We know that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not pleased for a person to change His creation, and that Satan, may we seek refuge in Allah from his evil, said that he will command the son of Adam to
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : We know that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not pleased for a person to change His creation, and that Satan, may we seek refuge in Allah from his evil, said that he will command the sons of Adam to change the creation of Allah. And it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And at the end of the hadith he said: It seems that the cause of the curse is their changing of the creation of Allah. I know that there are types of change that are praiseworthy and encouraged, which are from the fitrah; I mention among them circumcision, trimming the beard, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpit hair, and cutting the nails. And we were granted a dispensation to leave them for forty days. There are changes whose dislike is explicitly stated, with the evidence being the curse upon them. And there are changes whose recommendation and encouragement are explicitly stated, as they are from the fitrah. The remaining matters are confused to me, and I mean: removing the excess hair on the arms and legs. Do you think its removal is considered a general change in the creation of Allah, and therefore it should not be removed? Or do we consider it among the doubtful matters where its prohibition or permissibility is not apparent, and therefore we do not remove it either, out of caution for our religion? Or do we consider it among the matters about which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was silent, so that it becomes a relief and a dispensation for us, and we remove it? Or is there another text that I have not found which explicitly states the prohibition or permissibility? And why do we not consider this matter among the doubtful matters? And why do we not consider it among the matters about which silence was kept? I have heard that there is an opinion that it is permissible to remove that hair by cutting or shaving so that we do not fall into changing it by plucking, but I want to know that with evidence?
The Shaykh : This question actually contains the answer, because if anyone wanted to answer with more than these possibilities mentioned by the questioner, he would not be able to do so, as far as I can see. Changing the creation includes what is commanded, such as the sunnahs of the fitrah; what is prohibited, such as plucking the eyebrows, making the teeth thin, tattooing, and the like; and what is silent upon, such as the hair on the legs, arms, hands, and feet, and the like. Regarding this matter about which silence is kept, there are these possibilities mentioned by the questioner: Do we say that it should not be removed because its removal is a change in the creation of Allah, and the original ruling for change is prohibition because it is from the commands of Satan? Is it obligatory to refrain from it and leave it? Or do we say that this is among the matters about which the Lawgiver was silent, because when the Lawgiver explicitly stated some prohibited things and some things commanded to be removed, and was silent about this, it indicates that there is no harm in it. Because if it were from the category of prohibited things, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have drawn attention to it and used a general term that includes everything. And if it were from the commanded things, he would have explicitly stated it as well. So it is excused by the indication of mentioning the prohibited category, for mentioning the prohibited category implies that what is other than it is either commanded or excused. There is no doubt that caution is to leave it and not touch it, except if it becomes so much that it disfigures the woman's creation, making her hand like a man's hand or her leg like a man's leg, and the like of what the husband's soul might abhor. In this case, there is no doubt that its removal is permissible, whether it is removed by cutting, or by applying substances that remove the hair, or otherwise. This is the ruling of the issue in my view, and knowledge is with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
May Allah curse the women who pluck their eyebrows, those who have their eyebrows plucked, the women who make their teeth thin, those who have their teeth made thin, the women who separate their teeth, those who have their teeth separated, the women who join their hair, and those who have their hair joined
لعن الله النامصات والمتنمصات والواشرات والمستوشرات والفالجات والمتفلجات والواصلات والمستوصلاتthose who change the creation of Allah
المغيرات لخلق اللهThe Shaykh : This question actually contains the answer, because if anyone wanted to answer with more than these possibilities mentioned by the questioner, he would not be able to do so, as far as I can see. Changing the creation includes what is commanded, such as the sunnahs of the fitrah; what is prohibited, such as plucking the eyebrows, making the teeth thin, tattooing, and the like; and what is silent upon, such as the hair on the legs, arms, hands, and feet, and the like. Regarding this matter about which silence is kept, there are these possibilities mentioned by the questioner: Do we say that it should not be removed because its removal is a change in the creation of Allah, and the original ruling for change is prohibition because it is from the commands of Satan? Is it obligatory to refrain from it and leave it? Or do we say that this is among the matters about which the Lawgiver was silent, because when the Lawgiver explicitly stated some prohibited things and some things commanded to be removed, and was silent about this, it indicates that there is no harm in it. Because if it were from the category of prohibited things, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have drawn attention to it and used a general term that includes everything. And if it were from the commanded things, he would have explicitly stated it as well. So it is excused by the indication of mentioning the prohibited category, for mentioning the prohibited category implies that what is other than it is either commanded or excused. There is no doubt that caution is to leave it and not touch it, except if it becomes so much that it disfigures the woman's creation, making her hand like a man's hand or her leg like a man's leg, and the like of what the husband's soul might abhor. In this case, there is no doubt that its removal is permissible, whether it is removed by cutting, or by applying substances that remove the hair, or otherwise. This is the ruling of the issue in my view, and knowledge is with Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).