On the Dangerous topics of Islam, Tattoos, and others.

This is a topic that we've much discussed, and since

1. I've forgotten all my research,
2. I've lost all my research,
3. The internet has proliferated since the conduct of my research, and
4. My Google skillz are much better now

I've decided to begin research again. If this doesn't apply to you, you need not read this entry. And in the conduct of my research, I've found some very useful websites which actually facilitate constructive conversations on Islamic topics:

1. http://maniacmuslim.com
2. http://www.ummah.net
3. http://www.sunnipath.net

Yes, Muslims have found the internet. Ph33r. And now we begin. Let's call this Part 1.

Part 1: Arguments Against Tattooing

The basic gist of it is as follows, and read this carefully:

The meaning of the verse [And obey the Prophet] (4:59, 5:92, etc.) is not that the Prophet saws is also a judge whose orders and prohibitions are law issuing from him rather than Allah Most High. Allah Most High declared the obligator ness of obeying the Prophet saws only in the sense that He made it obligatory for us to obey him in whatever he saws orders and makes obligatory for us to do.

It is Allah Most High Who makes it obligatory for us both to obey and to do, except that the order for some of the acts are formulated by the Prophet saws. Such formulation is only a proof or sign of Allah's own binding order. The meaning of [And obey the Prophet] is therefore "Know that whatever the Prophet saws commands or forbids you to do, it is I Who commands and forbids you to do" as explicated in the verse [And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids, abstain from it] (59:7).

Without such order, the Prophet's saws command would not have been binding upon us. Illustrating this principle is the following narration from `Alqama:`Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud ra said: "Allah Most High curses women who tattoo others, women who have tattoo applied to them, women who have their eyebrows clipped, and women artificially tooth-gapped, all for cosmetic purposes, changing Allah's fashioning." News of this reached a woman of Banu Asad called Umm Ya`qub. She came to him saying: "O Abu `Abd al-Rahman! I heard that you cursed such-and-such." He replied: "Why should I not curse those whom Allah's Messenger saws cursed?"

She said: "Lo! I certainly read all that is between the two covers [of the volume of Qur'an], and I did not find this." He replied: "Had you read it you would have certainly found it. Did you not read [And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids, abstain from it] (59:7)?" She said yes.

He said: "Allah's Messenger saws forbade it."Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahihs, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah in their Sunan, Ahmad and al-Darimi in their Musnads, al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (7:312) and Shu`ab al-Iman (6:170), Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (12:314), `Abd al-Razzaq in his Musannaf (3:145 #5103), al-Humaydi in his Musnad (1:53), and Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (2:1181-1182 #2336-2337). Al-Dhahabi narrated it in al-Kaba'ir [the Enormities] and he said: "It is agreed upon [by Bukhari and Muslim]."Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani said in Fath al-bari (10:378) in commentary of this hadith:Nawawi said: "An exception from the prohibition of plucking away facial hair is when a woman has a beard, mustache, or hair growing between her lower lip and chin, in which cases it is not unlawful for her to remove it, but rather is commendable (mustahabb)," the permissibility being on condition that her husband knows of it and gives his permission, though it is prohibited if he does not, because of the deception it entails. End of excerpt.

Mufti Lajpuri in his Fatawa Rahimiyya declared it required (wajib) for her to pluck such hair from her face.There is a kind of temporary metaphorical "tattoo" that is desirable for women: to dye the hands and feet with henna. Of course women also use it for the face and hair, and men for the beard. In some countries of the Borneo peninsula men also apply it on their hands and feet on the occasion of weddings, although it is actually forbidden in their [Shafi`i] madhhab. However, it would be wrong to call all this tattoo since that word lexically means an indelible marking of the skin.

A man came to the Prophet, Peace be upon him, with his hands dyed with saffron. This is a removable, temporary skin ornament, yet the Prophet saws did not even return his salam. All he said to him was: Go wash this away. He went and came back, and there was a little bit left. Again the Prophet saws did not address him except to tell him to wash it away more thoroughly. So this is a lesson for men that decorating/altering the skin in such manner is not allowed.Another factor which makes it prohibited is that tatooing is the fashion of unbelievers, and the Prophet saws said: "Whoever looks [i.e. wilfully] like a people is one of them." And Allah knows best.

There you have it.

On the other hand,

Women and Hair Removal
Answered by SunniPath Answer Service Team

Q: Is it permissible for women to remove facial hair, and hair from the arms and legs? I am in the beauty business and I do waxing for my clients. Please tell me if it is permissible in Islam.

A In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate

From a previous question answered by Shaykh Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf:

Taking the hadith and the various statements of the Hanafi jurists into consideration the following could be concluded:

1. It would be permitted for a woman to remove a beard or a moustache that appears on her face. Even though it is facial hair, but since it is to stop women from resembling men, it is permitted. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, in fact they have said it is recommended, not just permitted. The same will be to bleach this hair instead.
2. If the eyebrows are linked in between, it would be permissible to remove the excess hair from in between to separate them [i.e. the hair above the nose]. The reason for this is that linked eyebrows are looked upon as a defect, hence it would be permissible to remove it.
3. A 'few' stray hairs around the eyebrows would be permissible to remove by clipping them off, if it looks defective, or for married women creates abhorrence in their husband. This does not mean it is permitted to remove a whole line or two of fine hair from around the eyebrows [as is the case nowadays].
4. Dense bushy eyebrows may be trimmed down to a more normal size. However, one must exercise great caution in this regard, since one does not want it to fall under the warning of the hadith. If one is not sure how to determine the normal size they should not act on the benefit of the doubt, but rather follow the more cautionary approach and trim less. What so called 'regular' [especially non-Muslim] people consider nowadays as the norm i.e. eyebrows that are shaped in particular unnatural or reduced to thin lines can not be considered as acceptable in Islamic law due to the severity of the hadith.
5. Great caution has to be exercised in this regard, since the hadith is very strict and there are some Hanafi scholars who have taken more strict position. For instance, Mullah Ali al-Qari (Allah be pleased with him) comments [relating from Imam Nawawi] that plucking of the facial hair is haram (unlawful) for a woman with the exception of moustache or beard hairs (Mirqat al-Mafatih 8:218). The concessions mentioned above are for the removal of a defective appearance and not for purely beautification purpose, hence, caution in this matters is the way.

Wassalam,
SunniPath Fiqh Team

On the one hand, tattoos are forbidden because they are said to be blemishes on the perfection of Allah SWT's creation. On the other, some concessions are made to fix the defects of the perfection of Allah SWT's creation. I think the questions here to be raised are:

• What determines what is a defect worth being fixed and what isn't?
• Who are you to say that Allah SWT did not intend for women to look this way?

The good news is that there are contradicting opinions. I'm yet to find solid references to put up. Never fear. I got time. To be continued...