Questen:  We see now a day’s lot of women are plucking their eyebrows for beatifying themselves and it is almost a trend of fashion to pluck eyebrows. What is the ruling for such act and those women in Islam?

Answer:  Indeed we see this has became a trend of fashion to pluck eyebrows as well as tattooing or piercing in any part of the body specially in western society.

These kind of works are not allowed in Shariah as these constitutes to the alteration of Allah’s creation.

It is one of the biggest deception of Shaytan in the name of fashion and trend to alter the creation which only deserves by the almighty Allah s.w.t.

Hence it has been strongly condemned in the Qur’an and ahadith, the following evidence will clarify in sha Allah:

Narrated Alqama r.a:

‘Abdullah (bin Masud) r.a  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.”

His saying reached a lady from BaniAsd called Um Yaqub who came (to Abdullah) and said, “I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?

“He replied, “Why should I not curse these whom Allah’s Apostle has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah’s Book!” Um Yaqub said, “I have read the whole Quran, but I did not find in it what you say.

“He said, “Verily, if you have read it (i.e. the Quran), you have found it. Didn’t you read:

ْوَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُواوَاتَّقُوااللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ [1]

‘And whatever the Apostle gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; surely Allah is severe in reattributing (evil):’

She replied, “Yes, I did,” He said, “Verily, Allah’s Apostle forbade such things.” “She said, “But I see your wife doing these things?” He said, “Go and watch her.

“She went and watched her but could not see anything in support of her statement. On that he said, “If my wife was as you thought, I would not keep her in my company.” [2]

The alteration of the creation has been also mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَلِيًّا مِّندُونِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ خَسِرَخُسْرَانًا مُّبِينًا [3]

And most certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires, and bid them so that they shall slit the ears of the cattle, and most certainly I will bid them so that they shall alter Allah’s creation; and whoever takes the Shaitan for a guardian rather than Allah he indeed shall suffer a manifest loss.

References: [1] (a) Surah al-Hashr V:7 (b) Tafseer Ibn Kathir vol-4, p-496 [2] (a) Bukhari:4886 (b) Muslim:2125 [3] Surah Al-Nisa, V:119 [4] (a) Bukhari:7288 (b) Muslim:1337 [5] Ahmed vol-1, p-433