6 replies to this topic

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

What is the hair that it is permissible to remove and the hair that it is not permissible to remove?

Question :


I know that plucking the eyebrows is haram and removing facial hair is also but that we can remove hair above the lip and in between the eyebrows. What about the hair that comes between the hair line and the eyebrows down to the eyebrow?.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.  

Firstly:

With regard to removing hair or not removing it, the scholars divide hair into three categories:

1 – Hair which we are commanded to remove or shorten. This is known as Sunan al-Fitrah, such as removing the pubic hairs, trimming the moustache and plucking the armpit hairs. That also includes shaving or cutting the hair of the head during Hajj or ‘Umrah.

The evidence for that is the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ten (actions) are part of the fitrah [natural inclinations of man]: trimming the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the siwaak (tooth-stick), rinsing the nose with water, clipping the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the armpit hairs, shaving the pubes and washing oneself with water after relieving oneself.”

Zakariyya said: Mus’ab said: And I forgot the tenth but it may have been rinsing the mouth with water.  

Narrated by Muslim, 261

2 – Hair which we are forbidden to remove, which includes the eyebrows. The action of removing the hair of the eyebrows is called al-namas. It is also forbidden to remove the hair of the beard.

The evidence for that is the hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Allaah has cursed the woman who does tattoos and the one who has them done, the woman who plucks eyebrows (al-naamisah) and the one who has it done (al-mutanammisah), and the one who files her teeth for the purpose of beauty, altering the creation of Allaah.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5931; Muslim, 2125)

And it was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Be different from the mushrikeen: let your beards grow and trim your moustaches.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5892; Muslim, 259)

al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The naamisah is the woman who removes hair from the face and the mutanammisah is the one who asks to have that done. This action is haraam, unless a woman develops a beard or moustache, in which case it is not haraam to remove it, rather that is mustahabb in our view.

Sharh al-Nawawi li Saheeh Muslim, 14/106

3 – Hair concerning which the texts are silent and do not say whether it is to be removed or left as it is, such as hair on the legs, hands, cheeks or forehead.

There is some difference of scholarly opinion concerning this.  

Some said that it is not permissible to remove it, because removing it implies changing the creation of Allaah, as Allaah tells us that the Shaytaan said:

“ ‘and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allaah’”[al-Nisa’ 4:119 – interpretation of the meaning]

Some said that this is one of the things concerning which nothing was said, so the ruling is that it is allowed. It is permissible to leave it or to remove it, because whatever is not mentioned in the Qur’aan or Sunnah is permissible.

This was the view favoured by the scholars of the Standing Committee and by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen. See Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 3/879

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah:

(a)     There is no sin on a woman if she removes hair on her upper lip, thighs, calves and arms. This is not part of the tanammus (plucking) that is forbidden.

(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/194, 195)

(    The Committee was asked:

What is the Islamic ruling on plucking the hair between the eyebrows?

They replied:

It is permissible to pluck it, because it is not part of the eyebrows.

(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/197)

The Standing Committee was asked:

What is the ruling on a woman removing hair from her body?

They replied:

It is permissible for her to do that, apart from the hair of the eyebrows and head. It is not permissible for her to remove the hair of her head or to remove any part of the eyebrows, whether by shaving or any other means.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/194

We should comment on the questioner’s words “I know that plucking the eyebrows is haraam and removing facial hair is also.”

As for plucking the eyebrows, this is haraam and is a major sin, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed those who do it.

But as for removing facial hair, there is a difference of opinion among the scholars as to whether it is permissible to remove it. This is based on their various understandings of the word al-namas.

Some scholars said that al-namas means removing any facial hair, and they did not limit it to the eyebrows. Others were of the view that al-namas refers to removing the hair of the eyebrows only. This was the view favoured by the Standing Committee as is clear from the fatwas quoted above.

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah:

Al-namas means plucking the hair of the eyebrows, which is not permissible because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the woman who plucks eyebrows (al-naamisah) and the one who has it done (al-mutanammisah).

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/195

And Allaah knows best.



Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

Question :


I have come across various Islamic articles & write-ups that have spoken against shaving of hair on eyebrows amongst other areas of the body. I however need clarification on this does this shaving refer to TOTAL shaving? Am I allowed to reduce the amount of hair by mere shaping ? I have very bushy eyebrows that need trimming as it makes my face look crowded.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.  

We will quote for you the fatwas issued by the scholars concerning the ruling on removing hair from the eyebrows and hair from the rest of the body.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “If removing hair from the eyebrows is done by plucking, this is namas (plucking the eyebrows) and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the naamisah (the woman who plucks eyebrows) and the mutanammisah (the woman who has her eyebrows plucked). This is a major sin, and women are singled out in this ruling because they are the ones who usually do this, for the purpose of beautification, but if a man were to do it he would also be cursed, just as a woman is cursed for doing this, Allaah forbid.

If hair is removed from the eyebrows by a method other than plucking, such as by cutting or shaving, some of the scholars regard this as being the same as plucking, because it is changing the creation of Allaah, so there is no difference between plucking, cutting or shaving. This is undoubtedly more on the safe side, so a person must avoid that, whether man or woman.”

(Quoted from Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam, p. 577)

The following question was mentioned in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (5/196):

A young woman has very thick eyebrows that make her look bad. This girl was forced to shave part of the area between the eyebrows and to reduce the rest so that she will look acceptable to her husband.

The Committee replied:

“It is not permissible to shave the eyebrows or reduce then, because that is the namas (plucking) for which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who does it and the one who asks for it to be done. What you must do is repent and pray for forgiveness for what you have done in the past, and beware of that in the future.

Another question (5/195) was put to the Committee:

Namas means removing some of the hair of the eyebrows, and is not permitted, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the woman who plucks her eyebrows and the one who has that done, but it is permissible for a woman to remove a beard or moustache, if one grows, or hair from her legs or arms.”

The hadeeth which says that the woman who plucks the eyebrows or who has that done is cursed was narrated by al-Bukhaari (4886) and Muslim (2125), from the hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him).

The point is that it is haraam to remove any hair from the eyebrows, whether all the hair is removed by shaving, or some of it is removed by cutting. Anything apart from that is permissible, such as removing hair from the arms and legs, and the area between the eyebrows. The following appeared in Fataawa al-Lajnah (5/197):

Question: What is the ruling on plucking the hair between the eyebrows?

Answer: It is permissible to pluck it, because it is not part of the eyebrows.

And Allaah knows best.



Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

Women cutting their hair and removing facial hair

Question :


I am doing a project on Muslim women and would like to know what is the ruling concerning a Muslim’s hair. Is she allowed to cut it as much as up to her shoulder or not/ what about facial hair? Is it harem to get rid of it or not. Please answer and pray my imam is strong.

Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

We ask Allaah Almighty to increase you in faith and to make you content with the truth.

Your question includes two issues:

1 – the ruling on cutting women’s hair. Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

We do not know anything (to disallow) cutting women’s hair. What is forbidden is shaving it. You should not shave your hair but you may cut it and reduce its length or volume; we know of nothing wrong with that. But that should be done in a proper manner which will please you and your husband. You should come to some agreement with him on a kind of haircut that does not resemble kaafir women, because if you leave it long, it will be a lot of trouble to wash it and comb it. So if the hair is very long or thick, and the woman cuts it to reduce its length or volume, that doesn’t matter. Cutting some of it will make it more beautiful, which will please both the woman and her husband. So we do not know of any reason to disallow that. But shaving it altogether is not permissible, except in the case of sickness. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

See Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, part 2, p. 515

It was narrated in Saheeh Muslim that Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said: “The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” (al-Hayd, 320)

Al-Nawawi said: this indicates that it is permissible for women to cut their hair short.

But women should avoid resembling kaafir women or immoral women when they cut their hair

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan said:

It is not permissible for a woman to cut her hair short in the back and leave the sides longer, because this involves disfiguring and fooling about with her hair which is part of her beauty, and it also involves imitating the kaafir women. This prohibition also applies to haircuts which are named after kaafir women or animals, like the “Diana” cut, named after a kaafir women, or the “lion” cut or “mouse” cut, because it is haraam to imitate the kaafirs or to imitate animals, and because that involves fooling about with a woman’s hair which is part of her beauty.

Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 2/516,517

2 – Removing facial hair.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

With regard to hair which is abnormal, because it grows in places where hair does not usually grow, such as a woman having a moustache or hair growing on her cheeks, there is nothing wrong with removing this, because it is abnormal and is disfiguring to the woman.

The Standing Committee was asked about women removing facial hair, and they replied as follows:

It is OK for a woman to remove hair on the upper lip, thighs, calves and arms. This is not the same as plucking (eyebrows), which is forbidden.

‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/194, 195

The Standing Committee was also asked:

What is the ruling on a woman removing hair from her body; if it is permissible, then who is allowed to do that for her?

They answered:

It is permissible for her (to remove) everything except her eyebrows and the hair on her head; it is not permissible for her to remove those, or to remove anything from the eyebrows whether by shaving or any other means. She, her husband or one of her mahrams may do that for her, with regard to the parts of the body that they are permitted to see; or another woman may do that, with regard to the parts of the body that she is permitted to see

‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/194

The hair of the private parts and the thighs may not be seen by either another woman or a mahram.

It is forbidden for a woman to remove her eyebrows or part of them by any means, whether it be by shaving, cutting, using a depilatory substance, because this constitutes the plucking for which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who does it, i.e., the women who plucks all or part of her eyebrows, claiming that it is for the purpose of beautification, or the woman who does that for her. This is changing the creation of Allaah which the Shaytaan promised to enjoin upon the sons of Adam.

See the answer to Question No. 2162, 1172, 1192

See also al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah li’l-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, part 3, p. 877-879



Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)                    

[Paradise_lover]

                    Salam alikom

In general the sites I use for finding hadith, put it this way example:

Book 008, Number 3231:

Thus I would say those are the numbers of the ahadith.

Take care
Amira