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circumcision


==Female Genital Mutilation in Islamic Law==
Intro - the nature of circumcision, statistics, distribution, comparative stats (Muslims, Xtians, Jews, etc)
'''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: '''Clitoridectomy:''' the amputation of part or all of the clitoris, or the removal of the clitoral prepuce; '''Excision:''' and the cutting away of either or both the inner or outer labia. 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.
[[File:Fgmmuslimmap.jpg|alt=World maps comparing distributions of FGM and of Muslims|thumb|World maps comparing distributions of FGM and of Muslims]]
FGM is a practice associated with Islam: about 80% of FGM is attributable to Muslims.<ref>https://fgmtruth.wordpress.com/what-percentage-of-global-fgm-are-moslems-responsible-for/</ref> Most of the remaining 20% is attributable to non-Muslims living in FGM-practicing Islamic societies (e.g. the Egyptian Copts<ref>https://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/prevalence-of-and-support-for-female-genital-mutilation-within-the-copts-of-egypt-unicef-report-2013/</ref>), 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 (which consists of the hadith and the [[Sirat Rasul Allah|Sira]]<nowiki/>t), and on how that status is interpreted by Islamic jurists and scholars ([[Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)|fiqh]]). Shariah derives directly from the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Sunnah]] (which consists of the [[Hadith]] and [[Sira|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.
arabic word for male circumcision


Different schools of Islam...  
Male Circumcision: truly reliable figures on the extent of circumcision in the world do not exist. In 1996, during the 4<sup>th</sup> international symposium held in Lausanne, the following figures were distributed: each year, 13,300,000 male children are circumcised in the world. This makes an average of:


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.<ref>p54 [https://books.google.fr/books?id=qof6J4n1860C&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=Sheikh+Abu-Sabib+1984&source=bl&ots=-apLOOha6B&sig=dpINFFLI-N9KO8_FmEET-MDFKbI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXh5Gi5OfcAhVOyoUKHeSgDWUQ6AEwC3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sheikh%20Abu-Sabib%201984&f=false "Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy" By International Symposium On Sexual Mutiliations 199, International Symposium on Sexual Mutiliations 1996]</ref>
1,100,000 childre per month


In addition to Islamic law that ''explicitly'' addresses FGM, Islamic law can also create social conditions favourable to FGM, that make the practice useful or even necessary. [[Polygamy in Islamic Law|Polygyny]] (the marriage of a man to several women) is permitted in Islam and creates sexually violent societies in which girls and women are at a heightened risk. In response to this risk polygynous societies develop practices which safeguard the 'purity', chastity and reputation of its girls and women. FGM is such a practice, as are child marriage, gender segregation, arranged marriages, chaperoning, veiling, 'honour' culture, brideprice ([[Mahr (Marital Price)|mahr]]) and footbinding. Islam's attitudes towards slavery, especially sex slavery, appears to also have a significant role in the nature, incidence and distribution of FGM.   
36,438 per day


==FGM in the Hadith==
1,518 per hour
FGM is mentioned (at least) [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Female Genital Mutilation|seven times in the Hadith]]. Four report Muhammad approving of FGM and two report [[Sahabah]] (Muhammad's companions) participating in FGM. These have less doctrinal authority than the hadith featuring Muhammad. The remaining, seventh, hadith has little import doctrinally, but is of linguistic, historical and sociological interest. 


===Hadith: Muhammad and FGM===
25 per minute.


====The fitrah is five things, including circumcision====
Another source indicates that 23% of the male population of the world is cricumcised, which makes a toatl of 650 million. (<nowiki>http://noharmm.org/HGMstats.htm</nowiki>) “


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.  
==Quran==
<br />''“Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of those who associate with Allah .”'' Koran 16:123


{{Quote|Bukhari 5891; Muslim 527|Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The fitrah is five things – or '''five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision''', shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.”}}


====A preservation of honor for women====


{{Quote|Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75; Abu Dawud, Adab 167.|Abu al- Malih ibn `Usama's father relates that the Prophet said: "'''Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women'''."}}
There is no explicit reference to Male Genital Mutilation in the Qur'an. However, the {{Quran|30|30}} requires Muslims to ''<nowiki/>'adhere to the fitrah'<nowiki/>''.{{Quote|{{Quran|30|30}}|So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. '''[Adhere to] the fitrah''' (فطرة or فطرت) of Allah upon which He has created (فطر) [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.}}'''''The word ''<nowiki/>'fitrah''' appears only this once in the Qur'an, and is left undefined and unexplained. To know what 'fitrah means, traditional scholars turned to hadith which make use of the word. Note that this hadith uses the Arabic word ''khitan'' (ختان) for 'circumcision'.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|7|72|777}}; See also {{Muslim|2|495}}|Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The fitrah is five things – or '''five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision''' [اخْتُتِنَّ - khitan], shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.”}}“...the Koran mentions 69 times Abraham's name, who is considered a “good example” to follow (60:4), without ever speaking of circumcision.”<br />


====Do not cut "severely"====
==Hadith==
<br /><!-- don't forget 'FGM hadith' which advocate MGM -->


Note that the judgement concerning what is severe is relative.  
This is an inventory of sahih and hasan Hadith which touch exclusively on Male Genital Mutilation ( or 'circumcision').


{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|41|5251}}|Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: '''Do not cut ''severely''''' as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.}}
It should not be taken as comprehensive.


====When the circumcised parts touch each other====
To compile it I used the wild-card search for “circumc*” on the site quranx.com.


{{Quote|{{Muslim|3|684}}|Abu Musa reported: There cropped up a difference of opinion between a group of Muhajirs (Emigrants and a group of Ansar (Helpers) (and the point of dispute was) that the Ansar said: The bath (because of sexual intercourse) becomes obligatory only-when the semen spurts out or ejaculates. But the Muhajirs said: When a man has sexual intercourse (with the woman), a bath becomes obligatory (no matter whether or not there is seminal emission or ejaculation). Abu Musa said: Well, I satisfy you on this (issue). He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to 'A'isha and sought her permission and it was granted, and I said to her: 0 Mother, or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter on which I feel shy. She said: Don't feel shy of asking me about a thing which you can ask your mother, who gave you birth, for I am too your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) '''and the ''circumcised parts'' touch each other''' a bath becomes obligatory.}}To 'sit amidst four parts of a woman' is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.  
This search gave 50 results.


===Other Evidence in the Hadith===
''“Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Prophet say: “The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision, shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.””'' Bukhari 77:106
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====
<nowiki>***</nowiki>
This hadith includes an exchange of insults between Meccan warriors and Muhammad's companions prior to the [[Battle of Uhud|battle of Uhud]]. {{Quote|Bukhari 64:17|“[…] I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba’ came out and said, ‘Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?’ Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib came out and said, ‘O Siba’. O Ibn Um Anmar, '''the one who circumcises other ladies!''' Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?’ […]”}}
====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=====
{{Quote|Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 53:1247|“Umm ‘Alqama related that when '''the daughters of ‘A’isha’s brother were circumcised''', ‘A’isha was asked, “Shall we call someone to amuse them?” “Yes,” she replied. ‘Adi was sent for and he came to them. ‘A’isha passed by the room and saw him singing and shaking his head in rapture – and he had a large head of hair. ‘Uff!’ she exclaimed, ‘A shaytan! Get him out! Get him out!'””}}
=====Go and Circumcise Them and Purify Them=====
{{Quote|Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 53:1245|An old woman from Kufa, the grandmother of 'Ali ibn Ghurab, reported that Umm al-Muhajir said, "I was captured with some girls from Byzantium. 'Uthman offered us Islam, but only myself and one other girl accepted Islam. 'Uthman said, ''''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 ''<nowiki/>'adhere to the fitrah'''. The word appears only this once in the Qur'an, and is left undefined and unexplained. 
''“''[…]''He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to ‘A’isha and sought her permission and it was granted, and I said to her: 0 Mother, or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter on which I feel shy. She said: Don’t feel shy of asking me about a thing which you can ask your mother, who gave you birth, for I am too your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and the circumcised parts touch each other a bath becomes obligatory.”'' Sahih Muslim 3:684
{{Quote|{{Quran|30|30}}|So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. '''[Adhere to] the fitrah''' (فطرة or فطرت) of Allah upon which He has created (فطر) [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.}}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 '<nowiki/>''khitan''' can refer to FGM or Male Circumcision, or to both.
<nowiki>***</nowiki>


Thus, according to traditional interpretive methodology, by requiring one to ''<nowiki/>'adhere to the fitrah''' the Qur'an indirectly advocates FGM.
''“Abu al- Malih ibn `Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: “Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.””'' Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75; Abu Dawud, Adab 167
''<nowiki/>''
==In Islamic law==
[[File:Madhhabplusfgm.jpeg|alt=Maps showing distribution of madhaps and prevalence of FGM|thumb|Maps showing distribution of madhaps and prevalence of FGM]]
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 ([[Madh'hab|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:
<nowiki>***</nowiki>


{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|41|5251}}|Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: '''Do not cut ''severely''''' as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.}}
There were many Hadith where the ''matn'' was essenitally the same. Rather than reproducing each one of these I have quoted a 'representative' Hadith, and listed links to the other versions beneath.


Shafi’i and Hanbali scholars have evaluated this hadith as being ''sahih.'' Consequently, these schools consider FGM as being either obligatory or highly recommended, and FGM 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.
''...The sub narrator adds, "Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of llya' (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that once while Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning with a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in that mood? Heraclius was a foreteller and an astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they who practice circumcision?' The people replied, 'Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of them (Jews). 'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.' While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to Heraclius was brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs. The messenger replied, 'Arabs also practice circumcision.' (After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the 'Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge...''


All schools of Islam agree that ''prohibiting'' FGM altogether would not be acceptable, as this would be tantamount to contravening God's laws and preferences. Contemporary scholars are adept at phrasing fatwas in such a way as to appear to criticise or condemn FGM whilst at the same time not forbidding it.  
<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-1/Book-1/Hadith-6</nowiki>


<s>Each school’s stance on FGM appears to be reflected in statistics of FGM’s distribution and prevalence. Those regions that are predominantly Shafi’i have very high rates of FGM (Indonesia, Somalia, Egypt…) and that Shafi’i Islam tends to be associated with type III FGM (infibulation), Hanbali (North Africa) and Maliki (Arabia) regions have high rates, but generally lower than Shafi’i regions, and Hanafi regions (central Asia and the Levant) have relatively low FGM rates.</s>
<nowiki>*</nowiki> * *


<s>Factors other than doctrine – such as history, tradition, ethnicity and the influence of other religions – could have contributed to this correlation. However, the application of Occam’s Razor should not leave us surprised that when a religious school preaches (and has preached for over 1400 years) to its devout followers that something is obligatory, or that something is recommended or honourable – that those followers will act on those commands or recommendations, and that those commands and recommendations become enshrined in the culture and tradition.</s>
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:''The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will be gathered (on the Day of Judgment), bare-footed, naked and not circumcised." He then recited:--'As We began the first creation, We, shall repeat it: A Promise We have undertaken: Truly we shall do it.' (21.104) He added, "The first to be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham, and some of my companions will be taken towards the left side (i.e. to the (Hell) Fire), and I will say: 'My companions! My companions!' It will be said: 'They renegade from Islam after you left them.' Then I will say as the Pious slave of Allah (i.e. Jesus) said. 'And I was a witness Over them while I dwelt amongst them. When You took me up You were the Watcher over them, And You are a witness to all things. If You punish them. They are Your slaves And if You forgive them, Verily you, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (5.120-121)''


<s>We don’t have to look far to know why many Catholics sit in dark boxes, confessing their sins through a wire screen, or why many Jews do no work on the Sabbath, or why most Jains are vegetarians, or why Moslems perform the Haj and ‘circumcise’ their son’s genitals. We do not have to look far because these practices are part of the doctrines of these religions.</s>
<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-55/Hadith-568</nowiki>


<s>Likewise, given that every school of Islam has traditionally approved of FGM should we be puzzled at the fact that FGM is endemic to Moslem communities, especially to those under the authority of schools which most favour the practice?</s>
<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-6/Book-60/Hadith-149</nowiki>


<nowiki>*</nowiki> * *


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 . 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.
''Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Abraham did his circumcision with an adze at the age of eighty." Narrated Abu Az-Zinad: (as above in Hadith No. 575) With an adze.''


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 ({{Muslim|3|684|}}), prescribing circumcision in general without specifying the requirements thereof per gender ({{Bukhari|7|72|777|}}), and commenting generically on its implementation ({{Abu Dawud|41|5251|}}). No where is Muhammad recorded prohibiting the practice.
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-55/Hadith-575</nowiki>''


===Maliki Madhab===
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/DarusSalam/Hadith-6298</nowiki>''
The Maliki school was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. As with all other schools of Islam, the Koran and the Hadith stand at the apex of the hermeneutic hierarchy. If these prove ambiguous on an issue, then the hierarchy proceeds as follows: Amal (customs and practices of the people of Medina), Ijma (consensus of the Sahabah), Ijtihad (opinion of individual Sahabah), Qiyas (analogy), Istislah (interest and welfare of Islam and Moslems), and lastly Urf (Moslem custom).


The Maliki is the only school to consider Amal as a valid source of Islamic law. Malik ibn Anas ruled that FGM is recommended, but not obligatory.
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Muslim/USC-MSA/Book-30/Hadith-5844</nowiki>''


“mustah’ab (favourable but not wajib [compulsory]). This is the preferred opinion of the Maliki thought yet there is still some disagreement.” Manzoor Hussain – “Islam And Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)”
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1244</nowiki>''


“It is considered a preferred act (mandûb) for women in the Mâlikî school of law.” Sheikh (Dr.) `Abd al-Rahmân b. Hasan al-Nafisah, editor of the Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal , Riyadh
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1250</nowiki>''


“makrama for women (“noble”, as opposed to obligatory)” Wikipedia: Religious views on FGM
<nowiki>*</nowiki> * *


“the practice is recommended on religious grounds by the Maliki […] law school” stop fgm middle east – Islam-or-culture?
Narrated Said bin Jubair: Ibn 'Abbas was asked, "How old were you when the Prophet (ﷺ) died?" He replied. "At that time I had been circumcised." At that time, people did not circumcise the boys till they attained the age of puberty. Sa'id bin Jubair said, "Ibn 'Abbas said, 'When the Prophet died, I had already been circumcised. "


“The Maliki school considers female circumcision to be sunnah (optional) and preferred.” Religious views on female genital mutilation
<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/In-Book/Book-79/Hadith-71</nowiki>


“Maliki hold the view that it is wajib (obligatory) for males and sunnah (optional) for females“ Delinking Female Genital Mutilation &c
<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/DarusSalam/Hadith-6300</nowiki>


===Hanafi Madhab===
<nowiki>*</nowiki> * *
This school is named after the scholar Abū Ḥanīfa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit (d. 767) and is school with the largest number of followers among Sunni Moslems.


As with all other schools of Islam, the Koran and the Hadith are the principal sources of doctrine. Where the Koran and Hadith do not provide guidance, Hanafi scholars recommend that the ''Ijma'' (the consensus of the Sahabah) be first consulted, then ''Ijtihad'' (the opinions of ''individual'' Sahabah), then ''Qiyas'' (analogy), then ''Istihsan'' (juristic preference) and finally Urf (local community customs).
''Malik related to me that the generally agreed on way of doing things amongst the community about an accident is that there is no blood-money until the victim is better. If a man's bone, either a hand, or a foot, or another part of his body, is broken accidentally and it heals and becomes sound and returns to its form, there is no blood-money for it. If the limb is impaired or there is a scar on it, there is blood-money for it according to the extent that it is impaired. Malik said, "If that part of the body has a specific blood-money mentioned by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it is according to what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specified. If it is part of what does not have a specific blood-money for it mentioned by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and if there is no previous sunna about it or specific blood-money, one uses ijtihad about it." Malik said, "There is no blood-money for an accidental bodily injury when the wound heals and returns to its form. If there is any scar or mark in that, ijtihad is used about it except for the belly-wound. There is a third of the blood-money of a life for it. " Malik said, "There is no blood-money for the wound which splinters a bone in the body, and it is like the wound to the body which lays bare the bone." Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things in our community is that when the doctor performs a circumcision and cuts off the glans, he must pay the full blood-money. That is because it is an accident which the tribe is responsible for, and the full blood money is payable for all that in which a doctor errs or exceeds, when it is not intentional."''


Abū Ḥanīfa maintained that FGM is not obligatory but highly recommended.
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Malik/USC-MSA/Book-43/Hadith-4</nowiki>''


''“FGM is Sunnah (deed of Prophet SAW) although there is some disagreement among the Hanafi jurists on the issue – some consider it as mustah’ab as well (‘favorable’ not ‘compulsory’/wajib), while most agree with the Hadith (saying of Prophet SAW ) that “circumcision is Sunnah for men and Makrooh (undesirable) for women””'' Manzoor Hussain &c
''* * *''


''“there are two different opinions. Some Hanafî scholars consider it to be a Sunnah for women. Others consider it to be merely an honorable thing.”'' Sheikh (Dr.) `Abd al-Rahmân &c
''Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyub said, "Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the first to give hospitality to the guest and the first person to be circumcised and the first person to trim the moustache and the first person to see grey hair. He said, 'O Lord! What is this?' Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'It is dignity, Ibrahim.' He said, 'Lord, increase me in dignity!' " Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one mutilates oneself."''


''“makrama for women (“noble”, as opposed to obligatory)”'' Wikipedia: Religious views on FGM
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Malik/USC-MSA/Book-49/Hadith-4</nowiki>''


''“the Hanafis do not regard female circumcision as “sunnah”'' stop fgm middle east – Islam-or-culture?
''* * *''


''“The Hanafi school considers female circumcision to be sunnah (preferred).”'' Religious views on female genital mutilation
''Narrated Ammar b. Yasir: The Apostle of Allaah ( sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ) said : The rinsing of mouth and snuffing up water in the nose are acts that bear the characteristics of fitrah (nature). He then narrated a similar tradition (as reported by Aishah), but he did not mention the words "letting the beard grow". He added the words "circumcision" and "sprinkling water on the private part of the body". He did not mention the words "cleansing oneself after easing". Abu Dawud said : A similar tradition has been reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas. He mentioned only five sunnahs all relating to the head, one of them being parting of the hair; it did not include wearing the beard. Abu Dawud said: The tradition as reported by Hammad has also been transmitted by Talq b. Habib, Mujahid, and Bakr b. 'Abd Allaah b. al-Muzani as their own statement ( not as a tradition from the Prophet, sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ).They did not mention the words "letting the beard grow". The version transmitted by Muhammad b. Abd Allaah b. Abi Maryam, Abu Salamah, and Abu Hurairah from the Prophet ( sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ) mentions the words "letting the beard grow". A similar tradition has been reported by Ibrahim al-Nakha'i. He mentioned the words "wearing the beard and circumcision."''


''“The Hanafi view is that it is a sunnah (optional act) for'' […] ''females“'' Delinking Female Genital Mutilation &c
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-53</nowiki>''


We can speculate that followers of the Hanafi and Maliki schools who are devout (or who wish to ''appear'' devout) will tend to treat as ‘obligatory’ practices that are merely ‘recommend’ – since for the devout anything that is ‘recommended’ should be definitely done.
''* * *''


The Hanafi school is probably the least enthusiastic about FGM. Pakistani Moslems are generally Hanafi, and have, till recently, been the largest Moslem diaspora to the West. Pakistanis are also frequently English-speaking. Both of which facts increase the prevalence in the West of the narrative that ''‘FGM is nothing to do with Islam’''. With increasing immigration to the West from Shafi’i countries (Somalia in particular) this narrative is harder to maintain since (as we shall see below) FGM is obligatory under Shafi’i Islam.
''<nowiki/>'Uthaim b. Kulaib reported from his father (Kuthair) on the authority of his grandfather (Kulaib) that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ):I have embraced Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: Remove from yourself the hair that grew during of unbelief, saying "shave them". He further says that another person (other than the grandfather of 'Uthaim) reported to him that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to another person who accompanied him: Remove from yourself the hair that grew during the period of unbelief and get yourself circumcised.''


===Shafi'i Madhab===
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-356</nowiki>''
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is obligatory in the Shafi'i madhab.<ref name=":0">[https://www.answering-islam.org/Sharia/fem_circumcision.html Section on FGM in the standard manual of Shafi'i law]</ref> 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.{{Quote|''Reliance of the Traveler'' [''Umdat al-Salik''], Section e4.3 on Circumcision|'''Obligatory (on every male and female) is circumcision.''' (And it is the cutting-off of the skin [''qat' al-jaldah''] on the glans of the male member and, '''as for the circumcision of the female, that is the cutting-off of the ''badhar'' [''qat' al-badhar'', ''badhar'' or بَظْرٌ either means the clitoris or the prepuce of the clitoris; Lane says that the precise usage was confused at some point in history<ref>[http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/02_b/137_bZr.html Lane's Lexicon بَظْرٌ]</ref>]''' (and this is called ''khufad''))}}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, the Shafi’i school relies 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 may best be integrated into Islamic law-making.
''Salim said, "Ibn 'Umar, Nu'aym and I were circumcised and they sacrificed a ram on our behalf. I think that we were more happy about it than the other children since a ram had been sacrificed on our behalf."''


Shafi’i Moslems practice infibulation, the most extreme form of FGM.
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1246</nowiki>''


''“The Shafi’ee school of thought consider it as Wajib (obligatory) but here isn’t complete consensus among the jurists.”'' Manzoor Hussain &c
''* * *''


''“circumcision is considered an obligation for both men and women. This is the official ruling of that school of thought. Some Shâfi`î scholars express the view that circumcision is obligatory for men and merely Sunnah for women.”'' Sheikh (Dr.) `Abd al-Rahmân &c
''It is reported that al-Hasan said, "Are you not astonished by this man? (i.e. Malik ibn al-Mundhir) He went to some of the old people of Kaskar who had become Muslim and examined them and then commanded that they be circumcised although it was winter. I heard that some of them died. Greeks and Abyssinians became Muslim with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they were not examined at all."''


''“For the Shafi’i school it is obligatory (wājib)”'' Wikipedia: Religious views on FGM
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1251</nowiki>''


''“the practice is'' […] ''considered obligatory by the Shafi’i school. Though not without internal dissent, the Shafi’i position is clearly expressed: “The official position of the Shafi’i School is that it is obligatory for a woman.” There is also a weaker opinion that Imam Nawawi relates in Rawdah 10/180 that it is recommended.””'' stop fgm middle east – Islam-or-culture? (see also <nowiki>http://shafiifiqh.com/question-details.aspx?qstID=173</nowiki>)
''* * *''


''““Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ (this is called khufaaddh, ‘female circumcision’).”'' The Reliance of the Traveller (the Sa’afi handbook of Sharia)
''Ibn Shihab said, "When a man became Muslim, he was ordered to have himself circumcised, even if he was old."''


''“The Shafi’i school considers female circumcision to be wajib (obligatory).”'' Religious views on female genital mutilation
''<nowiki>https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1252</nowiki>''


''“Shafi’i view it as wajib (obligatory) for both females and males”'' Delinking Female Genital Mutilation &c
''* * *''


===Hanbali Madhab===
''11 hadith over and above those shared with FGM – notably the fitrah is five things and when two parts touch''


The Hanbali school is named after the Iraqi scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855). Ahmad ibn Hanbal studied under Al-Shafi‘i (founder of the Shafi’i school) and inherited his deep concerns about the jurists of his time, who were ready to reinterpret the doctrines of the Koran and Hadiths to pander to public opinion and the demands of the rich and powerful. Ibn Hanbal advocated a return to the literal interpretation of Koran and Hadiths. This has made the Hanbali school intensely traditionalist. Today’s ultra-conservative Wahhabi–Salafist movement is an offshoot of this school.
===Was Mohammed Circumcised?===
There is no indication in the above Hadith that Mohammed was himself circumcised. Mohammed’s parents were ‘polytheists’ and as the ‘Heraclius’ Hadith (quoted above) makes clear ‘''except the Jews nobody practice''[d] ''circumcision’'' in the middle East and Arabia.  


Where the Koran and Hadith do not provide guidance, Hanbal recommended guidance from ''Ijma'', then ''Ijtihad'', then weaker (''daif'') Hadiths, and finally ''Qiyas'' (analogy). The Hanbali school, unlike the Hanafi and Maliki schools, reject ''Istihsan'' (jurist discretion) and ''Urf'' (the customs of Moslems) as a sound basis to derive Islamic law.
Or at least not until Mohammed imposed circumcision on his followers. At the age of forty, after his vision in a cave, his first ‘revelation’, Mohammed started developing a religion based on Jewish Monotheism. If Mohammed were circumcised, it is therefore likely that it would have been some time after the age of forty and would have been recorded either in his Koran or reported in the Hadith.  


''“The Hambali school of thought has two opinions: one is mustah’ab (favourable but not wajib) and the other is wajib (obligatory) with many other opinions of jurists differing from each other.”'' Manzoor Hussain &c
In order to square this circle, some Muslim traditions declare that Muhammad was born without a foreskin. And indeed, some boys are born without a foreskin – an extremely rare condition (1:10,000 according to this source) known as aposthia. However, there exists no evidence that this was the case with Mohammed, and to assume otherwise is to engage in reverse-reasoning born out of wishful-thinking in which an ''improbability'' is elevated into a ''certainty.''


''“circumcision is obligatory for men and merely an honorable thing for women. It is not obligatory for them.”'' Sheikh (Dr.) `Abd al-Rahmân &c
One should also keep in mind that Mohammed had a tendency to grant himself exceptions from rules he imposed on others. When Mohammed’s god sent him a ‘revelation’ justifying his preferential treatment of certain wives over others, and also granting him permission to take ''any'' woman who offered herself to him, Aisha, his child-bride and his most perceptive, critical and candid follower, remarked sardonically:


“''makrama for women (“noble”, as opposed to obligatory)”'' Wikipedia: Religious views on FGM
''“I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.”Al-Bukhari 65:4788''


''“the practice is recommended on religious grounds by the Hanbali'' […] ''law school”'' stop fgm middle east – Islam-or-culture?
Many examples exist of Mohammed granting himself ‘prophetic privilege’, and it would not be out of character for Mohammed to exempt himself from a painful procedure, which would put his sex-life on hold for many months, and reduce the sensitivity of his penis for ever afterwards.


''“The Hanbali school considers female circumcision to be makrumah (honorable) and strongly encouraged, to obligatory.”'' Religious views on female genital mutilation
=== Did Mohammed have his sons circumcised? ===


''“Hanbali have two opinions: -it is wajib (obligatory) for both males and females – it is wajib (obligatory) for males and makrumah (honourable) for females.”'' Delinking Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting from Islam
==Fatwas==
<br />“let's note that proponents of female circumcision also resort to the argument of the perfection of God's creation. So Majdi Fathi Al-Sayyid writes:


''“the Hanbalis according to the well-known view of their madhhab, and others are of the view that circumcising women is obligatory.”'' Is there any saheeh hadeeth about the circumcision of females?
“The attachment to the specificities of Islam, of which circumcision , makes appear the beautiful picture according to which God created the human being and of which he says: “He designed you and perfected your design” (64:3). “We created man in the best design' (95:4). so the man apperas in a apicture to which no other picture is superior. To quit or to disregard these natural traditions constitutes a distortion of this divine creature”(Ibn-Asakir (d. 1176))


===SHIA ISLAM===
It means for this author that the human being acquires “the best design” through the performance of male and female circumcision and not by abandoning these two practices. [abu sahlieh p144]
“Shiite religious texts, such as the hadith transmitted by Al-Sadiq, state that “circumcision is makrama (“noble”) for women” Wikipedia: Religious views on FGM


It is not as easy to make out a clear picture of attitudes towards FGM for Shia Islam as it is for Sunni Islam. It is known that FGM is practised by Zaydis in Yemen, Ibadis in Oman and at least by parts of the Ismailis (the Dawoodi Bohras) in India, all three being branches of the Shia (the Ibadis are less directly connected). A survey by WADI found that in the region of Kirkuk in Iraq 23% of Shia girls and women had undergone FGM.
==Forced Circumcision==


====JAFARI –====
“According to the Jafari’ee jurisprudence, circumcision is necessary for men as it is the Sunnah of Prophet Ibrahim (A.S), but not for women.” Manzoor Hussain &c


“Ayatollah Khamenei, the leading scholar among contemporary jurists of Iran, says that FGM is permissible but not obligatory for women. He also states that if the husband wants his wife to be circumcised then it might be carried out if it isn’t harmful for her.” Manzoor Hussain &c
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_circumcision#cite_ref-41


“Ayatullah ali al hussaini ali Sistani form Iraq said in his fatwa in 2010 that FGM is not haram (prohibited). Later in 2014 he revised his fatwa and said that FGM is harmful for the female victims and it isn’t permissible or part of any Islamic injunction.” Manzoor Hussain &c


====ISMAILI –====
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FGM appears to be endemic to the Dawoodi Bohras – an Ismaili sect found in India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Yemen and East Africa. Their current spiritual leader has recommended FGM as being necessary for purity and to avoid sin.
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>A US surgeon from California spent 2 weeks in Bosnia-Herzegovina (including time at Kosevo hospital in Sarajevo) in late August and early September performing remedial urological surgery.The doctor reportedly found that Muslim and Mujahedin irregular troops -- some from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia -- had routinely performed crude, disfiguring, nonmedical circumcisions on Bosnian Serb soldiers, and he treated one 18-year-old Bosnian Serb soldier who was so brutally circumcised that eventually the entire organ required amputation.<br></em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110622061202/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/sdrpt4b.htm">Torture of Prisoners, Fourth Report on War Crimes in the Fomer Yugoslavia: Part II</a></p>
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In 2017 two doctors and a third woman connected to the Dawoodi Bohra in Detroit, Michigan, were arrested on charges of conducting FGM on two seven-year-old girls in the United States. Their Attorney confirmed that FGM was, for her clients, a religious practice:
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<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>Circumcision has been forced on hundreds of Christians, including children and pregnant women, in a campaign by extremists to spread Islam through the war-ravaged Maluku islands.<br></em><a href="http://www.cirp.org/news/morningherald01-27-01/">Terror attacks in the name of religion, Sydney Morning Herald (2001)</a></p>
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“They have a [right] to practice their religion. And they are Muslims and they’re being under attack for it. I believe that they are being persecuted because of their religious beliefs.” Prosecutor: ‘Brutal’ genital mutilation won’t be tolerated in US
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<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>Non-Muslims in these camps, especially children, have been subject to religious indoctrination, circumcision and "Arabization" of their names, and eventual forced conversion to Islam</em> [...] <em>Some boys in these camps or in juvenile houses have reportedly undergone forced circumcision<br></em><a href="http://archive.today/ZuAr6">Sudan: Reports of Catholic residents of Khartoum or elsewhere in Sudan being forcefully converted to Islam (2001)</a></p>


<br />


==Islamic Doctrine that creates social conditions favourable to FGM==


==In the modern Islamic world==
<a "></a></p>
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)."<ref>Tadros, Mariz (24 May 2012). "[https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/mutilating-bodies-muslim-brotherhoods-gift-to-egyptian-women/ Mutilating bodies: the Muslim Brotherhood's gift to Egyptian women]". ''openDemocracy''</ref>
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===FGM as Un-Islamic – A Brief History===
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{{Quote|Egyptian cleric, Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Maligi, on Al-Seha Wal-Jamal TV, March 2017|”The discussion about female circumcision goes back to the past century. The first time that this subject was debated extensively was in the past century. Who were the first to talk about it? The Jews. They do not want Islam or the Muslims to be pure, developed, and civilized, so they started talking about it.”}}
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>The Justice and Peace Commission of Lahor has spoken out against cases of forced conversions: "Young non-Muslim men have been forced to convert and circumcised against their will,"<br></em><a href="http://archive.today/2jin">Christian minorities in Pakistan: little freedom and rising Islamic pressure (2004)</a></p>
As Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Maligi says in the above quote, the idea that FGM might be in any way un-Islamic first arose in past three or four decades. Islam is 1400 years old; the various schools of Islam made their pronouncements on FGM in the centuries immediately following Mohammed’s death; this having been done, Islam appears to have given the practice no more thought till very recently: the earliest fatwa clearly critical of FGM appears to be one from 1984.
{{Quote|quoted from 'Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy'
By International Symposium on Sexual Mutiliations 1996|"The most daring and most coherent opinion coming from a religious leader against female circumcision is that of Sheikh Abu-Sabib, a Sudanese. He spoke at the Seminar on Traditional Practices (Dakear, 1984). The sayings of Mohammed about female circumcision are not reliable. They and the Koran do not require anyone to suffer, when science proves the harm done by this mutilation. The Egyptian Mohammed Salim Al-'Awwah holds a similar opinion."}}
There has been a flurry of fatwas concerning FGM in recent decades. This flurry has, I believe, been a response to heightened expectations of the rights of women and children in the non-Islamic world, and a growing awareness and revulsion at the practice of FGM.
[[File:Fgmwordsearches.jpg|alt=NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision'|thumb|NGram for terms: 'FGM', 'Female Genital Mutilation' and 'Female Circumcision']]
An Ngram for the terms ‘fgm’, ‘female genital mutilation’ and ‘female circumcision’ gives the following result:


A sharp and steady rise in the more condemnatory term (‘mutilation’ rather than ‘circumcision’) in English-language literature starts in 1989-90. This coincides with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which identified female genital mutilation as a harmful traditional practice, and mandated that governments abolish it as one of several “traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.” Islam saw itself reflected in the non-Islamic world’s eyes and felt ashamed at what it saw – leading to, for the first time in Islamic history, to some questioning and criticism of this practice.
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However, keeping in mind the historical context of its 1400-year complicity in the practice, Islam’s response to FGM is reminiscent of that of a burglar who, after having practiced his trade with impunity for decades, has a sudden access of guilt and repentance on his first appearance before a judge. One suspects his distress is more at being found out than guilt or repentance.
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<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>The Yezidi religious minority has suffered similar but perhaps even more severe forms of oppression than the Christian communities. Despised by Muslims as “devil-worshippers” and not protected by any form of official recognition, they constituted the most vulnerable community. Adult men were forcibly circumcised<br></em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110605073043/http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/Violence.htm#_ftn5">The nature and uses of violence in the Kurdish conflict</a></p>
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As it is, most fatwas that appear to condemn FGM are, at best, worryingly ignorant of the place of FGM in Islamic doctrine, or engage in uncritical thinking, or are, at worst, insincere – designed to be no more than pacifiers of the concerns of the non-Islamic world.
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<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>In the city of Falluja, one of the most ancient seats of Mandaeism in the country, the thirty-five families who composed the community were ordered at gunpoint to adopt Islam shortly after the fall of the Saddam regime. The men were forcibly circumcised and the women were married off to Muslim men. Those who resisted were summarily executed.<br></em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110623041759/http://www.arabwashingtonian.org/english/article.php?issue=4&articleID=71">The Rape of Basra: Cleansing the Iraqi Mandaeans</a></p>


==See Also==


*[[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Female Genital Mutilation]]
<p></p>
 
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==References==
<references />

Latest revision as of 16:08, 26 January 2022

circumcision

Intro - the nature of circumcision, statistics, distribution, comparative stats (Muslims, Xtians, Jews, etc)

arabic word for male circumcision

Male Circumcision: truly reliable figures on the extent of circumcision in the world do not exist. In 1996, during the 4th international symposium held in Lausanne, the following figures were distributed: each year, 13,300,000 male children are circumcised in the world. This makes an average of:

1,100,000 childre per month

36,438 per day

1,518 per hour

25 per minute.

Another source indicates that 23% of the male population of the world is cricumcised, which makes a toatl of 650 million. (http://noharmm.org/HGMstats.htm) “

Quran


“Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of those who associate with Allah .” Koran 16:123


There is no explicit reference to Male Genital Mutilation in the Qur'an. However, the Quran 30:30 requires Muslims to 'adhere to the fitrah'.

So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah (فطرة or فطرت) of Allah upon which He has created (فطر) [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.
Quran 30:30

The word 'fitrah appears only this once in the Qur'an, and is left undefined and unexplained. To know what 'fitrah means, traditional scholars turned to hadith which make use of the word. Note that this hadith uses the Arabic word khitan (ختان) for 'circumcision'.

Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision [اخْتُتِنَّ - khitan], shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.”
Sahih Bukhari 7:72:777; See also Sahih Muslim 2:495

“...the Koran mentions 69 times Abraham's name, who is considered a “good example” to follow (60:4), without ever speaking of circumcision.”

Hadith


This is an inventory of sahih and hasan Hadith which touch exclusively on Male Genital Mutilation ( or 'circumcision').

It should not be taken as comprehensive.

To compile it I used the wild-card search for “circumc*” on the site quranx.com.

This search gave 50 results.

“Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Prophet say: “The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision, shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.”” Bukhari 77:106

***

“[…]He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to ‘A’isha and sought her permission and it was granted, and I said to her: 0 Mother, or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter on which I feel shy. She said: Don’t feel shy of asking me about a thing which you can ask your mother, who gave you birth, for I am too your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and the circumcised parts touch each other a bath becomes obligatory.” Sahih Muslim 3:684

***

“Abu al- Malih ibn `Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: “Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.”” Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75; Abu Dawud, Adab 167

***

There were many Hadith where the matn was essenitally the same. Rather than reproducing each one of these I have quoted a 'representative' Hadith, and listed links to the other versions beneath.

...The sub narrator adds, "Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of llya' (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that once while Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning with a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in that mood? Heraclius was a foreteller and an astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they who practice circumcision?' The people replied, 'Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of them (Jews). 'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.' While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to Heraclius was brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs. The messenger replied, 'Arabs also practice circumcision.' (After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the 'Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge...

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-1/Book-1/Hadith-6

* * *

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will be gathered (on the Day of Judgment), bare-footed, naked and not circumcised." He then recited:--'As We began the first creation, We, shall repeat it: A Promise We have undertaken: Truly we shall do it.' (21.104) He added, "The first to be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham, and some of my companions will be taken towards the left side (i.e. to the (Hell) Fire), and I will say: 'My companions! My companions!' It will be said: 'They renegade from Islam after you left them.' Then I will say as the Pious slave of Allah (i.e. Jesus) said. 'And I was a witness Over them while I dwelt amongst them. When You took me up You were the Watcher over them, And You are a witness to all things. If You punish them. They are Your slaves And if You forgive them, Verily you, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (5.120-121)

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-55/Hadith-568

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-6/Book-60/Hadith-149

* * *

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Abraham did his circumcision with an adze at the age of eighty." Narrated Abu Az-Zinad: (as above in Hadith No. 575) With an adze.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-55/Hadith-575

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/DarusSalam/Hadith-6298

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Muslim/USC-MSA/Book-30/Hadith-5844

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1244

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1250

* * *

Narrated Said bin Jubair: Ibn 'Abbas was asked, "How old were you when the Prophet (ﷺ) died?" He replied. "At that time I had been circumcised." At that time, people did not circumcise the boys till they attained the age of puberty. Sa'id bin Jubair said, "Ibn 'Abbas said, 'When the Prophet died, I had already been circumcised. "

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/In-Book/Book-79/Hadith-71

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/DarusSalam/Hadith-6300

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Malik related to me that the generally agreed on way of doing things amongst the community about an accident is that there is no blood-money until the victim is better. If a man's bone, either a hand, or a foot, or another part of his body, is broken accidentally and it heals and becomes sound and returns to its form, there is no blood-money for it. If the limb is impaired or there is a scar on it, there is blood-money for it according to the extent that it is impaired. Malik said, "If that part of the body has a specific blood-money mentioned by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it is according to what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specified. If it is part of what does not have a specific blood-money for it mentioned by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and if there is no previous sunna about it or specific blood-money, one uses ijtihad about it." Malik said, "There is no blood-money for an accidental bodily injury when the wound heals and returns to its form. If there is any scar or mark in that, ijtihad is used about it except for the belly-wound. There is a third of the blood-money of a life for it. " Malik said, "There is no blood-money for the wound which splinters a bone in the body, and it is like the wound to the body which lays bare the bone." Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things in our community is that when the doctor performs a circumcision and cuts off the glans, he must pay the full blood-money. That is because it is an accident which the tribe is responsible for, and the full blood money is payable for all that in which a doctor errs or exceeds, when it is not intentional."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Malik/USC-MSA/Book-43/Hadith-4

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Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyub said, "Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the first to give hospitality to the guest and the first person to be circumcised and the first person to trim the moustache and the first person to see grey hair. He said, 'O Lord! What is this?' Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'It is dignity, Ibrahim.' He said, 'Lord, increase me in dignity!' " Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one mutilates oneself."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Malik/USC-MSA/Book-49/Hadith-4

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Narrated Ammar b. Yasir: The Apostle of Allaah ( sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ) said : The rinsing of mouth and snuffing up water in the nose are acts that bear the characteristics of fitrah (nature). He then narrated a similar tradition (as reported by Aishah), but he did not mention the words "letting the beard grow". He added the words "circumcision" and "sprinkling water on the private part of the body". He did not mention the words "cleansing oneself after easing". Abu Dawud said : A similar tradition has been reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas. He mentioned only five sunnahs all relating to the head, one of them being parting of the hair; it did not include wearing the beard. Abu Dawud said: The tradition as reported by Hammad has also been transmitted by Talq b. Habib, Mujahid, and Bakr b. 'Abd Allaah b. al-Muzani as their own statement ( not as a tradition from the Prophet, sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ).They did not mention the words "letting the beard grow". The version transmitted by Muhammad b. Abd Allaah b. Abi Maryam, Abu Salamah, and Abu Hurairah from the Prophet ( sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam ) mentions the words "letting the beard grow". A similar tradition has been reported by Ibrahim al-Nakha'i. He mentioned the words "wearing the beard and circumcision."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-53

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'Uthaim b. Kulaib reported from his father (Kuthair) on the authority of his grandfather (Kulaib) that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ):I have embraced Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: Remove from yourself the hair that grew during of unbelief, saying "shave them". He further says that another person (other than the grandfather of 'Uthaim) reported to him that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to another person who accompanied him: Remove from yourself the hair that grew during the period of unbelief and get yourself circumcised.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-356

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Salim said, "Ibn 'Umar, Nu'aym and I were circumcised and they sacrificed a ram on our behalf. I think that we were more happy about it than the other children since a ram had been sacrificed on our behalf."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1246

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It is reported that al-Hasan said, "Are you not astonished by this man? (i.e. Malik ibn al-Mundhir) He went to some of the old people of Kaskar who had become Muslim and examined them and then commanded that they be circumcised although it was winter. I heard that some of them died. Greeks and Abyssinians became Muslim with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and they were not examined at all."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1251

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Ibn Shihab said, "When a man became Muslim, he was ordered to have himself circumcised, even if he was old."

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Adab/English/Book-53/Hadith-1252

* * *

11 hadith over and above those shared with FGM – notably the fitrah is five things and when two parts touch

Was Mohammed Circumcised?

There is no indication in the above Hadith that Mohammed was himself circumcised. Mohammed’s parents were ‘polytheists’ and as the ‘Heraclius’ Hadith (quoted above) makes clear ‘except the Jews nobody practice[d] circumcision’ in the middle East and Arabia.

Or at least not until Mohammed imposed circumcision on his followers. At the age of forty, after his vision in a cave, his first ‘revelation’, Mohammed started developing a religion based on Jewish Monotheism. If Mohammed were circumcised, it is therefore likely that it would have been some time after the age of forty and would have been recorded either in his Koran or reported in the Hadith.

In order to square this circle, some Muslim traditions declare that Muhammad was born without a foreskin. And indeed, some boys are born without a foreskin – an extremely rare condition (1:10,000 according to this source) known as aposthia. However, there exists no evidence that this was the case with Mohammed, and to assume otherwise is to engage in reverse-reasoning born out of wishful-thinking in which an improbability is elevated into a certainty.

One should also keep in mind that Mohammed had a tendency to grant himself exceptions from rules he imposed on others. When Mohammed’s god sent him a ‘revelation’ justifying his preferential treatment of certain wives over others, and also granting him permission to take any woman who offered herself to him, Aisha, his child-bride and his most perceptive, critical and candid follower, remarked sardonically:

“I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.”Al-Bukhari 65:4788

Many examples exist of Mohammed granting himself ‘prophetic privilege’, and it would not be out of character for Mohammed to exempt himself from a painful procedure, which would put his sex-life on hold for many months, and reduce the sensitivity of his penis for ever afterwards.

Did Mohammed have his sons circumcised?

Fatwas


“let's note that proponents of female circumcision also resort to the argument of the perfection of God's creation. So Majdi Fathi Al-Sayyid writes:

“The attachment to the specificities of Islam, of which circumcision , makes appear the beautiful picture according to which God created the human being and of which he says: “He designed you and perfected your design” (64:3). “We created man in the best design' (95:4). so the man apperas in a apicture to which no other picture is superior. To quit or to disregard these natural traditions constitutes a distortion of this divine creature”(Ibn-Asakir (d. 1176))

It means for this author that the human being acquires “the best design” through the performance of male and female circumcision and not by abandoning these two practices. [abu sahlieh p144]

Forced Circumcision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_circumcision#cite_ref-41


A US surgeon from California spent 2 weeks in Bosnia-Herzegovina (including time at Kosevo hospital in Sarajevo) in late August and early September performing remedial urological surgery.The doctor reportedly found that Muslim and Mujahedin irregular troops -- some from Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia -- had routinely performed crude, disfiguring, nonmedical circumcisions on Bosnian Serb soldiers, and he treated one 18-year-old Bosnian Serb soldier who was so brutally circumcised that eventually the entire organ required amputation.
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110622061202/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/sdrpt4b.htm">Torture of Prisoners, Fourth Report on War Crimes in the Fomer Yugoslavia: Part II</a>

Circumcision has been forced on hundreds of Christians, including children and pregnant women, in a campaign by extremists to spread Islam through the war-ravaged Maluku islands.
<a href="http://www.cirp.org/news/morningherald01-27-01/">Terror attacks in the name of religion, Sydney Morning Herald (2001)</a>

Non-Muslims in these camps, especially children, have been subject to religious indoctrination, circumcision and "Arabization" of their names, and eventual forced conversion to Islam [...] Some boys in these camps or in juvenile houses have reportedly undergone forced circumcision
<a href="http://archive.today/ZuAr6">Sudan: Reports of Catholic residents of Khartoum or elsewhere in Sudan being forcefully converted to Islam (2001)</a>


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The Justice and Peace Commission of Lahor has spoken out against cases of forced conversions: "Young non-Muslim men have been forced to convert and circumcised against their will,"
<a href="http://archive.today/2jin">Christian minorities in Pakistan: little freedom and rising Islamic pressure (2004)</a>

The Yezidi religious minority has suffered similar but perhaps even more severe forms of oppression than the Christian communities. Despised by Muslims as “devil-worshippers” and not protected by any form of official recognition, they constituted the most vulnerable community. Adult men were forcibly circumcised
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110605073043/http://www.let.uu.nl/~Martin.vanBruinessen/personal/publications/Violence.htm#_ftn5">The nature and uses of violence in the Kurdish conflict</a>

In the city of Falluja, one of the most ancient seats of Mandaeism in the country, the thirty-five families who composed the community were ordered at gunpoint to adopt Islam shortly after the fall of the Saddam regime. The men were forcibly circumcised and the women were married off to Muslim men. Those who resisted were summarily executed.
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110623041759/http://www.arabwashingtonian.org/english/article.php?issue=4&articleID=71">The Rape of Basra: Cleansing the Iraqi Mandaeans</a>


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