Female Circumcision

[b]Islamic Ruling on Female Circumcision[/b]

Question

As-Salamu `alaykum. What is the Islamic legal ruling concerning female circumcision?

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi:

Answer

Wa`alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear sister, we are very pleased for the great confidence you repose in us and we really commend your apparent interest in having a better understanding of the teachings of Islam and the rulings of this great religion in all matters. In fact, Islam is a religion that encompasses all aspects of life and secures guidance and light for all mankind.

Before delving deep into the question of female circumcision, we would like to make it clear that "female circumcision" means removing the prepuce of the clitoris, not the clitoris itself.

As for the Shari`ah stance on female circumcision, it’s a controversial issue among the Muslim scholars and even doctors.

In response to the question, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

Actually, this is a controversial issue among jurists and even among doctors. It has sparked off fierce debate in Egypt whereby scholars and doctors are split into proponents and opponents.

However, the most moderate opinion and the most likely one to be correct is in favor of practicing circumcision in the moderate Islamic way indicated in some of the Prophet's hadiths – even though such hadiths are not confirmed to be authentic. It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a midwife: "Reduce the size of the clitoris but do not exceed the limit, for that is better for her health and is preferred by husbands". The hadith indicates that circumcision is better for a woman's health and it enhances her conjugal relation with her husband. It’s noteworthy that the Prophet's saying "do not exceed the limit" means do not totally remove the clitoris.

Actually, Muslim countries differ over the issue of female circumcision; some countries sanction it whereas others do not. Anyhow, it is not obligatory, whoever finds it serving the interest of his daughters should do it, and I personally support this under the current circumstances in the modern world. But whoever chooses not to do it is not considered to have committed a sin for it is mainly meant to dignify women as held by scholars.

As for male circumcision, it is one of the obligatory practices in Islam. Scholars even hold that whoever finds that some Muslims have stopped practicing male circumcision should force them to revert to this Sunnah that characterizes the Muslim nation.

source: Islamonline.net

what's circumsision?

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Quote:
[b]Call to end female circumcision[/b]

Muslim scholars from around the world have called for female genital mutilation to be banned and those who carry it out to face punishment.

At a conference on the subject in the Egyptian capital Cairo, the scholars said governments should enforce existing laws against the practice.

Earlier, the top religious authorities in Egypt said religion offered no justification for the procedure.

Female genital mutilation is widespread in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

It is relatively unknown in most other parts of the Muslim world, including South and South-east Asia, North Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Female circumcision typically involves surgically removing the clitoris of a young girl.

Parents who support the practice argue that it helps prevent promiscuous behaviour in their daughters.

Genital mutilation or female circumcision often robs women of sensitivity in their sexual organs.

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Zara read the news article, it'll answer your question.

thanks.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

zara,

Male circumcision prescribed by Islam and Judaism (- in Judaism at the age of eight days unless health dictates waiting), is the removal of the foreskin, which is a fold of skin around the tip of the male genitalia (trying to be polite about it).

Female circumcision is a lot more controversial and involves incision or removal of a part of the female genitalia. According to the article above it requires the removal of a small section of clitoris. Some Muslim scholars advance the practise (it is not a part of Judaism). Others consider it a tribal custom and oppose the practise. It is common also in some African tribes, sometimes as a more brutal proceedure than the one referred to in the article above. It is not legal in this country and explicitly banned in a law passed in 1985. It is sometimes described as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

[size=10]I feel I'm gonna move on back down south
you know where the water tastes like cherry wine[/size]

ewww, no more details please, i have a fragile heart.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Smile

I wasn't planning on offering more details.

[size=10]I feel I'm gonna move on back down south
you know where the water tastes like cherry wine[/size]

what you've already said is enough for me to faint!
lucky i'm not a boy, bet it hurts!

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

If parents want to do it, then whats wrong with that?

i think they should ask the kid first, i mean, it's not the parents who are going to feel the pain, is it?

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Parents know best. Children cannot decide anything.

All they want is toys and choclates.

Look at the littlefurball.

[color=indigo][b]If you say so.. :roll: [/b][/color]

I mean, can you imagine asking a kid: Son, do you mind if we cut your willy.

God !!

He is NO WAY going to say yes.

Quote:
I mean, can you imagine asking a kid: Son, do you mind if we cut your willy.

God !!

He is NO WAY going to say yes.

but the parents can't just cut his willy off and then tell him what they did afterwards! that's just wrong! poor kid would have a heart attack!

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

1.Unlike male circumcision there is no medical or hygienic reason why women should get it done.

2.This practice was a tribal thing prior to the acceptance of Islam, in many cultures and religions.

3.It is not an Islamic requirement.

4.The hadith narrated in the original post refers only to those people who insisted on the procedure. Islam neither recommends nor forbids the procedure.

5.It’s a tribal/cultural and primitive thing that leads to many complications for women who come from cultures who insist that this procedure is a obligatory thing.

"zara" wrote:

parents can't just cut his willy off and then tell him what they did afterwards!
that's just wrong!
poor kid would have a heart attack!

Telling the child in advance would most certainly give a heart attack.

Just imagine mum and dad go up to their kid and tell him straight:

Billy. Get ready. We're going to cut your willy.

Quote:
Telling the child in advance would most certainly give a heart attack.

Just imagine mum and dad go up to their kid and tell him straight:

Billy. Get ready. We're going to cut your willy.

which is why i think they should ask the kid for permission.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Assalamu Alaikum,

Zara it's an act of fitra to have the circumcision done for a boy, just as it is to remove unwanted hair in certain areas for hygiene reasons. It will reduce the chances of infections, this is why there are many ppl outside of the Abrahamic faiths who choose to be circumcised without any religious orders. As already mentioned it is a sunnah and it must have been important if our prophet Ibrahim(as) at the age of eight performed his own circumcision with an axe.So much for anaesthetics!

There are different scholarly opinions too some are of the view that it is obligatory others are of the view that it's a highly recommended sunnah. I know Malikis are of the view that a non circumcised man's testimony can't be accepted in court nor can he act as an Imam.

mm interesting what you say 100 in Islam although there is no specific order as to when the circumcision should be performed some scholars suggest within seven days of birth or at the latest the onset of puberty and no later. The earlier it is done the better for reasons of purity

Ialso suggest the pain is less when the child is younger. Fewer nerve endings the child is still developing. They are also less aware of what is happening, their foreskin is sofer and will fall off and heal far quick than a more mature childs. Their movements will be restricted if they're a young baby and there will be fewer knocks ouch if they're wearing a nappy. So i would recommend boys getting it done as babies.

Now i don't intend to embarrass the bengalis here but from my experience bengali parents tend to get their boys circumcised rather too late and cause more pain to them..i know guys who had theirs done at 16 and older. More embarrassing aunties go around and want to have a look Lol ..ok i shouldn't laugh aherm. This is torture bengalis need to change their attitudes. They think they're protecting their babies by not getting it done at a young age but leaving it til 16 is going a tad bit far don't you think??? One of my brothers had it done quite old. i remember coz i was erm..maybe seven or eight years old and i was sitting in the surgery with my sis. i thght my brother went to see doc coz he was ill. Anyways 5 mins later we heard him screaming down the surgery. This doctor is crazy he didn't use any anaesthetic serious...there was a lot of blood . I didn't know what was happening i was just a kid. But today we have laugh about it

I recently saw a circumcision performed up close and i never cried but my eyes were full of tears to the brim. The baby was just sitting there ga ga goo goo with the doctor and nurse with a huge pair of scissors hanging off his foreskin totally unawares. When he eventually snipped the foreskin off and i saw it in the tray i thght omg when the anaesthetic wears off we are all in for the crying :shock:

Luckily the baby took it quite well recovered within a week and cried just one night. The pain is usually coz the baby wants to have a wee but is afraid to. It's not so much the cut.

Correct me if i'm wrong apparently when kids are young they use the "ring method." they snip the foreskin and put a ring around the remaining skin. Over a week or so the ring falls off automatically with the skin.

But with older children they need the proper snip coz their skin is more tough so they end up with stitches, all in all it's more painful and it takes longer to heal.

Aherm i've given u enuff detail Zara loool. :?

I agree with MS views with regards to female circumcision, also there's no need for a woman to unnecessarily reveal her awra since this op is not an obligation upon women.

I've heard of cases in Africa where women have had the entire area cut off rather than just snipped. This is why many young girls tend to run away from home and become destitute.

[b][color=indigo]Lol, sis yash ur soo funny! I think you've given everyone enough info on that matter, maybe a lil too much!!!![/color][/b]

[b][color=violet]The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is reported to have said: “Whoever accepts Islam should have his circumcision performed” (Talkhisal-Habir). (males)[/color][/b]

...live everyday as your last day...

"yashmaki" wrote:
Now i don't intend to embarrass the bengalis here but from my experience bengali parents tend to get their boys circumcised rather too late and cause more pain to them..i know guys who had theirs done at 16 and older.

What 16 yrs. of age!....that is old. My lil bro did it when he was something like 6, and he was screaming so loud I was able to hear him screaming down 3 floors.

Male circumcision isn't [i]that[/i] painful, if done without anaesthetic then yes. Not going to go into much detail but when I did mine I did not cry which I thought was a big achievement considering my older bro did cry, I remember teasing him :lol:. The only time it hurts is when you go into the bath and mum pours the salt in the bath, and also when you're opening the bandages.....ouch!

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

i get the picture, yashmaki!

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

"MuslimBro" wrote:
"yashmaki" wrote:
Now i don't intend to embarrass the bengalis here but from my experience bengali parents tend to get their boys circumcised rather too late and cause more pain to them..i know guys who had theirs done at 16 and older.

What 16 yrs. of age!....that is old. My lil bro did it when he was something like 6, and he was screaming so loud I was able to hear him screaming down 3 floors.

Male circumcision isn't [i]that[/i] painful, if done without anaesthetic then yes. Not going to go into much detail but when I did mine I did not cry which I thought was a big achievement considering my older bro did cry, I remember teasing him :lol:. The only time it hurts is when you go into the bath and mum pours the salt in the bath, and also when you're opening the bandages.....ouch!

[color=violet]i dont blame him crying that much, you should get them circumcised when they are like 2 weeks old so they dont feel that muchhhhh paiinnnn...![/color][b][/b]

...live everyday as your last day...

I think alot of people don't cry because of the pain, but fear.

My brother started crying as soon he saw the instruments which were going to be used.

We are lucky to have anaesthetic.

God bless whoever invented it.

But imagine the agony of the poor souls only a few hundred years ago.

They had to go through a lot of pain.

Especially those who converted to Islam late in their years.

All adults converts dreaded the experience.

Even a 50 years old had to have his willy hacked off.

Not all of it but only a few millimeters.

And when he had to go to the loo to do number one, people could still hear his screams.

In this state of fear and confusion, some miss the gents room and end up in the ladies.

One convert told me that most painful part is when you take a pee.

Its illegal here under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.

And theres no medical reason why this would be needed either.

Back in BLACK

how can females get circumsised, there isn't anything to chop off. :?

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

zara,

You should stop thinking of male circumcision as "chopping off". I don't want to get into anatomy here but that isn't an accurate portrayal.

[size=10]I feel I'm gonna move on back down south
you know where the water tastes like cherry wine[/size]

that's what they do tho, isn't it? they cut off a little bit, don't they? but there isn't anything to cut off on a female.

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

"Omrow" wrote:
I mean, can you imagine asking a kid: Son, do you mind if we cut your willy.

God !!

He is NO WAY going to say yes.

yo omrow zara maybe a kid but mind ur language how old are ya 5

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane, by those who couldn't hear the music...

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