The Deal on Eyebrow Plucking and Shaping

{via Bold Natural Eyebrows}

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullah,
Dear Shahirah,

What are your thoughts on eyebrow-shaping? Not to reshape, but to keep them neat and tidy.

                                        - H

Wa alaykummusalam warahmatullahi wa barakatuh H,

Thanks for your question. Here are my personal thoughts on this issue.

I've never plucked my eyebrows because I don't see the need for me to do so. Make up artists have told me that I should because neatly plucked eyebrows would frame my face in a better way but I believe in this: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. There is also a hadith which says,

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "Allah has cursed the Washimat and the Mustawshimat, the Namisat and the Mutanammisat, and the Mutafallijat for beauty, who change what Allah has created." 

{Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmizi}

The Washimat are the tattooers, and the Mustawshimat are the people who are tattooed. The Namisat pluck the eyebrows to straighten them or to make them thinner, and the Mutanammisat are the people whose eyebrows are plucked. Some Muslim scholars apply this prohibition of plucking the hair to all the facial hair of the woman. The Mutafallijat for beauty are the peoples who widen the gaps between their teeth for the sake of beautification.

"Some scholars say that shaping the eyebrows or trimming them falls under the same rule. However, other scholars consider shaping eyebrows or trimming them to be permissible. They say that the prohibition in the above hadith specifically refers to plucking eyebrows, and it is prohibited because it is akin to mutilation, and also it is more likely to result in defaming one’s face.

(Have you seen how some women over-pluck their eyebrows? You just wanna reach out to them and say, "Honey, I'm sorry but that just looks so wrong.")

As opposed to this, shaping the eyebrows if they are excessively long or thinning them if they are excessively thick, is enhancing Allah’s creation rather than mutilating it. Its analogy, therefore, is to trimming the mustache or cutting hair, and so on, which are not only permissible but may also be recommended. In light of the above, according to these scholars, it is considered permissible to shape or trim one's eyebrows if they are excessively long or thick for the purpose of appearing neat and tidy." (source)

{via sadbert.com}

"As for removing the hair from between the eyebrows, it is lawful, because it is not part of the eyebrows.

What is prohibited is an-Nams, which denotes removing the hair of the eyebrows by plucking in order to make it thin." (source)

"God is beautiful and loves beauty." {Sahih Muslim}

From this hadith I've extracted the idea that Allah s.w.t. wants us to feel and look our best (inner and outer beauty). It is encouraged for us to be clean and look presentable. It is also permitted for us to fix a bodily defect or abnormality which can get in the way of us leading healthy, normal lives. For example, the use of braces to straighten one's teeth is not prohibited. What Allah wants us to avoid is vanity. 

"Eat what you feel like and wear what you feel like. 
But avoid two things: extravagance and arrogance (and vanity)." {Sahih Bukhari}

Raina Hein proves that natural, thick
eyebrows are beautiful.
{via Flickr}

This hadith is addressing our consumption of material things. What we eat and wear is the epitome of our nafs (worldly and bodily desires) and what Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was basically trying to say is, "Do what you want, just don't over-do it". In other words, we are allowed to fulfill our desires according to Islamic guidelines but an obsession with our nafs can be a great distraction from our true purpose in life. We live in a time when everything is about the image we choose to portray and the brands we consume to make a statement about ourselves. I think many of us are guilty of this and don't you agree that the pursuit of society's approval can really take over our lives to the point that we're willing to compromise our moral and religious values thus forgetting what truly matters?

Trends come and go. We can see that with fashion. As Heidi Klum famously says, "In fashion, one day you're in, the next day you're out." In that industry people, especially women, are like clothes. They are dispensable. Therefore, love fashion if you want but don't get too caught up in the industry's ways because it promotes a very superficial way of life.

Perhaps the plucking of eyebrows could be a sign of a woman paying too much attention to her physical appearance and ladies, we all know how easy this is to do. By all means, look after yourself - internally and externally - but don't let your physical beauty become the 'be all, end all' of  who you are as a woman because that mentality is the leading cause of anorexia, bulimia, depression and low self-esteem.

Alright, back to eyebrows again. I know there are differing opinions regarding the plucking and shaping of eyebrows but at the end of the day they're just eyebrows. They're not worth too much fuss or argument. I think, as Muslims in the 21st century we've got bigger fish to fry. 

I hope that answers your question, H. You already know this but I'll just say it anyway, Allah s.w.t. knows best!