We strive to be good Muslims, making sure not
to miss any of the five daily prayers.
Come
Ramadan, and we are fasting by day, praying and reading Qur’an by night. As
Muslims, we should strive to have self-discipline and a gentle character,
observing our duties towards others in society and avoiding what is forbidden.
However,
there are some pitfalls that have become very common, either due to lack of
knowledge or simply overlooking these mistakes because we falsely believe that
they are minor or that we will not gain bad deeds by doing these simple things.
We may take these matters lightly. Everyone else is doing these things so it
probably isn’t so bad, right?
Not
quite.
A sin is
still a sin even if it is not a major one, and over time and repetition, a
small sin can add up.
Here is a
list of some of the common pitfalls that women may be falling into these days.
Plucking the eyebrows
In
authentic sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he has said that
Allah has cursed the woman who plucks her eyebrows, or asks someone to pluck
them for her, and the woman who plucks the eyebrows for others, for the purpose
of beauty and to make the eyebrows thin. Although different scholars have
different opinions on the ruling, the consensus is that if it is solely for the
purpose of beautification, eyebrow hair should not be plucked or bleached or
shaved. Only if there is an abhorrent defect, such as if the two eyebrows are
linked with no space in between or the growth is excessive that it causes
distress to the eye, the excess or abnormal hair growth can be removed.
Today,
even in the Muslim world, when you watch a show or the news on TV, it looks
like all the women have the exact same eyebrows: thin, arched, and long. The
fashion industry dictates that women should have perfectly thin, photocopied
eyebrows and we all follow suit? You may say that there is a difference of
opinion and some schools of thought may have allowed it, but I say why risk the
curse of Allah? It is no small matter for the curse of Allah to be upon
someone.
Hair extensions and wigs
In our
modern times, go to any hair salon, and you find women getting a hair extension
attached to their hair to make it look fuller or longer. Some people may be
unaware that it is prohibited in Islam.
In the
Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he said that Allah curses the
women who tattoo others and who get a tattoo, the women who connect their hair
with false hair, the women who pluck eyebrows or ask someone to pluck the
eyebrows for them, and the women who ask for a gap to be made between their
teeth for beauty; those women change Allah’s creation.
Tattoos
Tattooing
is strictly forbidden in Islam. By understanding the risks involved in getting
a tattoo and how the tattoo is done, Muslims can appreciate that it has been
prohibited for our own benefit and health.
A tattoo
is created by injecting ink into a person’s skin. An electrically powered
tattoo machine that resembles a dentist’s drill is used. The machine moves a
solid needle up and down to puncture the skin between 50 and 3,000 times per
minute. The needle penetrates the skin by about a millimeter and deposits a
drop of insoluble ink into the skin with each puncture.
According
to a report published by the Mayo Clinic some risks involved in getting a
tattoo include allergic reactions. Tattoo dyes can cause allergic skin
reactions. A skin infection is another likely possibility. Bumps called
granulomas can form around tattoo ink, and scarring can also occur. There is
also the risk of contracting blood borne diseases such as tetanus, hepatitis B
and hepatitis C. In some cases, tattoo ink can cause complications if the
person ever needed to get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging exam).
Nose jobs and other plastic surgery
Plastic
surgery has become alarmingly popular in the Arab world.One begins to ponder if
people understand that it is a sin, unless the plastic surgery is a necessity,
such as for burn victims or for people who have been in an accident and they
want to restore normal looking skin tissue, or for birth defects.
According
to a study conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic
Surgeons, a total of 46,962 plastic surgery procedures were performed in Saudi
Arabia in the year 2011.
When
asked his opinion on plastic surgery, Shaykh Saalih Al-Munajjid replied, “When
surgery is done for the purpose of beautification, it is cosmetic surgery.
These are operations that are done to improve the appearance in the eye of the
beholder, such as making the nose look more beautiful by making it smaller, or
making the breasts look more beautiful by making them smaller or larger, or
facelifts, and so on. This kind of surgery is not for any necessary reason,
rather the purpose is to change the creation of Allah and tinker with it
according to people’s whims and desires. So this is not permissible, because it
is changing the creation of Allah.”
Dying the hair black
There are
not many restrictions for Muslim women who would like to color their hair, dying
it red or chocolate brown for example or applying henna or getting golden
highlights. The only prohibition in dying the hair is getting it dyed black,
and scholars have reached this ruling from the Hadith mentioned below.
Jabir bin
Abdullah reported that Abu Quhaafah was led to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
on the day of the conquest of Makkah and his head and beard were white like
thughamah (white hyssop plant), whereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him)
said:
“Change
it with something but avoid black”. [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No.5244]
Wearing perfume in public
Have you
ever been at the mall, and a woman walks by and her strong, floral perfume is
trailing a mile behind her? The code of dress for a Muslim woman in public is
to be modest and not draw attention to her beauty, so wearing a beautiful scent
does attract people’s attention and it negates the whole objective of the
hijab. In psychology, we studied that the sense of smell is strongest in
arousing emotions. And smell plays an extremely strong role in sexual
attraction. Even if a woman had no intention of tempting or seducing anyone, it
is still impermissible for her to wear perfume when she is in the presence of
any non-mahram men, or men who she can legally marry.
When in
the home or after arriving to a women’s only gathering, she can wear perfume. A
woman of course can wear perfume for her husband.
Does that
mean Muslim women smell like sweat and cooking when they are out? No, a nice
sudsy, cool shower or warm bath will wash away unpleasant body odors.
Note to
readers; please add on other common pitfalls for women, and check out next
week’s list of common pitfalls for men.
Amal Al-Sibai
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