Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Beauty and Makeup: Difference between revisions

Makeup is different. In Surat al-Nur, Allah says, "And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss". (Qur'an 24:31).

Also, it is an incontestable fact that Satan orders only evil and shamelessness. However, if a woman personally feels the size of her breasts or any other organ, are seriously harmful to her health, it is permissible for her to undergo an operation to remove this harm.

In the answer to question no. 34215 we stated that it is haraam to exfoliate the face, and that it is changing the creation of Allaah.

Second, surgery is not carried out to remove a defect, but to attain beauty and to increase one's attractiveness. Surgery for this reason is prohibited. The Prophet said: Abdullah (bin Masood) said, "Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah's creation." [Reported by Imam Al-Bukhari] In addition, it is a kind of Satanic handiwork since it is not for necessity as Allah Says of Satan (interpretation of meaning): {…and indeed I (Satan) will order them to change the nature created by Allâh. …….}[4:119]. If the ears are unusual in a manner that disfigures the structure, and if removing that defect does not have any side effects then performing cosmetic surgery is permissible.

1.1. Khulasat Al-Fatawaa (546 ah) by Shaykh Taahir Bin Abd Al-Rasheed al-Bukhari:

“If a woman cuts her hair, then it is incumbent on her to seek forgiveness from Allah Ta’ala” (Kitaab Al-Nikah, vol 2, pg 52, Rasheediyya)

1.2. Al-Multaqat (556 ah) by Nasir Al-Deen Al-Samarqandi:

“It is not permissible for a woman to cut her hair” (Kitaab Al-Nikah, pg 102, Ilmiyya)

1.3. Nisaab Al-Ihtisaab (820 ah) by Umar Bin Muhammad Al-Sanaami:

“Abu Bakr (Al-Iskaaf) was asked regarding a woman that cuts her hair. He replied: It is incumbent on her to seek forgiveness from Allah Ta’ala, repent and not return to such doings” (Al-Ihtisaab Ala al-Nisaa, pg 142, Al-Taalib al-Jaami’ee)

1.4. Fatawaa Al-Bazaziyyah (827 ah) by Muhammad Bin Muhammad Al-Bazazi:

“It is incumbent upon a woman that cuts her hair to seek forgiveness although her husband commands her to do so, because there is no obedience to the creation in an act that violates the laws of the creator” (Fatawaa Al-Bazaziyya with Al-Fatawaa al-Hindiyya, pg 379,vol 6, Rasheediyya)

1.5. Al-Ashbah Al-Nazaair (970 ah) by Ibn Al-Nujaim:

“It is not permissible for a woman to cut her hair” (Kitaab Al-Nikah, pg 178, Ilmiyya)

1.6. Al-Durr al-Mukhtaar (1088 ah) by Al-Haskafi:

“If she (woman) cuts her hair, she has committed a sin and is accursed. Bazaziyya adds: ‘even if her husband consents because there is no obedience to anyone in an act of disobedience to Allah”. (Al-Durr al-Muhtaar with Shaami, Kitabul Hadri wal Ibahah, vol 6, pg 407, HM Sa’eed)

The above ruling of the Fuqahaa are supported by the following Hadith:

Visible adornment, which is the woman’s outer dress

And hidden adornment, which no one should see except the husband, such as kohl, bangles and rings.

The evidence for that is the report narrated from Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) concerning the interpretation of the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent” [al-Noor 24:31]

Ibn Mas’ood said: The adornment is of two types, visible adornment and hidden adornment which no one should see except the husband. With regard to the visible adornment, this is the dress. With regard to the hidden adornment, this is things such as kohl, bangles and rings.

According to another report, visible adornment includes clothes. That which is hidden includes anklets, earrings and bangles.

Narrated by Ibn Jareer in his Tafseer, 18/117

A similar interpretation was also narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas.

See Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 6/196

Therefore the scholars have said that it is obligatory for a woman to cover her face, hands and hidden adornments. This is what is regarded as more correct by a number of the scholars, including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah.

Al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, when discussing this issue and after quoting the views of the scholars and stating that the report narrated from Ibn Mas’ood is more likely to be correct -:

This view is the most correct opinion in our view; it is more on the safe side, farthest removed from suspicion and causes of fitnah.

Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 6/192

Make-up and the like, and henna, are kinds of adornment which it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to show to non-mahrams.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said:

There is nothing wrong with using henna for adornment, especially for a married woman who adorns herself with it for her husband. As for unmarried women, the correct view is that it is permissible, but she should not show it to people because it is a kind of adornment.

Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 1/477

But some doctors have said that using artificial make-up harms a woman’s skin. If this is proven then it should be avoided.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

If make-up beautifies a woman and does not cause her any harm, then there is nothing wrong with it, but I have heard that make-up damages the skin of the face, and that it therefore alters the skin of the face in an ugly way before the time when the skin changes as a result of ageing. I hope that women will ask their doctors about that. If that is proven, then using make-up is either haraam or makrooh at least, because everything that causes deformity in a person or makes him ugly is either haraam or makrooh.

Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, 1/474

Thirdly:

With regard to a woman’s neck and ears showing from under her khimaar, this is haraam, The ears and neck are among the areas which a woman is commanded to conceal from non-mahram men; they are part of the beauty which it is forbidden to uncover in front of anyone except one's husband and mahrams.

The fuqaha’ are agreed that a woman’s ears are ‘awrah and it is not permissible to show them to non-mahrams.

Any kind of adornment that is connected to them – such as earrings – is also part of the hidden adornment which it is not permissible to show.

Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 2/376

Concerning the conditions of hijaab, see question no. 6991.

To sum up:

It is not permissible for a husband to allow his wife to show her hidden adornments. He must tell her to wear proper hijaab otherwise the husband will be included among those whom sharee’ah counts as not having the proper protective jealousy concerning their honour.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three who will not enter Paradise and Allaah will not look at them on the Day of Resurrection: the one who disobeys his parents, the woman who imitates men, and the cuckold.”