objects in His sanctuary is not permission for people to make their own images and bow to them.
Where it lands — Whatever the cherubim were for, the Bible records no one bowing to them, so they give no warrant for kneeling before a statue.
Numbers 21:8-9 — Torah, Bamidbar, chapter 21, verses 8-9
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
Cited for
God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, and the people looked to it and were healed.
The response
The Bible also records what became of it. Centuries later the Israelites were burning incense to that serpent. King Hezekiah broke it in pieces. The serpent shows how a holy object becomes an object of worship.
Where it lands — The Bible itself records the serpent being destroyed once people worshipped it.
Colossians 1:15 — Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 1, verse 15
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
Cited for
Christ is the image of the invisible God. Because God became visible in Christ, He may be pictured.
The response
Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, calls Christ an image. He does not tell anyone to paint one or kneel before one. The New Testament gives no description of what Jesus looked like, so every picture of him is imagined. And Jesus himself sent all worship to God (﷾) alone, who is Spirit.
Where it lands — A title for Christ is not a command to make or bow to pictures of him.
Perspectives
Catholic and Orthodox
Images of Christ, Mary and the saints may be honoured. The honour passes to the person shown, and this veneration is not the worship due to God.
The Second Council of Nicaea (787) approved the veneration of icons. The Catholic Catechism holds that this does not break the commandment against idols.
Rebuttal
The Catechism states the Church's teaching. The commandment says, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them", and it does not separate veneration from worship. Jesus sent all worship to God (﷾) alone (Matthew 4:10).
God ordered golden cherubim and a bronze serpent. Christians take these to show that images may have a place in worship.
Rebuttal
God's (﷾) order for particular objects in His sanctuary is not permission for people to make their own images and bow to them. The Bible records no one bowing to the cherubim or praying to them. Israel later burned incense to the bronze serpent, and King Hezekiah broke it (2 Kings 18:4).
The Islamic perspective
Bowing before any image breaks the commandment Moses brought, and Jesus worshipped God (﷾) alone. The Prophet (ﷺ) warned against putting pictures in places of worship built over graves, and Islam kept worship free of images.
The commandment against images forbids both making a likeness and bowing down to it.
Israel saw no form of God (﷾) at Horeb, and so was forbidden to make any likeness.
The Psalms and Isaiah condemn falling down before objects made by human hands.
Jesus sent all worship to God (﷾) alone and prayed face down before God (﷾). He is never shown using an image.
Some Protestant churches themselves forbid images of God (﷾) and images in churches.
The Qur'an records that Jesus never told anyone to worship him or his mother.
Muslims face the Kaaba because God (﷾) commanded that direction, and they bow to God (﷾) alone.
Umar said the Black Stone can neither harm nor benefit, and kissed it only because the Prophet (ﷺ) did.
The Prophet (ﷺ) condemned places of worship built over good men's graves with pictures in them.