Plucking the Eyebrows and Cutting Hair for Women

Question:
The second letter received by the program came from the sister kingdom of Morocco. It was forwarded by one of the sisters from there, saying: Alif al-Maudan, the road of the Zinjir district. Our sister’s letter is actually long, and it contains two questions. The first question says: My honorable master, I ask: Is plucking the eyebrows and cutting hair for a woman forbidden or permissible, even though I go out covered and veiled from men?

Answer:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) the one who plucks and the one who has her hair plucked. The intended meaning is that the one who plucks and the one who has her hair plucked is the one who removes the hair of the face and the eyebrows. The scholars said that the meaning of plucking (lamṣ) is taking the hair of the face by shaving or pulling it out; this is what plucking is. If it is done to the eyebrows, it is more severe. Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to remove the hair of her eyebrows, nor the hair of her face, whether by shaving or by plucking. The reason for this is that, in reality, this action does not beautify her, but rather makes her ugly. However, it is the habit of Satan to obscure from people what harms them and what contradicts the Shari'ah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The conclusion is that it is not permissible for a woman to remove the hair of her eyebrows or the hair of her face, whether by shaving or by plucking. Rather, she should abandon that or refrain from it in obedience to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and out of fear of what He has forbidden.