Praise be to Allaah.
A woman is obliged to cover
her ‘awrah before those for whom it is not permissible to see it. The
woman’s ‘awrah with regard to other women is the area between the navel and
the knee, according to the majority of fuqaha’.
It is permissible to
uncover the ‘awrah in cases of necessity, such as medical treatment, but
that is conditional upon the treatment being absolutely necessary in the
case of the most private part of the ‘awrah.
Based on that, there is
nothing wrong with removing armpit hair with a laser, so long as that will
not cause any harm.
With regard to having pubic
hair removed by a female doctor, that is subject to the condition that there
be a real need for that, such as if there is a lot of hair, and other
methods such as plucking or shaving will not work, and you cannot remove it
yourself by using a laser under the doctor’s instructions, so as to avoid
her looking at your ‘awrah.
Al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Covering the ‘awrah and pudenda is
obligatory and is one of the best of customs, especially for non-mahram
women. But it is permissible in cases of necessity and need. Examples of
need include each spouse looking at the other, or doctors looking in the
event that medical treatment is required. Examples of necessity include
treating severe wounds. The condition of extreme necessity is stipulated
with regard to looking at the pudenda that are not stipulated with regard to
looking at any other part of the ‘awrah, because of the abhorrence of
looking at it, and the conditions of necessity and urgency are stipulated
with regard to looking at the pudenda of women that are not stipulated with
regard to looking at the pudenda of men, because of the fear of fitnah that
is connected to looking at women’s pudenda. By the same token, looking at
the part of the thighs that is near the knees is not like looking at the
buttocks. End quote from Qawaa’id al-Ahkaam (1/165).
Al-Sharbeeni al-Khateeb
said: It should be noted that what is forbidden with regard to looking and
touching is that for which there is no need. But in the case of need,
looking and touching are permissible for cupping and treatment, even in the
private area, because of extreme need, because prohibition in that case
would cause a great deal of hardship. The Hanbalis regarded as a case where
it becomes permissible to uncover the ‘awrah: shaving the pubic hair for one
who is unable to shave it himself, as was mentioned by Ibn Muflih (may
Allaah have mercy on him) in al-Furoo’ (5/153).
And Allaah knows best.