Question: Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes eloquently about the evils of female circumcision. What is the position of Islam on that practice?
I found nothing in the Qur’an on the issue and only one Hadith that discussed the issue:
“A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.” Dawud, 41:5251
However, the Hadith is very weak and the chain of authority somewhat suspect, rendering the Hadith not worth using to reinforce any ruling. The Hadith is Dawud, Book 41, Hadith 5251; in 5271, Dawud declares the Hadith defective because a narrator (Hassan) is unknown and the Hadith is weak.
My opinion is that except for a few individual fatwas, Islam does not authorize or consider female circumcision as a required practice. However, it has not been discouraged, either. I would urge everyone to ban this practice everywhere.
Islam today, an Islamic website reports about the issue:
http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=2&sub_cat_id=822
“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 textual 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. And Allah knows best.”
But Individual Fatwas from Different Muslim lands confused many Muslims”
1949: It was decided that it is not a sin to reject female circumcision.
1951: It was decided that female circumcision is desirable because it curbs the natural sex drive. It also decided that medical concerns are irrelevant.
1981: The decision was that people should follow the example of Muhammad and ignore medical authorities because medical authorities too often changes their minds. Parents should do their duty and have their daughters circumcised.
Now, what about Medical and Social Science today on the subject of Female Circumcision?
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html
Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?
By Frances A. Althaus
I found nothing in the Qur’an on the issue and only one Hadith that discussed the issue:
“A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.” Dawud, 41:5251
However, the Hadith is very weak and the chain of authority somewhat suspect, rendering the Hadith not worth using to reinforce any ruling. The Hadith is Dawud, Book 41, Hadith 5251; in 5271, Dawud declares the Hadith defective because a narrator (Hassan) is unknown and the Hadith is weak.
My opinion is that except for a few individual fatwas, Islam does not authorize or consider female circumcision as a required practice. However, it has not been discouraged, either. I would urge everyone to ban this practice everywhere.
Islam today, an Islamic website reports about the issue:
http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?cat_id=2&sub_cat_id=822
“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 textual 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. And Allah knows best.”
But Individual Fatwas from Different Muslim lands confused many Muslims”
1949: It was decided that it is not a sin to reject female circumcision.
1951: It was decided that female circumcision is desirable because it curbs the natural sex drive. It also decided that medical concerns are irrelevant.
1981: The decision was that people should follow the example of Muhammad and ignore medical authorities because medical authorities too often changes their minds. Parents should do their duty and have their daughters circumcised.
Now, what about Medical and Social Science today on the subject of Female Circumcision?
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2313097.html
Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage Or Violation of Rights?
By Frances A. Althaus
Female circumcision, the partial or total cutting away of the external female genitalia, has been practiced for centuries in parts of Africa, generally as one element of a rite of passage preparing young girls for womanhood and marriage. Often performed without anesthetic under septic conditions by lay practitioners with little or no knowledge of human anatomy or medicine, female circumcision can cause death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain. Despite these grave risks, its practitioners look on it as an integral part of their cultural and ethnic identity, and some perceive it as a religious obligation.
Opponents of female genital cutting, however, emphasize that the practice is detrimental to women's health and well-being. Some consider female circumcision a ritualized form of child abuse and violence against women, a violation of human rights.
The debate over female circumcision is relatively recent. The practice was rarely spoken of in Africa and little known in the West until the second half of this century. In the 1950s and 1960s, however, African activists and medical practitioners brought the health consequences of female circumcision to the attention of international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). Still, it was not until 1979 that any formal policy statement was made: A seminar organized by WHO in Khartoum to address traditional practices affecting the health of women and children issued recommendations that governments work to eliminate the practice.
Comments:
As you can see, there is no real reason why this practice should continue, or for that matter there is no good reason for its ever have been practiced anywhere. Those poor children. I wonder if we could get the people of the United States just to add one special prayer this coming Friday, Saturday, or Sunday for all the poor little girls all over the world who were cheated out of their childhood because of parents, grandparents, and imams whose ignorance was beyond words. A loss beyond words.
There are many, many good websites both religious and secular on the internet for more information on this tragic situation. Just enter the term female circumcision into any search engine.
HJS
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