Praise be to Allaah.
We will quote for you the fatwas issued by the scholars
concerning the ruling on removing hair from the eyebrows and hair from the
rest of the body.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“If removing hair from the eyebrows is done by plucking, this is namas
(plucking the eyebrows) and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) cursed the naamisah (the woman who plucks eyebrows) and
the mutanammisah (the woman who has her eyebrows plucked). This is a
major sin, and women are singled out in this ruling because they are the
ones who usually do this, for the purpose of beautification, but if a man
were to do it he would also be cursed, just as a woman is cursed for doing
this, Allaah forbid.
If hair is removed from
the eyebrows by a method other than plucking, such as by cutting or shaving,
some of the scholars regard this as being the same as plucking, because it
is changing the creation of Allaah, so there is no difference between
plucking, cutting or shaving. This is undoubtedly more on the safe side, so
a person must avoid that, whether man or woman.”
(Quoted from Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam, p.
577)
The following question was mentioned in Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (5/196):
A young woman has very thick eyebrows that make her look bad.
This girl was forced to shave part of the area between the eyebrows and to
reduce the rest so that she will look acceptable to her husband.
The Committee replied:
“It is not permissible to shave the eyebrows or reduce then,
because that is the namas (plucking) for which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the one who does it and
the one who asks for it to be done. What you must do is repent and pray for
forgiveness for what you have done in the past, and beware of that in the
future.
Another question (5/195) was put to the Committee:
Namas means removing some of the
hair of the eyebrows, and is not permitted, because the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the woman who plucks her
eyebrows and the one who has that done, but it is permissible for a woman to
remove a beard or moustache, if one grows, or hair from her legs or arms.”
The hadeeth which says that the woman who plucks the eyebrows
or who has that done is cursed was narrated by al-Bukhaari (4886) and Muslim
(2125), from the hadeeth of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased
with him).
The point is that it is haraam to remove any hair from the
eyebrows, whether all the hair is removed by shaving, or some of it is
removed by cutting. Anything apart from that is permissible, such as
removing hair from the arms and legs, and the area between the eyebrows. The
following appeared in Fataawa al-Lajnah (5/197):
Question: What is the ruling on plucking the hair between the
eyebrows?
Answer: It is permissible to pluck it, because it is not part
of the eyebrows.
And Allaah knows best.