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Female Genital Mutilation in Islamic Law

Female Genital Mutilation (Arabic: ختان المرأة) is the practice of cutting away and altering the external female genitalia for ritual or religious purposes. Those who practice FGM refer to it as 'Female Circumcision'. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) generally consists one or both of the following procedures: the amputation of part or all of the clitoris, or the removal of the clitoral prepuce (Clitoridectomy) and the cutting away of either or both the inner or outer labia (Excision). A third procedure, Infibulation, involves the paring away of the outer labia, whose cut edges are stitched together to form, once healed, a seal that covers both the openings of the vagina and the urethra. Infibulation usually also involves clitoridectomy. Those who engage in FGM consider its primary purpose to be the safeguarding of the purity, virtue and reputation of girls and women.

FGM is a practice associated with Islam: about 80% of FGM is attributable to Muslims.^[1] Most of the remaining 20% is attributable to non-Muslims living in FGM-practicing Islamic societies (e.g. the Egyptian Copts^[2]), or to non-Isamic societies that have been hubs of the Islamic slave trade (e.g. Ethiopia and Eritrea).

The disposition of Islamic law towards FGM is determined by its status in the Qur'an and the Sunnah (Sharia), and on how that status is interpreted by Islamic jurists and scholars (fiqh). Shariah derives directly from the Qur'an and the Sunnah (which consists of the Hadith and Sira). Shariah has the status of divine revelation, and is unchanging and unchangeable. Fiqh is the process whereby Islamic jurists and scholars make the divine principles of Shariah applicable to human beings in the form of laws, beliefs and observances.^[3]

There exist numerous fatwas supporting and commanding the practice. However, over the past half century there has been a growing unease in the Islamic world concerning the practice. The earliest fatwa that is clearly critical of FGM appears to have been issued in 1984.^[4]

FGM in the Hadith

FGM is mentioned (at least) seven times in the Hadith. Four hadith report Muhammad approving of FGM and other hadith report Sahabah (Muhammad's companions) openly participating in FGM. These have less doctrinal authority than the hadith featuring Muhammad. The remaining, seventh, hadith mentions FGM, but neither approves or disapproves of it.

Hadith: Muhammad and FGM

The fitrah is five things, including circumcision

Hadith methodology dictates that if it is not mentioned specifically or if the pronouns do not point to a certain gender, then the hadith is valid for both sexes. Hence, the following hadith is applicable for both men and women.

A preservation of honor for women

Do not cut "severely"

Note that the judgement concerning what is severe is relative.

When the circumcised parts touch each other

To 'sit amidst four parts of a woman' is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

Other Evidence in the Hadith

The following three hadith touch on FGM. Because they do not involve Muhammad they have less doctrinal authority than the hadith in the previous section.

One Who Circumcises Other Ladies

In Bukhari's al-Adab al-Mufrad

The following two hadiths come from Al-Adab Al-Mufrad. This is a collection of hadith about the manners of Muhammad and his companions, compiled by the Islamic scholar al-Bukhari. It contains 1,322 hadiths, most of which focus on Muhammad's companions rather than Muhammad himself. Al-Bukhari's evaluation of the hadiths within al-Adab al-Mufrad was not as rigorous as for his best-known collection - Sahih Bukhari. However, scholars have ruled most of the hadith in the collection as being sahih (authentic) or hasan (sound).

Someone to Amuse Them

Go and Circumcise Them and Purify Them

The Qur'an and FGM

There is no explicit reference to Female Genital Mutilation in the Qur'an.

However, the following Quranic verse requires Muslims to 'adhere to the fitrah'. The word appears only this once in the Qur'an, and is left undefined and unexplained.

To know what fitrah means, traditional scholars turn to the hadith which make use of the word. The hadith which offers the clearest explanation is the one mentioned above ('The fitrah is five things, including circumcision') and it uses the Arabic word khitan for 'circumcision'. Two hadith ('Someone to Amuse Them" and 'Do not cut severely') use the word khitan in contexts where the procedure is unquestionably being performed on females, and only on females. The three hadith ('The fitrah is five things, including circumcision', 'A preservation of honor for women' and 'When the circumcised parts touch each other') use the word 'khitan to refer to both FGM and Male Circumcision.

Therefore, in the hadith the word 'khitan' can refer to FGM or Male Circumcision, or to both.

Thus, according to traditional interpretive methodology, by requiring one to 'adhere to the fitrah' the Qur'an indirectly advocates FGM.

In Islamic law

After Muhammad's death, different schools of Islamic law emerged as theologians and jurists debated among themselves on how to identify, interpret and implement Muhammad legacy. All schools of Islam agree on the authenticity of the Qur'an. The schools of law (madhab) differ primarily in how they evaluate and interpret hadith and how they generate legal rulings. Each school has a different hierarchy of interpretative heuristics, at the top of which sits the Qur'an and the Sunnah. If these do not resolve the issue in hand the scholars pass on to the next highest interpretative heuristic, and work their way down a hierarchy of heuristics until the issue is resolved. The fact that each school employs a different hierarchy of heuristics can result in differences in rulings, laws and customs between schools.

Differences in interpretative hermeneutics results in certain Hadith having more weight and influence in some schools than in others. Sunan Abu Dawud 41:5251 is an example of this:

Shafi’i and Hanbali scholars have evaluated this Hadith as being sahih. Consequently, these schools consider FGM as either obligatory or highly recommended, and is very common or nearly universal amongst their followers. Maliki and Hanafi scholars have evaluated this Hadith as being mursal (good but missing an early link in its isnad) – possibly explaining the lower rates of FGM amongst followers of these schools.

Adherence to a school of Islamic law appears to be more a matter of geography than of conscience, as followers of each school exist, for the most part, in certain geographical regions, often divided by country lines.

“Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. [Mohammed] said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband”

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is obligatory in the Shafi'i madhab^[5] and encouraged by the remaining three madhabs, namely the Hanafi, Hanbali, and Maliki. Salafi scholars also encourage the practice. In universally conceiving of FGM as being either an obligatory or favorable practice, the schools of Islamic law agree that prohibiting FGM altogether would not be acceptable, as this would be tantamount to contravening God's laws and preferences. Views on the specific type of FGM required or permitted vary within and between the madhhabs. Some prominent modern Islamic scholars have dissented from the otherwise favorable consensus of the Islamic tradition and ruled it to be unlawful.

The Islamic legal tradition, while differing on its implementation, embraced FGM wholeheartedly, and, In the hadith literature, Muhammad is recorded as: tacitly approving of the practice (Sahih Muslim 3:684), prescribing circumcision in general without specifying the requirements thereof per gender (Sahih Bukhari 7:72:777), and commenting generically on its implementation (Sunan Abu Dawud 41:5251). No where is Muhammad recorded prohibiting the practice.

Shafi'i Madhab

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is obligatory in the Shafi'i madhab.^[5] The Shafi’i school was founded by the Arab scholar Al-Shafi‘i in the early 9th century. Where passages of Koran and Hadiths are ambiguous, the school first seeks religious law guidance from Ijma (the consensus of Sahabah). If there was no consensus, Shafi’i scholars rely on Ijtihad (individual opinion of the companions of Mohammed), followed by Qiyas (analogy). Note that the Shafi’i school rejects two methods of law that are accepted by other major schools of Islam: Istihsan (juristic preference) and Istislah (public interest), heuristics by which compassion and welfare can be integrated into Islamic law-making.

Hanafi Madhab

Hanbali Madhab

Maliki Madhab

In the modern Islamic world

In 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood worked to decriminalize FGM. According to Mariz Tadros (a reporter),"the Muslim Brotherhood have offered to circumcise women for a nominal fee as part of their community services, a move that threatens to reverse decades of local struggle against the harmful practice [...] Many of the Brothers (and Salafis) argue that while it is not mandatory, it is nevertheless mukarama  (preferable, pleasing in the eyes of God)."^[7]

See Also

• Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Female Genital Mutilation

References