Is it permissible for a woman to remove the hair from her legs?

The questioner : Is it permissible for a woman to remove the hair from her legs?

The Shaykh : No, because that is altering the creation of Allah. In fact, the one who does that is cursed by the explicit text of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) This hadith is among the few in which the ruling is accompanied by the reason. Most of the rulings of the Shari'ah come from Allah without us knowing what the purpose is or what the wisdom is? But this one is accompanied by the wisdom or the cause for which these women deserve this curse from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). That is His saying (peace be upon him): And this phrase actually gives us a jurisprudential point that many scholars overlook, let alone others. For example, some say that the forbidden plucking is only in the eyebrows. This is undoubtedly a restriction that contradicts both the language and the Shari'ah at the same time. Because *namus* (plucking) in language is on the pattern of *natf* (plucking) in both word and meaning. *Namus* is *natf*, and *natf* is not specific in the Arabic language to one place over another. Therefore, as you know, it came in a hadith: , among them: , so plucking the armpit is *namus*. Thus, *namus* is *natf* and *natf* is *namus*. Therefore, in the books of language, *namus* is defined as *natf*. It is not said that *namus* is specific to the eyebrows. Yes, and this reason confirms it. If a person or a woman, for example, started by plucking her cheeks, we would ask why? For the same reason that the other plucks her eyebrows. What is the reason? Adornment and beautification. Okay, the Messenger said: ; so there is no difference between a woman who plucks between her eyebrows or thins her eyebrows and another who plucks her cheeks. Each of them does that to herself seeking beauty, so she is altering the creation of Allah for beauty, and she falls under the general text and the reason of those who alter the creation of Allah for beauty. This is what is derived after understanding *namus* in its general linguistic meaning. What is also derived is the reason that came at the end of the hadith. For example: the question mentioned earlier, which is the woman who plucks the hair from her legs. We ask why? The answer is certainly for beauty. She is included in the curse because the Messenger says at the end of the hadith: What is also derived from this legal reason is that she may not shave, she may not pluck, but she may shave. Some people may stop at the word *namus* and say that the Wise Lawgiver cursed the plucker but did not curse the shaver, so they distinguish between the plucker and the shaver, forbidding the former and permitting the latter. The response to them and the answer is:

The questioner : The reason.

The Shaykh : There is no difference between the two matters for the mentioned reason. Why does this one shave the hair on her legs? For beauty. So she falls under the curse. Now we have *namus* and we have shaving. If a person gets involved and says: "It was forbidden to pluck but not forbidden to shave," the answer is the legal reason mentioned in it. We have a third thing that is neither *namus* nor shaving, which is medicine. A medicine that is applied to the leg with a known ointment, and the hair falls out like this. This is not *namus* nor shaving. And unfortunately, it has reached us that some scholars say this is permissible because it is not *namus*. And I think he did not notice the legal reason upon which the hadith is based. And what is derived from this reason is the answer to a question, which is: What is the ruling on those who pluck? Also, the one who stands rigidly at the word *namus* and does not give this ruling to the shaver will also say that this ruling is specific to women. So if men do it, men have no relation to this ruling? We say: Understand the legal reason. Why were the pluckers cursed? For altering the creation of Allah. What is the difference between a woman who thins her eyebrows and a man who thins his eyebrows?

The questioner : A man is even more so.

The Shaykh : What is the difference between a woman who plucks her cheeks and a man who plucks his cheeks? There is no difference. And another thing known to us all is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) permitted women from adornment what He forbade for men. So if something was forbidden for women as adornment, it is even more so that this adornment is forbidden for men. And if it was forbidden for them to adorn themselves by plucking, then the prohibition of that for men is even more so. This is if the phrase at the end of the hadith were not explanatory. How much more so is it, when it explicitly and strongly indicates that men are like women in this ruling because they do it to alter the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And if we remember this fact, we remember a wonderful hadith that the Messenger (peace be upon him) disapproved of, even though it did not involve altering the creation of Allah, but rather covering the creation of Allah, and there is a great difference between the two. And yet the Messenger (peace be upon him) disapproved of it. What is it? ; meaning: one whose legs are bent; as if he is saying: I, O Messenger of Allah, did not lengthen my garment out of arrogance, but to cover this defect. So he said to him (peace be upon him): .

The questioner: Allah is the Greatest!

The Shaykh Look at the difference now between the woman and the man. Allah creates him or her with joined eyebrows or separated eyebrows, and he comes and separates them. What is the difference between this and that? The man who was created with a bent leg, and that is all, what is it? He covers it. He says: , , please, before the food gets cold.

The questioner : Okay, so does that mean there is no doubt for the one who says: if a woman grows hair on her chin or mustache, it is also said: .

The Shaykh : Without a doubt, I have said repeatedly that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: , our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) with His perfect wisdom created men with beards and women without beards. And to establish the argument against the Zindiqs and the materialists who say this is a chance mutation, He (Mighty and Majestic) from time to time clarifies to these people, as He said in the previous verse: , so He creates a man without a beard. Ah, where is the chance? This is a man without a beard. And sometimes our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) wants to show another new sign, so He creates a woman with a beard. So this man, and among the wonders of the contradictions that occur in this time, you will not see a man who is *kusuj* (beardless like a woman) take a beard, because he sees in that a deficiency, because he differs from what? From men. He does not take a borrowed beard in the style of the English lords. Why? Because the fashion of the time is for men to shave their beards. So he is as if his inner self is saying: Praise be to Allah who created me like this.

The questioner : You got it, O Jamil.

The Shaykh : Hehe, yes, but on the contrary, you will not see a woman to whom Allah has grown a beard and she says: except that she rushes to shave it and take medication. Maybe she goes to the doctor to try to remove the root of this beard from inside her cheek.

The questioner : A cosmetic procedure.

The Shaykh : Why? Because she has contradicted the women of her kind. What is the reason? A beardless man does not do what men do, meaning he does not take a borrowed beard, because the fashion of the time is shaving beards. But if the matter were otherwise, in the past, if they wanted to insult a man, they would shave his beard. Now the insult returns to the Muslim.

The questioner : By imprisonment, by imprisonment, he will grow his beard.

The Shaykh : Or by sadness.

The questioner : Or by sadness.

The Shaykh : By sadness.

The questioner : And on the towel, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Heh.

The questioner : Come on, please, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Come on, please proceed.

The questioner : Please, in the name of Allah.