Circumcision: status and the schools' views

Circumcision: ruling and the positions of the schools

The jurists of the 4 schools agree on the legality of circumcision. Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) reports their agreement that whoever circumcises his son has acted rightly, and on the permissibility of female circumcision (Maratib al-Ijma', p. 157). Ibn Hubayra (may Allah have mercy on him) says: they agreed that circumcision for the male and khifad (female circumcision) for the female are legislated (Al-Ifsah 1/342). And Imam Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) states: the circumcision of the woman is legislated without any disagreement (Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, 1/372).

The jurists then differ: is circumcision obligatory for both the male and the female, obligatory for the male and recommended for the female, or simply recommended for all? Three views emerge.

First view: the Hanafis and the Malikis, an isolated report among the Shafi'is, and a narration from Imam Ahmad chosen by Ibn Abi Musa, hold that circumcision is an emphasized sunna for the male, and that the one who abandons it commits a sin; it is part of the fitra, one of the rites and distinctive marks of Islam. If the people of a town agreed to abandon it, the ruler would fight them, and it is not abandoned except out of necessity.

References: Al-Bahr ar-Ra'iq (8/554), Majma' al-Anhar (4/490), Hashiyat Ibn Abidin on Ad-Durr al-Mukhtar (6/751), Al-Ikhtiyar (4/178), Tabyin al-Haqa'iq (6/226), Adh-Dhakhirah (4/667), Hashiyat al-Adawi (2/444), Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyya (1/129), At-Taj wa-l-Iklil (3/258), Ath-Thamar ad-Dani (1/410 and 682), Al-Kafi (1/612), Al-Majmu' (2/314), Al-Insaf (1/123 and 124), Al-Ifsah (1/342), Al-Fath (10/353), Tuhfat al-Mawlud (p. 110 and 111), Al-Mughni (1/107).

As for the woman, it is a mark of honor (makruma) for her, that is, recommended. It was so described because it improves the complexion and makes intercourse more pleasant: improving the complexion meaning that it brings out its freshness, radiance and glow.

Among the Hanafis, another view holds it to be a sunna for women as well, that is, an emphasized sunna (same sources as above). Ibn Hubayra again recalls the agreement that circumcision for the male and khifad for the female are legislated. The scholars then differ on its obligation: Abu Hanifa and Malik hold that it is a sunna for her, not an obligation in the sense of a fard, but the one who leaves it commits a sin (Al-Ifsah 1/342).

They support this with the hadith of Abu Hurayra, raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

"Five things are part of the fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpits, trimming the nails and trimming the mustache"Sahih hadith

They note that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) joined circumcision in the hadith with trimming the mustache, which is not obligatory. Then comes the hadith of Ibn Abbas:

"Circumcision is a sunna for the men and a mark of honor for the women"Weak hadith; its full reference is given below

Second view: Imam Ahmad, according to a narration chosen by Ibn Qudama, holds circumcision obligatory for men to the exclusion of women. Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him) reports that Imam Ahmad said: the man is more affected, for if he is not circumcised that skin remains a sign of disbelief and what is beneath it is not cleaned; the woman is less affected. Abu Abdillah (Ahmad) also said: Ibn Abbas was strict about this matter; it is reported from him: "no hajj and no prayer", meaning for one who is not circumcised (Al-Mughni 1/101, Al-Insaf 1/124).

Third view: the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis in the madhhab, as well as the view of Suhnun and Ibn al-Arabi among the Malikis (a view also reported from Abu Hanifa and Malik), hold circumcision obligatory for men and women alike.

References: Al-Majmu' (2/314), At-Tanbih (1/14), Mukhtasar Khilafiyat al-Bayhaqi (5/33), Ar-Rawda (10/180), Al-Ifsah (1/342), Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyya (1/129), Ahkam al-Qur'an by Ibn al-Arabi (1/56), Tarh at-Tathrib (2/71 and 72), Fath al-Bari (10/352 and 353), Tuhfat al-Mawlud (p. 110 and 111).

They bring the following proofs.

1. Circumcision belongs to the religion of Ibrahim. In the 2 authentic collections, Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

"Ibrahim circumcised himself at the age of 80 with an adze (qaddum)"Narrated by Bukhari (3178) and Muslim (2370)

The Most High says:

"Then We revealed to you to follow the religion of Ibrahim, upright in faith"

Surah An-Nahl, 123

and circumcision is part of his religion. Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) presents the objection: the verse would not prove the obligation, for we were commanded to follow his religion; what he did believing it obligatory we do believing it obligatory, what he did as a recommendation we do as a recommendation, and he is not known to have believed it obligatory. The answer: the verse explicitly commands following him in what he did, which entails obligating every act he performed, unless evidence establishes that it is for us a mere sunna, like the siwak and the like; al-Khattabi moreover reports that the traits of the fitra were obligatory upon Ibrahim (peace be upon him) (Al-Majmu' 2/313).

2. A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I have embraced Islam". He answered:

"Cast off the hair of disbelief and be circumcised"Narrated by Abu Dawud (356) and al-Bayhaqi (1/172); graded hasan by al-Albani through its supporting chains (Irawa' al-Ghalil 1/79, Sahih al-Jami' 851 and 1251), but graded weak by an-Nawawi, ash-Shawkani, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (10/354)

The supporters of the obligation reply, with Tuhfat al-Mawlud (p. 111): the fact that he was encouraged to remove the hair does not require taking circumcision as a mere recommendation.

3. Ibn al-Qayyim said: circumcision is one of the most manifest symbols by which the Muslim is distinguished from the Christian; its obligation is more apparent than that of the witr prayer, of the zakat on horses, of the ablution required from the one who laughs out loud in his prayer, from the one who had blood cupped or vomited, of tayammum up to the elbows, of the 2 strikes on the ground, and other such cases. The obligation of circumcision is even stronger, to the point that the Muslims hardly count the uncircumcised among their own; this is why some jurists hold that the adult must be circumcised even if it should cost him his life (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 112).

4. If circumcision were not obligatory, the private part would not have been exposed for it, for exposing the private part is forbidden: its permitted exposure therefore proves the obligation (view of ash-Shirazi, see Al-Majmu' 2/313).

5. Nor could it be dispensed with if that entailed abandoning 2 obligations and committing 2 forbidden acts: exposing the private part on the side of the one circumcised, and looking at the private part of a stranger on the side of the circumciser. If it were not obligatory, 2 obligations would not have been abandoned and 2 forbidden acts committed (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 113).

6. Although many scholars classify it among the sunan, many hold it obligatory: it is the emblem of the religion by which the Muslim is distinguished from the disbeliever. If a circumcised body is found among a group of uncircumcised slain men, the funeral prayer is performed over him and he is buried in the graves of the Muslims (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 113). There is also no objection to combining different rulings under a single imperative, as in the word of Allah:

"Eat of its fruit when it bears fruit, and pay its due on the day of its harvest"

Surah Al-An'am, 141

for paying the due is obligatory while eating is permitted (Fath al-Bari 10/353).

7. The guardian inflicts pain on the child and exposes him to death through carelessness; he spends from his wealth the fee of the circumciser and the price of the remedy, without bearing liability in case of accidental death. If circumcision were not obligatory, none of this would be permitted: it is not allowed to squander a person's wealth, inflict intense pain on him or expose him to death by an act that is not obligatory (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 113; the author treats this question of liability in his book Al-Jami' li-ahkam al-kafala wa-d-damanat, in the chapters on hire and on torts).

8. If it were not obligatory, the circumciser could not venture upon it, even with the consent of the person or his guardian: it is not permitted to cut a limb that Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not command to cut nor made obligatory to cut, just as it would not be permitted to consent to cutting off an ear or a finger. Consent would not remove the sin, while the waiver of liability is disputed (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 113 and following).

9. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the aim of the circumcision of the man is to purify him from the impurity that collects in the foreskin; the aim of the circumcision of the woman is to moderate her desire, for if she remains uncircumcised she becomes excessively lustful. This is why, as an insult, a person is called "the son of an uncircumcised woman": such a woman is more inclined to look at men; and this is why obscenities are found among the women of the Tatars and the Franks that are not found among the women of the Muslims (Majmu' al-Fatawa 21/114).

10. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) adds: circumcision involves purity, cleanliness, the improvement of character and the moderation of desire. This desire, when excessive, brings man close to the beast; when entirely absent, it brings him close to inanimate matter: circumcision sets it right. It is observed, in fact, that uncircumcised men and uncircumcised women are never satiated with intercourse. A man is also blamed by being called "the son of an uncircumcised woman", pointing to his mother's lustfulness. What adornment is better than cutting whatever has overstepped the limit: the skin of the foreskin, the hair of the pubis, the armpits and the mustache, and whatever of the nails has grown too long?

The devil hides beneath all of that, frequents it and dwells in it; he even breathes into the member of the uncircumcised and into the private part of the uncircumcised woman what he does not breathe into the circumcised, and he hides in the pubic hair and under the nails. The excess skin of the foreskin is uglier in its place than a long nail, a long mustache or pubic hair of excessive length; the ugliness of this excess and the improvement, cleansing and adornment in removing it are not lost on anyone of sound natural disposition. This is why, when Allah tested His intimate friend Ibrahim with the removal of these things and he completed them, He made him a leader for mankind. To this is added the beauty and radiance of the face it produces, and the gloom it removes from it.

Abu Dawud narrates from Umm Atiyya that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed a woman who performed circumcisions:

"When you circumcise, do not cut deeply; that is more pleasant for the woman and more beloved to the husband"Sahih through its supporting chains, narrated by Abu Dawud (5271)

The author explains: if the one who cuts deeply removes the entire skin, the woman's desire weakens and her pleasure with her husband diminishes; if she leaves it untouched, her lustfulness increases; taking part of it while leaving the rest sets both character and desire right. Nor is it far-fetched that this cutting should serve as a mark of belonging: among many slaves, the cutting of the tip of the ear or the mark on the forehead signals servitude. This cutting is therefore the sign of the servant's servitude to Allah, so that people may know that he belongs to the sincere servants of Allah; circumcision becomes the emblem of this sunna, than which there is none nobler, in addition to the purity, cleanliness, adornment and moderation of desire it involves (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 127 and 128).

The jurists then answer the arguments of those who deny the obligation. The first argument is the hadith of Ibn Abbas quoted above. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) replies: this hadith is narrated from Ibn Abbas with a weak chain, and the correct view is that it is his own statement; it is also reported from al-Hajjaj ibn Arta, through the chains of Abu al-Mulayh ibn Usama from his father, and of Makhul from Abu Ayyub raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Al-Bayhaqi mentions all these chains, then cites from Ibn Abbas that the slaughter of the uncircumcised is not to be eaten, that his prayer is not accepted and his testimony not admitted, and he comments: this shows that he held it obligatory. As for the words "circumcision is a sunna", they refer to the sunna of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who legislated it and commanded it: it is therefore obligatory. The sunna is the path: one says "I legislated such a thing for him" meaning "I instituted it". "Circumcision is a sunna for the men" therefore means that it is legislated for them, not that it would be a mere recommendation: the sunna is the followed path, whether obligatory or recommended, as in his words:

"Whoever turns away from my sunna is not of me"Words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), cited by Ibn al-Qayyim in Tuhfat al-Mawlud (p. 119)

"Hold fast to my sunna and the sunna of the rightly guided caliphs after me"Words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), cited by Ibn al-Qayyim in Tuhfat al-Mawlud (p. 119)

Ibn Abbas for his part said: "Whoever opposes the sunna commits disbelief". Restricting the word "sunna" to what may be abandoned is a recent convention: the sunna is everything the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) legislated for his community, obligatory or recommended, for the sunna is the path, the guide and the way (weak hadith: narrated by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad (20738) and al-Bayhaqi in As-Sunan al-Kubra (17343); Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 119).

2. As for the argument that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) paired circumcision with the recommended practices: the indication of pairing cannot outweigh the proofs of obligation; moreover, among the mentioned traits some are obligatory, like rinsing the mouth, sniffing water into the nose and istinja, and some are recommended, like the siwak (Tuhfat al-Mawlud p. 119).