I have been blessed, and all praise is due to Allah, with a newborn who has an extra finger on his right hand. Is there any harm in removing this finger, even though I had a brother before my son who also had an extra finger on his hand?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I have been blessed, and all praise is due to Allah, with a newborn who has an extra finger on his right hand. Is there any harm in removing this finger, even though I had a brother before my son who also had an extra finger on his hand? I went to the doctor, and he removed the extra finger. In your view, is there any harm in this according to the Shari'ah?
The Shaykh : The answer is that there is no harm in removing this extra finger, because it falls under the category of removing defects. Anything that falls under the category of removing defects is permissible. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted the man whose nose was cut off to make a nose out of paper, meaning silver. When it became foul-smelling, he made it out of gold, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of that.
Here, you must know the difference between a procedure intended to remove a defect and a procedure intended to enhance beauty. Therefore, we say that a procedure intended to remove a defect is permissible, because its purpose is to get rid of what disfigures, as indicated by the previous report.
As for a procedure intended to enhance beauty, it is forbidden. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited plucking the eyebrows, and he even cursed the one who does it. He also prohibited tattooing and al-washr, which is filing the teeth for the sake of beautification. He also prohibited al-wasl, which is joining hair, because it adds beauty to the woman. Thus, every procedure intended for beautification is forbidden by analogy to plucking the eyebrows, tattooing, and al-washr. And every procedure intended to remove a defect is permissible and there is no harm in it, by analogy to the Companion making a nose out of gold and the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) approval of it.
Accordingly, cutting off an extra finger, removing a wart, and the like of what constitutes a disfiguring defect is permissible, but on the condition that specialized doctors are consulted so that a person does not expose himself to danger.
The Shaykh : The answer is that there is no harm in removing this extra finger, because it falls under the category of removing defects. Anything that falls under the category of removing defects is permissible. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted the man whose nose was cut off to make a nose out of paper, meaning silver. When it became foul-smelling, he made it out of gold, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved of that.
Here, you must know the difference between a procedure intended to remove a defect and a procedure intended to enhance beauty. Therefore, we say that a procedure intended to remove a defect is permissible, because its purpose is to get rid of what disfigures, as indicated by the previous report.
As for a procedure intended to enhance beauty, it is forbidden. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited plucking the eyebrows, and he even cursed the one who does it. He also prohibited tattooing and al-washr, which is filing the teeth for the sake of beautification. He also prohibited al-wasl, which is joining hair, because it adds beauty to the woman. Thus, every procedure intended for beautification is forbidden by analogy to plucking the eyebrows, tattooing, and al-washr. And every procedure intended to remove a defect is permissible and there is no harm in it, by analogy to the Companion making a nose out of gold and the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) approval of it.
Accordingly, cutting off an extra finger, removing a wart, and the like of what constitutes a disfiguring defect is permissible, but on the condition that specialized doctors are consulted so that a person does not expose himself to danger.