Allah SWT has gifted mankind with a perfect and beautifully designed body. He created humans with His two hands. Any unapproved alteration to it is strictly prohibited and stated by the Quran as the evil ‘command’ of Satan: ‘I shall command them persistently, so they will surely alter what Allah has created.’ (Quran: 4:119)
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a piercing is ‘a hole in the body for wearing jewellery’ or ‘the process of making a hole in the body for wearing it.’ In light of this definition the Islamic perspective on piercings may vary and the types, objectives, procedures and cultural perceptions of it within the Muslim communities may make Islamic rulings disparate. Before I explain the Islamic rulings on the ear/nose/body piercing, we need to understand the nature of the code of the Shariah and how it is derived. If you have not already, please read “The Classifications of Rulings in the Hanafi Madhab”, also available on Baseerah Forum’s website.
According to the gradings and explanations provided in that response, we can say that receiving any kind of piercing doesn’t fall in the category of commission rulings (Obligatory to Commendable) as we don’t have any direct communication from the Law Giver (Allah SWT) on the matter. Likewise, we do not possess direct communication on the omission of the piercing (Forbidden to Uncommendable). More specifically:
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- Ear piercings for women are understood as Mubah (indifferent or permissible) due to the indirect communication from the Law Giver and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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- Nose piercings for women are also declared Mubah by most scholars based on scholarly analogy (Qiyas).
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- All kinds of other body piercing can fall from Condemned to Uncommendable because of procedural, objective and cultural outlooks.
An Explanation of Islamic Rulings on Piercings:
Ear Piercings
There is nothing wrong with piercing the ear of a girl for the sake of adornment, as the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, approved it and did not forbid it.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out and prayed, then he delivered a khutbah – and he did not mention any adhaan or iqaamah – then he went to the women and exhorted and reminded them, and told them to give charity, and I saw them taking off their earrings and necklaces and giving them to Bilal, then he and Bilal went back to his house.[Narrated by al-Bukhari (4951) and Muslim (884)].
This shows textual proof that the ladies in the times of Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him and his family) wore earrings and he did not forbid them. The maximum Shari’ grade proven is permissibility (or Al-Ibaha) because the communication from Law Giver is indirect through silent approval.
It was also narrated that ‘A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Eleven women sat and promised one another that they would not conceal anything about their husbands … the eleventh one said: My husband is Abu Zara’ and what (can I say about) Abu Zara’? He has given me many ornaments and my ears are heavily loaded with them. … ‘A’isha said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I am to you as Abu Zara’ was to Umm Zara’.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari (4893) and Muslim (2448))
We understand from this hadith the permissibility of wearing earrings for women, again indirectly, from the second source of Shariah, the Sunnah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) approved of what Abu Zara’ did by filling the ears of Umm Zara’ with jewellery until they became heavy.
Double Ear Piercings
From the above rulings it is also understood that there is nothing wrong with piercing the ear more than once, because the basic principle is that it is permissible and there is nothing to indicate that it is not allowed. But that is on the condition that it be in accordance with the traditions and customs of the people in your country.
It says in al-Mawsu‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (29/216):
“The basic principle with regard to customs is that which was narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “Whatever the Muslims regard as good is good before Allah.” And in the books of Usul al-Fiqh there is that which indicates that traditions are to be taken into consideration with regard to Fiqh. For example:
“The scholars said: “Customs are not to be regarded as rules… rather customs are to be taken into consideration if they become prevalent and well established. There is hardly any book of Fiqh or any category of Fiqh but you see custom playing a role in forming some of its rulings.”
Nose Piercings
A specific ruling regarding the nose-piercing for women is not found in the books of the Fuqaha. Therefore, many scholars in general oppose nose-piercings for women due to the absence of evidence from the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. Ibn Hajar al-Haythami said in ‘Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj’: “It appears that piercing the nose with a ring made of silver or gold is absolutely forbidden, because there is no adornment in that except according to a small group but their opinion is not considerable.”
However, in Hanafi Fiqh we do find some guidance regarding the ruling of the nose piercing. According to Imam Haskafi’s statement, there is no harm in piercing the ears of baby girls but regarding the piercing of nose, he said: “I have not seen it”. The statement of Imam Haskafi implies that he has either not seen the Fiqhi ruling of nose piercing or he has not seen any woman having nose piercings performed. However, Imam Ibn Abidin Al-Shami writes in explaining this comment of Imam Haskafi that: if this (nose-piercing) is something that women do for beautification and ornament purposes as it happens in some places then it will be treated as an ear-piercing. Shafi’i scholars have explicitly stated the permissibility of nose-piercings (Radd al-Mukhtar: 9/693).
Tongue Piercings
Piercing the tongue to put studs in is a different matter, as this is a strange matter contrary to good taste, which was practiced by non-Muslim women. Rather, it is an emblem of prostitutes in some Western countries, and it is not permissible to imitate them in it, in addition to the health damages mentioned by the doctors, and the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, says: “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” (Sunan Ibn Majah: 2341)
Piercing other Parts of the Body
As for piercing the navel and other parts of the body, there is no textual proof about it from the people of knowledge, and some contemporaries have held the opinion that preventing it for three reasons could be closer to the benefit of Muslim society:
Firstly, it is unjustified mutilation and torture of the body. Secondly, women often do not need to adorn themselves like this and it is not recognized as such in primary sources or by the people of knowledge, rather it is closer to distortion than to adornment. Thirdly, this might be very clear resemblance to non-Muslim women. This is also an imitation of them in something that symbolizes promiscuity and debauchery. The Hadith forbids it; “He who imitates any people is one of them” (Sunan Abi Dawud: 4031).
Piercings for Men
Although the permissibility to pierce the ears of a young girl or woman is established because it is an adornment that has been tacitly approved according to the Sunnah, it is generally discouraged to pierce the ears of a boy or a man, because that comes under the heading of inflicting pain and mutilation needlessly (which is Haram by default), without any approval or exception from the authorities of Quran and Sunnah. Also, it potentially may come under the heading of imitating women (though this particular ‘imitation’ point may not apply across all cultures and times). Nevertheless, the weight of evidence demonstrates that piercing the ear for the males should generally be avoided and discouraged and cultural factors should never take precedent over the Quran and Sunnah.
Note: There is a hadith reported by al-Tabrani in ‘Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat’ (1/133) from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that one of the seven Sunnah acts for the male child is to ‘pierce his ears’, and based on this report, some scholars formulated the opinion that ear piercing is permissible for the male child.
When Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about the piercings for the male, he said, “it is disliked for male child”. His student then asked him, “who disliked it”? He said, “Hariz ibn Uthman” (Kitab al-Jami’ li-Ulum al-Imam Ahmad: 8/369). Hariz ibn Uthman was considered reliable in the narration of Hadiths, but he has been criticised for his hostile attitude towards certain companions, especially Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), so this undermined his authority (Siyar ‘Alaam al-Nubala: 8/81-82).
There is the possibility that the practice was prevalent in some cultures, but discouraged and disliked by the later scholars based on the evidence that reached them. Even so, the above mentioned hadith also does not reach an appropriate level of authenticity with respect to establishing a ‘Mubaah’ ruling for ear piercing for the males. Clearly, the weight of evidence indicates towards caution and avoidance of piercing.
And Allah SWT knows best.