Shaping/Trimming Eyebrows

[Laila]

I am not too sure about the shaping eyebrow thing. Is there a difference between actually removing hair and trimming? Actually, can someone explain to me about the concept of removing the eyebrows as being haram, i could never quite understand it. As you may know, nearly every woman shapes her eyebrows. So what do you guys think? I would really like educated answers with reliable (not all sites are accurate) sources, thanks.

I am really looking forward to Q & Mesbah's replies

[Laila]

The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) cursed the one who does the removing and the one who has it done.
The full hadith is narrated by Abdullah ibn Masud and recorded in al-Bukhari, kitab-ul-libaas.
A similar hadith with similar wording is recored by Abu Dawd on good authority.
Authentic scholars have therefore said that plucking of eyebrows is forbidden (haram).
Cutting/ shortening/ shaving of eyebrows is considered to be forbidden by some scholars and makruh by others. The difference of opinion on cutting/ shortening/ shaving eyebrows is due the difference in the exact meaning of the word namas itself.


Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thanks a lot for your question, which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to become well acquainted with the teachings of Islam in all aspects of life.

As for the issue of shaping one’s eyebrows, it is controversial among Muslim scholars. Some scholars consider it permissible to shape or trim one’s eyebrows if they are excessively long or thick for the purpose of appearing neat and tidy.

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding whether one is permitted in Islam to shape or trim one’s eyebrows.

According to a group of scholars, shaping one’s eyebrows is considered forbidden, and they cite the following statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Allah has cursed women who tattoo their bodies, wear false hair, those who pluck their eyebrows, and those who artificially widen gaps between their teeth.” They say that shaping the eyebrows or trimming them falls under the same rule.

As opposed to the above, other scholars consider shaping eyebrows or trimming them to be permissible. They say that the prohibition in the above hadith specifically refers to plucking eyebrows, and it is prohibited because it is akin to mutilation, and also it is more likely to result in defaming one’s face. As opposed to this, shaping the eyebrows if they are excessively long or thinning them if they are excessively thick, is enhancing Allah’s creation rather than mutilating it. Its analogy, therefore, is to trimming the mustache or cutting hair, and so on, which are not only permissible but may also be recommended.

In light of the above, according to these scholars, it is considered permissible to shape or trim one’s eyebrows if they are excessively long or thick for the purpose of appearing neat and tidy.

Oh okay, I have always been unsure and on the edge of the eyebrow thing.

[Laila]

^That bolded part has a pretty huge meaning. That does not mean you can trim it to look sexy, it is solely if its EXCESSIVE. Not for Fashion.

So why is it that nearly all of us women do so? I am not sure if you have noticed, but in a way our culture brings up the plucking eyebrow thing when a woman is mature and ready to marry.....i am not sure if anyone else has noticed that.

Back home, a young woman was not able to pluck her eyebrows. It was considered a 'sharam' and she could only do so when she was ready to marry or on her wedding night. Well at least from my knowledge. I know that does not have much to do with the topic, but its a point. Since it is 'haram' for the purpose of fashion, why wont our Muslim cultures accept that? There should not be a clash between religion and culture. I hope i am making some sense here

[darkwitch]

its a huge sin...nd may Allah forgive us all..

[king-zazai]

^Nice said.

Its Haram, now take it with a sad face.

dont try 2 convience her she just asked this question 2 talk sum more and 4 other weird reasons wat is halal is revelied to us and wat is haram is also revelied

[Master Khan]

well if you have bushy eyebrows then I guess you need to trim it to look normal.

[*Mahzala*]

MFD: There are three categories of hair removal that scholars have divided permissibility into. I won't go into so much detail with the other two, but try and keep the focus on which category the eyebrows fall under. And if you need Ahadeeth and evidenc, I can provide, for now, I want to make this short, so the message is sent.

The first category known as Sunan al Fitrah are the hairs we are commanded to remove or shorten such as pubic hairs, that of the armpit or shortning/removing the moustache. Removal of hair during Hajj and Umrah also falls under this category.

The second category is known as Al Namas. These are hairs we are forbidden to remove, and plucking of the eyebrows falls under this category. The basic reason here is that they are altering the creation of Allah for the purpose of beauty, and His curse is on those women who do so, either shaping their own, or doing it for others. As mentioned in an earlier post, creating gaps between teeth is also a cursed deed.

The third and final category is that which texts and scholars have often been silent about. It refers to hair of the the legs, hands, cheeks or forehead. There is difference of opinion with regards to this category, where some scholars argue it is not permissible as the same 'altering creation' argument applies, whereas other have said that, based on the general rule, as it is not mentioned in Quran and Sunnah, it is made permissible. I don't want to confuse you, you can read up on it in your own time if you wish.

I will also point out that the hair between the eyebrows is permissible to pluck, as it is not part of the eyebrows.

[Roshina]

Yes, it's haraam according to a hadith that has been debated since its beginning, a hadith in which the Prophet cursed a *prostitute* for shaping her brows.

I don't know if I should get into the whole hadith criticism deal right now, but I'm currently writing a paper on it so I'll post excerpts from that when I'm done with it, if I remember.

Hadith forbid pretty much EVERYTHING on women, and I'm not exaggerating when I said this. Just yesterday, I was writing a paper (for the same class -- Hadith) on contradictions in hadiths in terms of jihad and "war against non-Muslims." I mean, on the one hand, you're told, "The Prophet said to kill ALL non-Muslims, and although we had to give them warning and INVITE them to Islam in the early days of Islam, we didn't have to in the end before the Prophet's death. Therefore, we raised Khaybar and killed all its people and took the survivors as prisoners" (see, for instance, al-Muslim, the Book on Jihad, Book 19, hadith number 4292). I would give the page number of the book, but since they vary, there's no point.

So!!! :| Like, OMG! Compare that to what the Quran says -- "O' Prophet, your only job is to GIVE the message; you are not their guardian nor their protector" (verses like 16:82 but there are a tonnn more). Then we're also told there's NO compulsion in religion (2:256 -- one of the most cited verses in support of Islam's tolerance. By "Islam" here, I mean only the Quran, of course. I'm reading the entire books of al-Muslim and al-Bukhari (again, for my class, but also out of personal interest), and OHH MY GOD!!! The INHUMANITY in there!! Absolutely unacceptable and un-Quranic!!!)

Anyway, so for my paper, I had to read a ton of verses IN the Quran on Jihad and war against non-Muslims AND all the hadiths on killing non-Muslims, all of them but especially polytheists and Jews :S. And, yes, it's VERY true that the Quran itself is extremely tolerant and peaceful but it's the hadiths that our jihadists get their justifications from (including Maududi and Qutb and other Taliban-promoting "scholars" who hate the west so much that in their mind, anything related to the west is absolutely un-Islamic)

Also, there are MILLLLLLLLLIONS of hadiths that are SO against women that you'll feel like you're being dehumanized :S Woman is the source of fitnah (which is basically any type of chaos in society), she's supposed to pray in a closet (!!!), and when she's walking on the same road that men are walking on, she's supposed to be stuck right against the wall so as to make sure she doesn't touch against men! (At the moment, I'm not near my hadith books, but I'll show you these later. The only reason I remember the one on war is because of the papers I've had to write on it.)

Now, about your question on shaping eyebrows ...

Sweety, according to your misogynistic "Scholars of Islam," women SHOULD shape their eyebrows IFFFFFFF their husbands aren't attracted to them with bushy eyebrows :| But then again, according to the same sources, the Prophet supposedly said that if God had so willed, He would've made women bow down / prostrate to their husbands :| But He chose not to. You've NO idea of the amount of books (large, large volumes, in fact) that have been written on hadiths like this, statements that are SUPPOSEDLY declared by the Prophet but most likely were NOT. There are also a ton of Quranic justifications to refute these sick hadiths, mind you. (Again, I will share those later, ka khairee.)

Now, some folks are telling us that women can't shape their eyebrows EVEN IF the husband doesn't like it. Well, yeah, they better not.

So now ... the hadiths, you first have to ask, why would the Prophet (pbuh) curse anyone? :S (Yes, yes, according to other hadiths, he cursed Abu Jahl and Ashraf (the "evil genius of the Jews" who mocked Islam) and asked God to kill them!! No, I do not accept this hadith as authentic even if it has claimed so by "the scholars who matter." My Prophet didn't do that, thank you very much. He was not supposed to act on emotions and his own whims.) I mean, did he have a right to do that? Considering the kind personality that he had, does he REALLY seem the type to do such a thing? According to other hadiths, GOD cursed such women. But you see, the problem with making such statements is this:

What if they are taken out of context? Is it possible that the woman who was cursed had done something ELSE for which she was cursed and what God and/or the Prophet really said was that "Such and such woman did this -- and she had shaped eyebrows [that is just to tell you something about her, like how she looked or something]" and then the person who was listening completely took it out of context? That's VERY possible, actually. In fact, it's most likely the case.

Also, for those of us who put the hadiths above the Quran, remember that the only role of the hadiths is to *elaborate* on the Quranic teachings, NOT to ADD anything rulings to it. So if the Quran doesnt' tell you something is HARAAAM (a word you need to be VERY careful about), how dare you say it's haraam just 'cause some hadiths say?

We're also forgetting the hadiths that emphasize hygiene and well-grooming. Interestingly, what is consider well-grooming may change from time to time and society to society. So, obviously, if your eyebrows don't look clean and well-shaped when you don't take care of them, then you NEED to shape them. If they're naturally good, which is not the case for most women, then why bother with them.

Further, we need to look at all the things forbidden and try to make one conclusion about it. For instance, WHAT can we conclude about all the things that are forbidden? Are they harmful to us?

Oh, and ... umm.. you do know that while the same folks who tell you that trimming EYEBROWS is haraam, they won't tell you that circumcising FEMALES is haraam too! I mean, oh my God! Seriously?! Why the hell is THAT not haraam when my fixing my eyebrows when it poses NO harms to me OR to anyone else is haraam?

Gosh.

I'm not done with this topic, and I promise to be back soon, ka khairee. But I've a class to go to now! :D So :D

[Roshina]

There is difference of opinion with regards to this category, where some scholars argue it is not permissible as the same 'altering creation' argument applies, whereas other have said that, based on the general rule, as it is not mentioned in Quran and Sunnah, it is made permissible.

They really say it's not in the Sunnah? ... But there are at least 2 hadiths that I know of that are translated to "trimming/shaping/removing the hair from eyebrows"...

I will also point out that the hair between the eyebrows is permissible to pluck, as it is not part of the eyebrows.

But that's still removing hair, regardless of its location. I mean, if the (unconvincing) argument is that the REASON eyebrow-plucking is haraam is that one's removing hair and (supposedly) "thereby altering God's original creation," then aren't we "altering God's creation" by removing hair from ANY place of our body, including that between the eyebrows?

Or is the argument that because the text says "eyebrows," it should be taken LITERALLY without any reasoning or thought over it and therefore it only means eyebrows and nothing else unless also specified?

We're focusing on the specifics when perhaps the principles are more important.

[Dinosaur Khan]

Sense of Beauty is in nature of Girl, if trimming eyebrows make her look beautiful then i dont understand why it should be haram. but mullahs know better than me whether It is haram or halal.

[*Mahzala*]

They really say it's not in the Sunnah? ... But there are at least 2 hadiths that I know of that are translated to "trimming/shaping/removing the hair from eyebrows"...

Qrratu, that part was a different category altogether. Yes, there are Hadiths about the types of women who are cursed and one of the types are those who pluck their eyebrows. What I was referring to though was the hair of other parts of the body that are not in the first two categories which are the ones we are supposed to remove and the second; the forbidden. What I meant, and what you misunderstood is that it is these hairs that the Shariah hasn't said anyhing about. And the general rule is: If Shariah does not say anything about a certain matter, it is permitted (Hadeeth). Thus removing the hair of other parts is permitted.

But that's still removing hair, regardless of its location. I mean, if the (unconvincing) argument is that the REASON eyebrow-plucking is haraam is that one's removing hair and (supposedly) "thereby altering God's original creation," then aren't we "altering God's creation" by removing hair from ANY place of our body, including that between the eyebrows?

No, I don't think of it that way. The other parts we remove are for personal hygiene/cleanliness, as with some parts, our Wudhu/Salaah/Ibadah are not accepted if they are in their 'original' state. The eyebrows issue arises from the women who plucked theirs during the Jahilliyah age, who completely shavd them off and often drew a line instead or plucked them very thin (Iranian style). It was forbidden when Islam came. It might make it easier if I ask: have you ever plucked your eyebrows? Or even simpler, done something for beauty purposes and looked in the mirror and said" Wow, I've done a good job, or this looks good. Ever been there? I feel it is that feeing that the 'altering' God's Creation argument comes from. It might make it even easier if I said to you that putting a stone of any kind in one's tooth for women is permitted in Islam - only, however - if only her Mahram's see it. I am not by any means suggesting that if only your Mahram was to see you, your eyebrow plucking practice can be justified, no. What I am getting at is the 'other locations' which we remove hair from can be justified by a husbands request do so etc. Get my drift?

Sense of Beauty is in nature of Girl, if trimming eyebrows make her look beautiful then i dont understand why it should be haram. but mullahs know better than me whether It is haram or halal.

It's not what the Mullahs have said. In fact if it were up to them, they would have made many things lawful. Aghoy sara khpel de khete gham dai bas, agha worta marha wosaata, bas zaye de wogate.

[Roshina]

So I wonder a couple of things ...

So far, it seems that the woman may trim/shape her eyebrows if they're too bushy or thick. Now, who defines thick? When she fixes them, WHO decides how "un-thick" they should be?

Also, they say that "trimming eyebrows is AKIN TO MUTILATION"! SERIOUSLY? ... What about forbidding the circumcision of FEMALES (which hadiths don't do mind you, and the 4 Hanafi scholars even say it is *honorable* for a female to be circumcised :S)?

I can't believe we're comparing shaping eyebrows to "mutilation"! Wow.

AND they say that it's *plucking* that's haraam, not other type of hair-removal techniques. But, hell, WHY? :S I mean, either way, you're removing your hair, and each person might have her own personal preference.

One more thing ... I hope we note that removing hair from OTHER parts of the body is perfectly acceptable and Islamic (in fact, it's even strongly recommended to do so). Why is this? What's the difference? If removing hair from eyebrows is seen as changing the creation of God, how is removing hair from other areas NOT seen the same way?

Soooo, yeah, if everything's about being natural and all, then why not be consistent?

Also note that what the hadith says:

“Allah has cursed women who tattoo their bodies, wear false hair, those who pluck their eyebrows, and those who artificially widen gaps between their teeth.”

But, but, but, what about MEN who wear false hairs, tattoo their bodies, remove hair from certain body parts, and artificially widen gaps between their teeth?

Gosh.

Yeah, if someone can find me a hadith that's more equal to both women and men (I mean, seriously, widen gap between teeth?? Why just women? Or tattooing one's body? Men do it, too, k?), I'll appreciate it.

[king-zazai]

So I wonder a couple of things ...

So far, it seems that the woman may trim/shape her eyebrows if they're too bushy or thick. Now, who defines thick? When she fixes them, WHO decides how "un-thick" they should be?

Also, they say that "trimming eyebrows is AKIN TO MUTILATION"! SERIOUSLY? ... What about forbidding the circumcision of FEMALES (which hadiths don't do mind you, and the 4 Hanafi scholars even say it is *honorable* for a female to be circumcised :S)?

I can't believe we're comparing shaping eyebrows to "mutilation"! Wow.

AND they say that it's *plucking* that's haraam, not other type of hair-removal techniques. But, hell, WHY? :S I mean, either way, you're removing your hair, and each person might have her own personal preference.

One more thing ... I hope we note that removing hair from OTHER parts of the body is perfectly acceptable and Islamic (in fact, it's even strongly recommended to do so). Why is this? What's the difference? If removing hair from eyebrows is seen as changing the creation of God, how is removing hair from other areas NOT seen the same way?

Soooo, yeah, if everything's about being natural and all, then why not be consistent?

Also note that what the hadith says:

“Allah has cursed women who tattoo their bodies, wear false hair, those who pluck their eyebrows, and those who artificially widen gaps between their teeth.”

But, but, but, what about MEN who wear false hairs, tattoo their bodies, remove hair from certain body parts, and artificially widen gaps between their teeth?

Gosh.

Yeah, if someone can find me a hadith that's more equal to both women and men (I mean, seriously, widen gap between teeth?? Why just women? Or tattooing one's body? Men do it, too, k?), I'll appreciate it.

cause allah has given women more beauty and yes tatoo is also haram 4 guys 2 and also its a shame how u dont accpet the prohets(saw) and question every single word khuda tobahh allah help ppl like u y this y this y this so u think u no better than the hloy prohet????? men and women r equal but not in everything get this threw ur thick ugly head

[Roshina]

^ ~raises an eyebrow~

Okay.

LOL.

[Roshina]

How dare you talk to one of our most respected PF members like that.

most importantly to a lady, Show respect to her.

Thanks a tonnn for your support, Kandahary! Lest he shall start attacking your views, too, now, lol.

But don't worry about it, khair dey. With the sort of language this guy has used in many threads, I'd think he would get more serious warnings, and if he ignores them, then I'd hope he's banned. BUT I'm also thinking we should let him stay on here and not ban him because there's a chance he might learn how to behave more properly by being in a community with at least some people who at least know how to respond to disagreements. Kho let's see. If he doesn't learn to watch his language, we can compile all of his abusive posts (where he's said some really disgusting and threatening things to at least one member) and have the Admin do something about it.

Clearly, just warning some people -- or reminding them that they're in a forum with humans, not beasts -- isn't enough.