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What is "an-Nams" for which the one who performs it has been cursed, and is it permissible with the husband's permission?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The jurists have agreed on the prohibition of plucking the eyebrows for an unmarried woman, and for a married woman if her husband does not permit it. They have differed on what is besides that. The reason for the disagreement stems from two matters: the meaning of an-Nams (plucking), and the reason for the prohibition. The correct view is that an-Nams is changing Allah's creation for the sake of beauty, and it includes the eyebrows, and it is absolutely impermissible whether the husband permits it or not. This is indicated by the Prophet (peace be upon him) not making an exception for the married woman, and by an-Nams being similar to tattooing (al-Washm) and hair extensions (al-Wasl) in the reason for prohibition, and by the Prophet (peace be upon him) explicitly stating that the reason is changing Allah's creation for the sake of beauty. It has been said that an-Nams is plucking facial hair, and it has been said: it is removing facial hair, and it has been said: it is exclusive to the eyebrows. The Hanbalis restricted the prohibition to plucking and permitted shaving, while the Shafi'is and Malikis disagreed with them and prohibited any form of removal. The more probable opinion is that the forbidden an-Nams is exclusive to the eyebrows. Shaving and plucking facial hair other than the eyebrows is permissible.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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