Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

Scholars have differed whether the forbidden plucking is just about the hair of the eyebrows or includes all facial hair. According to the majority of the scholars, this includes all facial hair, not only that of the eyebrows.

However, some of them stated that it is just about the hair of the eyebrows, and this is the reliable opinion adopted by Iftaa` Department. This view is based on two proofs.

First: Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The woman who supplies fake hair and the one who asks for it, the woman who pulls out hair for other people and the woman who depilates herself, the woman who tattoos and the one who has it done when there is no disease to justify it have been cursed.

Abu Dawud said: Wasilah means the woman who adds false hair to the hair of women. Mustawsilah means the one who asks for adding the hair to her hair. namisah means a woman who plucks hair from the brow until she makes it thin; mutanammisah means the woman who depilates herself ; washimah is a woman who tattoos in the face with antimony or ink ; mustawshimah is a woman with whom it is done." {Related by Abus Dawoud}. In this Hadith, the forbidden plucking is restricted to the hair of the eyebrows and doesn`t include all facial hair. In addition, it is worth mentioning that Abu Dawd is the earliest modern scholar of Hadith to define namis (Plucking hair).

Second: Facial hair, excluding the beard for man, is usually harmful or deformed, and Sharia wouldn`t ban removing such hair. Rather, it commands a Muslim to beatify, because the Prophet (PBUH) said: "He who has, in his heart, an ant's weight of arrogance will not enter Jannah." Someone said: "A man likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?" Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Allah is Beautiful, He loves beauty. Arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the Truth and despising people." [Muslim].

Accordingly, some people of knowledge reported from some scholars that the forbidden plucking pertains to the hair of the eyebrows alone. Ibn Hajar said: "It is said that the plucking has to do with removing the hair of the eyebrows to make them look thinner or sharper." {Fateh Al-Bari}.

In addition, it is stated in the Maliki book [Hasheyat Al-Adawi, vol.2/pp.459]: "The interpretation that was provided by Abu Dawoud is that the namisah means a woman who plucks hair from the brow until she makes it thin. This means that it is permissible to pluck one`s facial hair except that of the eyebrows. However, Judge E`yaad has disagreed with this view."

In conclusion, it is permissible for a man to thread facial hair except that of the beard and the eyebrows. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

 

* For further details in this regards, kindly refer to Fatwa No. (1870).