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Is Plucking Eyebrows Haram?

Most classical jurists say plucking eyebrows for looks is haram, but the schools differ for married women. What the hadith and four schools say.

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Short answer

Plucking or thinning the eyebrows just for looks is haram according to most classical jurists, because the Prophet ﷺ cursed the woman who plucks (al-namisah) and the one who has it done (Sahih Muslim 2125a). Removing hair between the brows, or fixing unusually thick brows, is widely allowed. Hanafi and Shafi'i jurists let a married woman shape her brows with her husband's consent, the Maliki school is more lenient, and Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (2005) allows neat trimming.

Eyebrow shaping is so normal now that many Muslim women do it without a second thought, and then hear that it is one of the things the Prophet ﷺ cursed. Others have been told it is completely forbidden, even a stray hair. Both reactions are understandable, because the hadith is strongly worded and the scholars read it in different ways.

Here is what the hadith says, how each of the four Sunni schools applies it, and what is clearly allowed.

Is plucking eyebrows haram in Islam?

Plucking the eyebrows purely to thin or reshape them is haram for an unmarried woman in the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. The evidence is a sahih hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ cursed the women who do it. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (fatwa 6148, 2013) says a curse of this kind "is a sign that an action is from the major sins," and that it is forbidden for an unmarried woman to have her eyebrows plucked "except for the purpose of treatment, removing a defect, or refining excessive hair."

For a married woman, the picture changes. The same Dar al-Ifta fatwa says it is permissible for a married woman to pluck her eyebrows with her husband's permission "according to the majority of scholars." The Hanbali school is the strictest exception, and the Maliki school is the most lenient.

What does the hadith say about plucking eyebrows?

'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that Allah cursed women who tattoo, women who pluck hair from their faces, and women who make gaps in their teeth for beauty, "changing what God has created" (Sahih Muslim 2125a; Sahih al-Bukhari 5931). When a woman named Umm Ya'qub said she had read the whole Qur'an and not found this, he pointed her to the verse "whatever the Messenger has given you, take; and what he has forbidden you, refrain from" (Qur'an 59:7).

The Arabic words are al-namisah, the woman who plucks, and al-mutanammisah, the woman who has it done. Scholars differ on how wide that word is:

  • Abu Dawud defined the namisah as "a woman who plucks hair from the brow until she makes it thin" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4170, graded sahih by al-Albani).
  • Al-Nawawi defined it as a woman who removes hair from her face, but said that if a woman grows a beard or moustache, removing it is not haram and is in fact recommended, as quoted in IslamQA 9037.

In practice, as Darul Iftaa Leicester notes, the debate ends up focused on the eyebrows, because most jurists allow women to remove a beard or moustache.

What do the four Sunni schools say about plucking eyebrows?

All four schools forbid plucking eyebrows for beauty in some cases, but they draw the line in different places. This summary follows Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam's survey of the four schools (Darul Iftaa Leicester):

School Unmarried woman Married woman, with husband's consent Notes
Hanafi Not allowed Allowed, if not excessive Ibn 'Abidin suggested the ban is about beautifying for strangers
Maliki Allowed Allowed Ban applies to a woman barred from adornment, such as a widow in her waiting period
Shafi'i Not allowed Allowed The reason given is deception, for example of a future husband
Hanbali Not allowed Not allowed in the more reliable view Plucking is banned, but shaving or trimming is allowed

The Saudi Standing Committee takes the strictest line. It says it is "not permissible for her... to remove any part of the eyebrows, whether by shaving or any other means," and IslamQA (answer 9037) calls plucking the eyebrows "haram and a major sin."

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta takes the most lenient modern position. In a 2005 fatwa by Dr. 'Ali Gomaa, it explains al-nams as removing the eyebrows totally, and concludes that "it is permissible for women to shape their eyebrows, to remove any extra hair above or below them, and to trim them in order to keep them neat."

Is threading or trimming eyebrows different from plucking?

It depends on the school. Most classical scholars hold that the ruling is not limited to plucking and covers "all ways of reducing the hair," including trimming and shaving, according to Darul Iftaa Leicester. The Hanbali school is the exception: Ibn Qudamah wrote that if a woman shaves the hair "there is nothing wrong with that, since the hadith is in reference to plucking."

Threading pulls hair out from the root, so it is treated like plucking by those who forbid plucking. Darul Iftaa Leicester also warns against shaping eyebrows "into a thin fine line as practiced within the modern fashion industry," even for married women.

Can you remove the hair between your eyebrows?

Yes. Removing a unibrow is widely allowed. The Saudi Standing Committee, the strictest body on this question, ruled that it is permissible to pluck the hair between the eyebrows "because it is not part of the eyebrows" (Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Da'imah, quoted in IslamQA 9037).

Darul Iftaa Leicester also lists eyebrows that are unusually thick and bushy, grown long enough to cover the eyes, or "linked in between" as cases where removing excess hair is allowed for married and unmarried women alike, and for men. Ibn 'Abbas's narration of the hadith also limits the curse to cases "when there is no disease to justify it" (Sunan Abi Dawud 4170).

Can men pluck their eyebrows?

The hadith speaks about women, but the same limits apply to men, with an extra concern about imitating women. Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, a Hanafi reference quoted by Darul Iftaa Leicester, says there is nothing wrong with removing hair from the eyebrows and face "as long as one does not resemble an effeminate person." So tidying a unibrow or very bushy brows is allowed for men, while sculpting thin brows is not.

What if you have already plucked your eyebrows?

Stop, let them grow back, and repent; there is no need to despair. Allah says, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins" (Qur'an 39:53). If you followed a scholar who allows it, such as Dar al-Ifta's view on neat trimming, you were following a recognized opinion.

The tattoo hadith is the same narration, and other appearance questions like nail polish and wudu have their own rulings. If you want to put more energy into your daily prayers, Salah Home lets you log each prayer with a tap, build a streak, and earn Dates to build your own peaceful virtual home.

Frequently asked questions

Is shaping your eyebrows haram?

For an unmarried woman, most classical jurists say shaping for beauty is not allowed. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta (2005) permits neat shaping and trimming, and the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools allow a married woman to shape them for her husband.

Is it haram to pluck a few stray hairs?

The Saudi Standing Committee says no part of the eyebrow may be removed. Dar al-Ifta allows "refining excessive hair," and Darul Iftaa Leicester allows trimming stray hairs when the brows are unusually thick or uneven.

Is threading eyebrows haram?

Threading removes hair from the root, so scholars who forbid plucking treat it the same way. The Hanbali school allows shaving or trimming but not plucking.

Can I pluck my unibrow?

Yes. Even the Saudi Standing Committee allows plucking the hair between the eyebrows because it is not part of the eyebrows.

Is eyebrow plucking a major sin?

IslamQA and Dar al-Ifta (fatwa 6148) say the curse in the hadith marks it as a major sin when it is forbidden. Where a school allows it, such as a married woman with her husband's consent in the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools, it is not a sin.

Sources

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