Question:
Assalamualikum, I would like to know if bleaching or trimming of the eyebrows is allowed if ones eyebrows are too bushy or feathery and wants to make them to bring it to normal conditions. And also trimming and beaching the hair above or below the eyebrow line?
Jazakallah
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In principle, it is impermissible for women to remove or shape their eyebrows. This is clearly understood from the Ahaadith of The Prophet ﷺ.
لعن الله الواشمات والمستوشمات والنامصات والمتنمصات والمتفلجات للحسن المغيرات خلق الله (متفق عليه)
Allah has cursed those women who practise tattooing and those women who have themselves tattooed, and those women who get their hair removed from their eyebrows and faces, and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth for beauty, whereby they change Allah’s creation.
The removal of eyebrows merely for beautification purposes is totally prohibited. Fuqahaa (scholars) have stated that the removal of eyebrows is Haram except if a woman has irregular, long or bushy hairs then it would be allowed to remove those hairs[1]. Only the removal of those irregular hairs which are normally regarded as abnormal are allowed to be removed, to resemble a normal eyebrow.
Tinting/ dyeing/ bleaching eyebrows.
Tinting, dyeing etc. the eyebrows without the removal of hairs would not be considered as Haraam. However if it is done in such a manner to make the eyebrows appear as though they have been plucked or trimmed, it would be disliked, therefore such methods should be avoided.
If any such beautification is done with the intention of exposing in front of non-Mahram (strange) men, then it will be totally prohibited.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Arshad Ali
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
www.fatwa-tt.com /www.jaamia.net
[1] النَّمْصُ: نَتْفُ الشَّعْرِ وَمِنْهُ الْمِنْمَاصُ الْمِنْقَاشُ اهـ وَلَعَلَّهُ مَحْمُولٌ عَلَى مَا إذَا فَعَلَتْهُ لِتَتَزَيَّنَ لِلْأَجَانِبِ، وَإِلَّا فَلَوْ كَانَ فِي وَجْهِهَا شَعْرٌ يَنْفِرُ زَوْجُهَا عَنْهَا بِسَبَبِهِ، فَفِي تَحْرِيمِ إزَالَتِهِ بُعْدٌ، لِأَنَّ الزِّينَةَ لِلنِّسَاءِ مَطْلُوبَةٌ لِلتَّحْسِينِ، إلَّا أَنْ يُحْمَلَ عَلَى مَا لَا ضَرُورَةَ إلَيْهِ لِمَا فِي نَتْفِهِ بِالْمِنْمَاصِ مِنْ الْإِيذَاءِ. وَفِي تَبْيِينِ الْمَحَارِمِ إزَالَةُ الشَّعْرِ مِنْ الْوَجْهِ حَرَامٌ إلَّا إذَا نَبَتَ لِلْمَرْأَةِ لِحْيَةٌ أَوْ شَوَارِبُ فَلَا تَحْرُمُ إزَالَتُهُ بَلْ تُسْتَحَبُّ اهـ، وَفِي التَّتَارْخَانِيَّة عَنْ الْمُضْمَرَاتِ: وَلَا بَأْسَ بِأَخْذِ الْحَاجِبَيْنِ وَشَعْرِ وَجْهِهِ مَا لَمْ يُشْبِهْ الْمُخَنَّثَ وَمِثْلُهُ فِي الْمُجْتَبَى تَأَمَّلْ
حاشية الطحطاوي على مراقي الفلاح شرح نور الإيضاح (ص: 526)
ولا بأس بأن يأخذ شعر الحاجبين وشعر وجهه ما لم يتشبه بالمخنثين ومثله في الينابيع والمضمرات والمراد ما يكون مشوها لخبر لعن الله
