Changes

Muslims see male [[circumcision]], and in many cases also [[female circumcision]], as essential to their faith, although in modern times, they have also come to lean on arguments of "medical benefits." A conference of Islamic scholars in 1987 stated that modern circumcision studies “[reflect] the wisdom of the Islamic statements”.<ref>Gollaher, David L. Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery. New York: Basic Books, {{GollaherDL 2000.}}</ref>

Despite being perceived as a practice linked to [[Islam]], organizations such as the [[World Health Organization ]] deny that female genital cutting has any basis in it, and that any religious texts prescribe it. The organization Human Rights Watch says that the practice of female genital cutting is "erroneously linked" to Islam, and that it is "not particular to any religious faith."<ref name="Newsweek 2016-2-22">{{REFnews | last=Wescott | first=Lucy | coauthors= | url=http://www.newsweek.com/fgm-compromise-nick-western-countries-429250 | title=U.S. Study Proposes Nicking Genitals as ‘Compromise’ for FGM in Western Countries | publisher=Newsweek | work= | quote=FGM is a cultural practice that has no basis in religion. | date=2016-02-22 | accessdate=2016-02-26

The prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) is not [[circumcised ]] in the Qur'an, or if he is, no mention of it is ever made in the 67 times that his name is written. A covenant sealed with [[circumcision]], as it is described in the Bible, is also never mentioned.<ref> QuaranicPath "Circumcision - Does the Qur'an Approve it?" http://www.quranicpath.com/misconceptions/circumcision.html </ref> Despite never being mentioned in the Qur'an, it is still widely practiced among followers of Islam in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, who interpret it as an Islamic ceremony.<ref>{{REFbook |last=Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, |first=Sami A. "Chapter |init=SA |author-link=Sami Aldeeb |chapter=3: Circumcision among Muslims." '' |title=Male and Female Circumcision: Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims''. |location=Warren Center, Pa.: {{USSC|PA}} |publisher=Shangri-La, |year=2001.}}</ref> The Muslim code of religious law (AKA Shariah) recommends performance of [[circumcision ]] at the age of seven days. In practice, however, Muslim boys are [[circumcised ]] at varying ages before puberty.<ref>Morgenstern, Julian. ''Rites of Birth, Marriage, Death and Kindred Occasions among the Semites.'' Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1966. pp. 48-66 "...in modern Moslem practice the rite is performed generally between the ages of two and seven years... as late as the thirteenth year.’’</ref><ref>Mehta, Depak. "Circumcision, Body, Masculinity." ''In Violence and Subjectivity'', ed. Veena Das, Arthur Kleinman, et al. Berkeley: {{UNI|University of California |UCBE}} Press, 2000. pp. 82 "...two to six years."</ref><ref>Peletz, Michael G. Reason and Passion: Representations of Gender in a Malay Society. Berkeley: {{UNI|University of California |UCBE}} Press, 1996. pp. 240 "[Among Muslims in Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia, boys] are usually circumcised when they are about twelve years old."</ref><ref>Crapanzano, Vincent. ‘‘Rite of Return: Circumcision in Morocco.’’ In Hermes’ Dilemma and Hamlet’s Desire: On the Epistemology of Interpretation. Cambridge, Mass.: {{UNI|Harvard University |HU}} Press, 1992.</ref> According to Genesis 17, Abraham circumcised Ishmael, who is supposed to be the the ancestor of Arab peoples, at the age thirteen, which is why this age is generally taken as the latest acceptable date.

| Title=The best of moulds | Text=We have indeed created man in the 'best of moulds'. | Author= | Source=at-Tin 95:4

| Title=Perfect Design | Text=Allah is the One who made the Earth a habitat for you, and the sky as a structure, and He designed you, and has perfected your design. | Author= | Source=Ghafir 40:64

Finally, according to the Qur'an, [[circumcision ]] may be seen as an act of evil:

| Text=Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: 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.

| Text=Abu Musa reported: There cropped up a difference of opinion between a group of Muhajirs (Emigrants and a group of Ansar (Helpers) (and the point of dispute was) that the Ansar said: The bath (because of [[sexual intercourse]]) becomes obligatory only-when the semen spurts out or ejaculates. But the Muhajirs said: When a man has sexual intercourse (with the woman), a bath becomes obligatory (no matter whether or not there is seminal emission or ejaculation). Abu Musa said: Well, I satisfy you on this (issue). He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to 'A'isha and sought her permission and it was granted, and I said to her: 0 Mother, or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter on which I feel shy. She said: Don't feel shy of asking me about a thing which you can ask your mother, who gave you birth, for I am too your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) '''and the ''circumcised parts'' touch each other''' a bath becomes obligatory.

| Title=Hufaad | Text='''e4.3''' Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of [[skin ]] on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the [[clitoris ]] (this is called Hufaad) | Author=Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri | Source= | ref=<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Sharia/fem_circumcision.html Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law]</ref>

Their evidence is to be found in the saheeh ahaadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah Allah be upon him), which prove that it is prescribed, for example:

:The hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (5889) and Muslim (257) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ''"The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – [[circumcision]], shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hairs, and trimming the moustache."''

:This hadeeth includes [[circumcision ]] of both males and females.

:Muslim (349) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah Allah be pleased with her) said: ''The Messenger of Allaah Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah Allah be upon him) said: “When a man sits between the four parts (arms and legs of his wife) and the two circumcised parts meet, then ghusl is obligatory.”''

:The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah Allah be upon him) mentioned the two circumcised parts, i.e., the circumcised part of the husband and the circumcised part of the wife, which indicates that a woman may be circumcised just like a man.

:That [[circumcision ]] is Sunnah for both males and females. This is the view of the Hanafis and Maalikis, and was narrated in one report from Ahmad. Ibn ‘Aabideen al-Hanafi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Haashiyah (6/751): ''"In Kitaab al-Tahaarah of al-Siraaj al-Wahhaaj it says: Know that circumcision is Sunnah in our view – i.e., according to the Hanafis – for men and for women."''

:That [[circumcision ]] is obligatory for men and is good and mustahabb for women. This is the third view of Imam Ahmad, and it is the view of some Maalikis such as Sahnoon. This view was also favoured by al-Muwaffaq ibn Qudaamah in al-Mughni.

'''Thus it is clear that the fuqaha’ of Islam are agreed that [[circumcision ]] is prescribed for both males and females, and in fact the majority of them are of the view that it is obligatory for both. No one said that it is not prescribed or that it is makrooh or haraam.'''

:''"Thus it is clear that [[female circumcision ]] is prescribed in Islam, and that it is one of the Sunnahs of the fitrah and it has a good effect of moderating the individual’s behaviour. As for the opinions of doctors who say that female circumcision is harmful, these are individual opinions which are not derived from any agreed scientific basis, and they do not form an established scientific opinion. They acknowledge that the rates of cancer among circumcised men are lower than among those who are not circumcised, and some of these doctors clearly recommend that circumcision should be done by doctors and not these ignorant women, so that the operation will be safe and there will be no negative consequences. However, medical theories about disease and the way to treat it are not fixed, rather they change with time and with ongoing research. So it is not correct to rely on them when criticizing circumcision which the Wise and All-Knowing Lawgiver has decreed in His wisdom for mankind. Experience has taught us that the wisdom behind some rulings and Sunnahs may be hidden from us. May Allaah help us all to follow the right path."''

| Text=We do not know of any hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah Allah be upon him) ordered that his wives or daughters be [[circumcised]], but it is narrated that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised a woman who did circumcision in Madeenah as to the proper way of circumcision. It was narrated by Abu Dawood (5271), al-Tabaraani in al-Awsat, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu’ab from Umm ‘Atiyyah al-Ansaariyyah that a woman used to do circumcision in Madeenah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her: “Do not go to the extreme in cutting; that is better for the woman and more liked by the husband.” '''This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood'''.

It is also indicated by the general meaning of the evidence that has been narrated concerning [[circumcision]], such as the hadeeth in al-Bukhaari (5891) and Muslim (527) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision, shaving the pubes, trimming the moustache, cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hairs.”

Female circumcision is done by cutting a small part of the [[skin ]] that looks like a rooster’s comb, above the exit of the [[urethra]]. The Sunnah is not to cut all of it, but rather a part of it. Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (19/28).

My brother, we have talked about [[circumcision ]] many times. I counsel every Muslim man on the face of the earth, and also every Muslim woman on the face of the earth: Brother, take the little bit of trouble it requires to get yourself a book of fiqh! Inconvenience yourself a little for Allah's sake. Just take five minutes. '''Any book--do you have the book "Fiqh al-Sunna" by Shaykh Sayyid Sabiq (may Allah have mercy on him)? Do you have "Al-Mughni" by Ibn al-Qudama, or "Kitab al-Umm" by Imam al-Shafi'i? Do you have Fath al-Bari's explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari? Any of the books of fiqh'''--I mentioned to you some books of fiqh and some books of hadith--open any of the books of fiqh. Open them. That's it, plain and simple.

'''To whoever says that [[circumcision ]] is an ancient Egyptian custom with no origin in the sunna, I say, Brother, review the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Let us consult the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "If you touch the male or female circumcision…"''' This hadith deals with the highest level of community health. In the highest level of health: '''"If you touch the male circumcision," meaning the circumcision of men, "or the female circumcision," meaning the circumcision of women, "washing is obligatory." These are the true words from the Prophet'''. It makes no sense at all in Arabic to say, "If you touch the male circumcision for men or the female circumcision for men.” Men, does this apply to you--"male or female circumcision"? Or rather, with circumcision for men or circumcision for women, "washing is obligatory."

| date=August 2011-08-16, 2011