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Fatwa CenterCutting the pubic hair and prayer
Question
I am 16 years old. Is it necessary for me to cut my pubic hairs? Will my prayers be accepted if I don't do so? In order to perform a Ghusl is it necessary to cut the pubic and armpit hair? I cut that hair with scissors, but I did not shave it. Is this practice satisfactory according to the Sunnah? Please reply. I care very much about my prayer being accepted.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
One of the signs of maturity is growing the coarse hair in the pubic region. Since you observe such hair on your body that means you have grown up and it is Sunnah for such a person to shave his pubs and pluck the hair from his armpit. Doing so is among the natural acts the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) encouraged. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “Five are the acts quite akin to the Fitrah:- shaving the pubes, circumcision, clipping the moustache, plucking the hair under the armpits and cutting the nails.” [Reported by Bukhari, Muslim and others…]
“Fitrah” means that these acts are from the natural predispositions on which Allah Created the person and asked him to try to remain in this condition. Imam al-Baidawi said: ‘al-Fitrah means the way and the manners that Allah chose for His Prophets and all the Sharaie (divine laws) of the Prophets agree with them’.
It is Sunnah to shave the pubic and to pluck the hair from the armpit but if one removes them by any means it is acceptable since the purpose is to remove them.
Therefore, one may shave them or remove them using any hair remover product. It is Sunnah to remove the hair weekly and it should be on Friday since it is the day of Muslims' gathering. It is not likeable to delay removing the hair for more than forty days. Anas (Radiya Allahu Anhu) reported that: “A time limit has been prescribed for us for clipping the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes, that none of them should be left for more than forty nights.”
However, if one does not remove his/her pubic hair he commits a dislikeable act but his prayer is absolutely correct. Neglecting to remove the hair does not affect one’s prayer.
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