Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterSharee‘ah stance on complete removal of the pubic and armpit hair
Question
In the Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Ever Merciful
Is it permissible to remove the pubic and armpit hair completely so that it does not grow again?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
It was narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: Five practices are characteristics of the Fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the moustaches short, clipping the nails and plucking the hair of the armpits. [Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad]
It was further narrated on the authority of Anas 
that he said: We have been given a forty-day respite maximum and no more, by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to leave cutting the mustaches short, clipping the nails, plucking the hair of the armpits and shaving the pubic hair. [Muslim]
An-Nawawi 
said that this means that none of those things should be left for more than forty days.
Thus, to shave the pubic hair, about which the question is raised, and also to pluck the hair of the armpits are commanded and encouraged by Sharee‘ah.
However, to remove the hair of those parts in the body once and for all entails several violations of Sharee‘ah including:
First: this is included in changing the Creation of Allaah Almighty. Allaah Almighty Says about Satan the accursed (what means): {And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the Creation of Allaah...}[Quran 4:119] What is intended by changing the Creation of Allaah, as stated by Al-Baydhaawi is to transform it from its real form or make changes in its attributes. This includes killing or removing the cells which produce that hair.
Second: doing this goes against the wisdom for which Allaah Has Created the hair of those parts. Allaah Did not Create them but for a certain wisdom, even if it is hidden from us.
Third: to remove the hair of those parts totally and finally causes the one competent for religious assignments to miss an act of worship that he was commanded to do, i.e. removing the hair of those parts once they grow.
Fourth: doing this might lead to harm, either because of killing and removing the cells which produce the hair of those parts, or because of the instruments used to do that.
Allaah Knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
