female circumcision in islam

female circumcision is more a cultural

practice than a matter of Islamic
teachings. the hadîth (sayings of
prophet Mohammad pbuh) which refer
to the practice are all weak. The
presence of that practice in Egypt an
Nubia up to this day is just a
continuation of a practice that has been
around since the time of the Pharaohs.
It is often hard for people to give up
deeply ingrained customs and cultural
practiced. They continue to be passed
down from generation to generation.

Another example of the tenacity of

custom is the practice among Indian
Muslims where the woman pays a
dowry to the husband. This is a pre-
Islamic Indian custom that Islam
declares false. Islam requires the
husband to pay a dowry to the wife.
 Nevertheless, this custom persists
among Muslims in both India and
Pakistan, even though the history of
Islam in India goes back for many long
centuries.

Likewise, Islam put an end to many

pre-Islamic customs that marginalized
women and denied them their rights. It
put an end to people condemning each
other’s lineages. It put an end to the
practice of wailing at a person’s burial.
Nonetheless, these practices can still be
seen in some Muslim societies and are
often regarded by the people of those
societies to be part and parcel of
Islamic Law.

The Shâfi`î school of law has been the

prevalent legal school in Egypt since its
formative years. It may be that the
scholars of the Shâfi`î school who
promoted the view that female
 circumcision is obligatory had been
influenced by the prevailing culture of
the region.

There is no evidence that this practice

was widespread among the Pious
Predecessors. Moreover, the practice
has never been prevalent in the regions
where Islam originated – Mecca and
Madinah and the surrounding areas of
Arabia. It is extremely rare. If female
circumcision had truly been endorsed
by Islamic Law, it would certainly have
been practiced and perpetuated in those
regions. Only male circumcision is
practiced, due to the authentic evidence
in the Sunnah that it is part of the
natural way (fitrah).

We conclude that female circumcision is

merely a cultural practice that has no
prescribed Islamic ruling for it and that
is supported by no decisive ****ual
evidence. It is simply a regional custom
in the places where it is practiced. We
must then take into consideration that
many medical professionals consider it
to have detrimental affects for the girls
who undergo the operation. On that
basis, it would be impermissible to
allow this custom to continue. In
Islamic Law, preservation of the person
– the life and bodily soundness of the
person – is a legal necessity. Anything
that compromises this legal necessity by
bringing harm to the person is
unlawful.