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The question

Is there no contradiction between the fatwas that permit Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal to trim his eyebrows and those that forbid plucking eyebrows, knowing that the reason for the prohibition of namṣ (plucking) is seeking beauty and altering Allah's creation? Why is this reason specific to eyebrow hair and not other facial hair?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

We previously mentioned that trimming eyebrow hair without necessity, or to remove a defect or disfigurement, is considered similar to namṣ (plucking) which is forbidden in Islamic law. The fuqaha' (jurists) agreed that plucking eyebrow hair falls under the prohibited namṣ. However, they differed regarding ḥaff (shaping/trimming) and ḥalq (shaving): The Malikis and Shafi'is hold that ḥaff is akin to plucking, while the Hanbalis permit ḥaff and ḥalq, considering only plucking to be prohibited. The Permanent Committee has favored the prohibition of trimming and shaving. As for the restriction of the prohibition to the eyebrows, this is the view of many scholars, while some others have extended namṣ to include all facial hair. The first view, which restricts namṣ to the eyebrows, is what the scholars of the Permanent Committee have issued fatwas on.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
158076
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
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Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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