بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

In an article dated February 10th 2021, Heba Yosry stated that UN Women declared February 6th the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a practice criminalized in several Muslim countries, with Egypt one of them. It recently increased the period of imprisonment for anyone guilty of doing this from 5-7 years, to 5-20 years. Dar al-Ifta the highest Islamic legislative body in Egypt, proclaims that FGM is forbidden under Islamic law because of the physical and mental damage that it causes. The punitive measures in place do little to deter some parents from subjecting their young daughters to this atrocious procedure. Too often we hear about girls who die due to a botched circumcision or from excessive bleeding. Many FGM victims who survive the attack on their genitalia, then endure the physical and emotional scars that can cripple their future mental, reproductive and sexual wellbeing. The detrimental physical and psychological effects of FGM are well documented and well communicated, but the question remains: Why is FGM still practiced? The answer is the female body. FGM is a crude and abhorrent version of a chastity belt, applied with the misguided and malicious intent to keep a girl’s pureness. It guarantees the young woman will not lose her mind in moments of passion and act on her lust, and on this very basis the people who believe this are preposterous. The recent case of a grown married woman coerced by her husband to undergo a FGM procedure because he suffered from sexual dysfunction, and his unfounded suspicion of her infidelity shows his weakness; not hers. This is hardly an isolated incident. Husbands have ordered several wives to endure the humiliating and painful procedure. Iran jailed an academic partly because of his research on FGM. The female body doesn’t just scare people; it terrorizes governments too. Politicizing the female body is hardly new. Yet the underlying assumption is rarely questioned. Instead, the intention is explained away as conforming to an ancient practice.

FGM rests within the perception that women are either inferior beings who are unable to control their libido or that they are gullible creatures who need guarded against the faceless seducer who will sully her honor. Both assumptions are founded upon the primordial conception that a girl’s body is an object belonging to another, whether a father or a husband. Girls, naturally, lack the ability to make their own decisions. Eradication of lust from the female body is essential because saving a girl or a woman from her innate desires is a man’s mission. Men are doing the right thing because as soon as a girl starts to show any signs of womanhood pruning her body protects the family honor. Utter nonsense. FGM isn’t merely an ugly practice that some Muslims aim to continuously repudiate in front of the Western world. FGM is a statement articulated on the feminine body, a stigma that she must carry her whole life to attest for her inaptitude as a human being, of her inferior status, of the pain she must endure simply because she was born a girl. FGM is a painful manifestation of gender inequality. As countries take steps to end the practice of FGM, through legislative measures that punish its perpetrators, they must address the foundational preconditions that allow this practice to thrive. Imagine this: A father takes a 12-year-old girl to a makeshift clinic, and assures her on their way that she will be alright, that the procedure won’t hurt as much as she thinks, and that this pain is necessary, and compensated with the congratulatory gifts that she will receive. She will be an adult. The girl continues to walk beside her father aided with the pride that she will now be a grown up, and the faith that her father will never do anything to hurt her. She enters the clinic, lies on the cold steel examining table, the nurse pulls up her dress and ties her legs so that she doesn’t kick to protect herself. Her father holds her arms to prevent her from moving. A man emerges holding a blade. He approaches the girl, spreads her legs. She screams. Let her screams be heard, and end the abomination that is, FGM. [End of quote]

Before presenting the knowledge-based research on this subject matter by Shaikh Abu Iyaad, may Allah preserve him, we remind Heba Yosry that her above statement contains both facts and assumptions, ambiguity and clarity. It would have been better to carry out thorough research before speaking about this subject matter whose complete truth and falsehood is not not clear to many people. In this regard, we -including myself -are required to speak based on complete facts or exercise restraint until the wholesome details regarding a matter is clear to us. Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

”It is obligated to you to give detail and make a distinction, because unrestricted and general (statements) without clarification has indeed corrupted this existence (i.e. the world), misguided the intellects and views in every era”.

Al-Allamah Salih Al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him, said:

”There has to be detail explanation. The one who is not proficient in giving detail should keep quiet, because benefit is not acquired from his speech. And every time error occurs, its cause is due to an absence of detail explanation regarding truth and falsehood. There has to be detail explanation and distinction and not to mix up (matters). Indeed, it may be that there is something of truth and falsehood in an opponent’s statement, so all of it is neither deemed to be false nor truth; rather there has to be a distinction between its truth and falsehood. All of it is neither rejected nor accepted; rather a distinction is made regarding the truth and what is correct and the falsehood and error in it. And if you are not proficient in giving detail, then you should not enter into this field”. [1]

We now present a detail discussion on this subject matter titled: On Female Genital Mutilation, Culture and Islam: http://www.aboutatheism.net/articles/kflqsjb-on-female-genital-mutilation-culture-and-islam-a-refutation-of-ayaan-hirsi-ali.cfm

Quotes from the artcle by Shaikh Abu Iyaad, may Allah preserve him.

Pharoanic circumcision: Similar to the phenomena of “road rage” in which a person whose path is cut off by another driver, loses his rags, becomes enraged and then behaves erratically, it appears this woman has had a similar experience in relation to the cutting and mutilation of her genitals by an ancient Egyptian practice that is referred to as “Pharoanic circumcision”. This is no doubt a barbaric, harmful practice and one can empathise with women who have been put through this horrific experience. However, you cannot go on an “FGMRage”, and blame Islām for your harmful, backward culture. Further, one should note that for same strange reason, this procedure has taken the name of one of the greatest tyrants and enemies of Islām to have walked the earth, Firʿaun. It is an ancient Egyptian practice brought to the sub-Saharan countries in Africa and predates Islām by well over 1500 years and this is the likely reason it is referred to as “Pharoanic” circumcision.
As for circumcision, there are three procedures:

Clitoral unhooding or clitoral hood reduction. This is the removal of a part of the layer of skin covering the clitoris, also known as the clitoral prepuce. It is a fold of skin that is equivalent to the male foreskin. This is a beneficial procedure for women with clear benefits that are documented in the scientific literature and there are dozens of surgeries scattered across the United States (and elsewhere) which specialise in this procedure. The size and shape of the prepuce, or the clitoral hood, varies among females, just as the foreskin does in men. As a result, some women may suffer from any of the following: sexual health problems including unsightly appearance and lack of stimulation, urinary tract and yeast infections, adhesion which is known medically as phimosis, sexual pain, and irritation. There are surgeries that specialise in this procedure of “hoodplasty”, or “clitoral hood reduction” in order to treat these conditions. This procedure is commended (and not obligatory) for women in Islāmic law and is known as “al-khitān”, circumcision for women. An excess of the prepuce can hinder stimulation and gratification. Circumcision by a competent practitioner helps resolve this problem and helps regulate sexual desire by enhancing the gratification of the woman which—as well as pleasing the man—does not leave her in want due to lack of fulfilment. Benefits of this practice—hygiene, beautification of the private part and sexual fulfilment—have been indicated by Muslim scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim.

Excision, also known as “clitoridectomy”. This is the removal of all or part of the clitoris. Infibulation, also known as “Pharoanic circumcision”. This is where the external parts of the female genitalia, as well as the labia minora and the clitoris are removed and then the vagina is stitched together. This is a barbaric practice and a crime against women. This action predated Islām and unfortunately, remained a cultural practice in some African lands. Islām did not accept this disfigurement and destruction of the female reproductive organ, and in this respect we find that in Madīnah, the Prophet came across a woman that would perform female circumcision from prior to Islām and he advised her: “Do not cut in excess and thereby cause harm…”—and in a narration, “make only a small cut”—“… for it brings the woman greater attention [from her husband]”—and in a narration, “…for it brings radiance to the face”—“and it is more loved by the husband. “Upon this, Muslim scholars and jurists have made it clear that it is the prepuce (qulfah), the fold of skin comprising the hood that covers the clitoris, that is reduced in size according to what is appropriate. From these scholars are Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, (d. 1449) Abū al-Ḥasan al-Mawardī (d. 1058), Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328) and Ibn alQayyim (d. 1350) by way of example. This procedure is to be undertaken by an experienced specialist as indicated by Muslim scholars and Ibn al-Qayyim also discusses the issue of compensation for malpractice.

On a similar and related note, The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK provides information on Labiaplasty (vulval surgery), stating: “A labiaplasty is surgery to reduce the size of the labia minora—the flaps of skin either side of the vaginal opening. Some women consider having a labiaplasty because they don’t like the look of their labia, or because the labia cause discomfort. This is a major decision you should weigh up carefully.”6 After providing details about the cost and the process, they make a careful distinction between this procedure and “female genital mutilation”. [end of quote]

Finally, it is absolutely necessary to make it known that FGM is unlawful in the UK and in Muslim nations, where knowledgeable scholars and authorities recognise the clear distinction between FGM and practices that are well-supported by credible medical standards, as demonstrated in the quotes provided above. This is the information we aimed to convey to Heba, and we hope she finds this perspective beneficial.

And Allah knows best.

[1] An Excerpt from at-Taliqat Al-Mukhtasar Alaa Al-Qasidah an-Nuniyyah. 1/216