The young man says that he is twenty years old and about to enter married life, but what disturbs my life is that there are black spots on my face.
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The questioner : The young man says that he is twenty years old and about to enter married life, but what disturbs my life is that there are black spots on my face called "mole" (khal) in large numbers, but some of them are noticeable and draw attention to me. I have been exposed to the mockery of some people, especially the small ones or children who laugh at me, so how about the adults? Therefore, you will find me withdrawn into myself and immersed in thought. Finally, I decided to remove some of them, and they are two. Is there anything wrong with this? What is the ruling if I remove them in a surgical operation? I hope you will guide me to the correct solution. Please accept my sincere greetings and respect.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. Changing the creation of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is of two types: a type intended for beautification and a type intended to remove something bad. As for what is intended for beautification, such as plucking the eyebrows, tattooing, and filing the teeth. Plucking the eyebrows is pulling out the hair of the face, and tattooing is piercing the skin with black or green color or similar decorations that we see on the hands or faces of some people. Filing the teeth is grinding them down.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : To beautify them, or to reduce their size, or similar things. The apparent, indeed explicit, meaning of the texts is that this is forbidden, indeed it is among the major sins, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed its doer. The second type is on the path of removing what is harmful or a defect. So there is no harm in this, indeed the Sunnah indicates that some of it is required, as in the hadith of the Sunan of Fitrah, such as trimming the nails, trimming the mustache, and circumcision. Indeed, this is in reality the removal of things that are harmful and that sound natural dispositions find repulsive.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the Shari'ah has come with the request to do them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is of that type. Indeed, I say it is of another type that becomes permissible if things that are harmful occur in a person and he wants to remove them, as this questioner mentioned regarding these spots that the common people call "khal" or "mole."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So there is no harm in a person removing them, even by undergoing an operation, if safety is predominant in performing this operation. For this reason, the Shari'ah commanded the treatment of diseases and their like in the prescribed manner. There is no doubt that these physical bodily defects are a type of disease.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, if they are not a disease that affects the body by weakening its strength, they are a psychological disease, because a person is greatly distressed by them, as this brother who asked mentioned. So we say there is no harm in performing the operation to remove these things, on the condition that safety is predominant and the benefit of the operation is predominant in appearance.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
This message came from Abu Hamd. He says: Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. And after that.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. Changing the creation of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is of two types: a type intended for beautification and a type intended to remove something bad. As for what is intended for beautification, such as plucking the eyebrows, tattooing, and filing the teeth. Plucking the eyebrows is pulling out the hair of the face, and tattooing is piercing the skin with black or green color or similar decorations that we see on the hands or faces of some people. Filing the teeth is grinding them down.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : To beautify them, or to reduce their size, or similar things. The apparent, indeed explicit, meaning of the texts is that this is forbidden, indeed it is among the major sins, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed its doer. The second type is on the path of removing what is harmful or a defect. So there is no harm in this, indeed the Sunnah indicates that some of it is required, as in the hadith of the Sunan of Fitrah, such as trimming the nails, trimming the mustache, and circumcision. Indeed, this is in reality the removal of things that are harmful and that sound natural dispositions find repulsive.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the Shari'ah has come with the request to do them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is of that type. Indeed, I say it is of another type that becomes permissible if things that are harmful occur in a person and he wants to remove them, as this questioner mentioned regarding these spots that the common people call "khal" or "mole."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So there is no harm in a person removing them, even by undergoing an operation, if safety is predominant in performing this operation. For this reason, the Shari'ah commanded the treatment of diseases and their like in the prescribed manner. There is no doubt that these physical bodily defects are a type of disease.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then, if they are not a disease that affects the body by weakening its strength, they are a psychological disease, because a person is greatly distressed by them, as this brother who asked mentioned. So we say there is no harm in performing the operation to remove these things, on the condition that safety is predominant and the benefit of the operation is predominant in appearance.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
This message came from Abu Hamd. He says: Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. And after that.