I would like to forward this two articles concerning Female Circumcision one 
written by Imam Seedy Ali Janneh of Gothenburg Sweden some time ago early 
this year plus another by DR. Sheikh Abdal- Rahman b. Hasan al Nafisah of 
Riyadh Saudi Arabia .The articles a long but it worth the time to gain some 
knowledge from the topic .My best regards

Luntang



WOMEN GENITAL MUTILATION




INTRODUCTION


God has created human beings, making them male and female, and placed them 
above all creatures on earth. But remember he (God) created human beings 
with duties to perform and with specific reasons. Anything good, bad and 
wholesome for human beings are stipulated in the Holy Book (Quran) and words 
from his Holy Messenger (Muhammad Pbuh) which every Muslim most act 
according to those scriptures. The religion of Islam teaches that in other 
to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God 
and live according to His Divinely revealed law. If this is understood, 
therefore, any issue concerning religion to be debated among Muslims, my 
advice is to consult the holy Quran and words from His Holy messenger in 
other to avoid confusion and conflicts among us. What ever is not mention in 
the Quran and cannot be found in any of His messengers hadith shouldn’t be 
any problem to all Muslims in general. Listen to this verse in the Quran:
When there comes to them some matter Touching (public) safety or fear, they 
divulge it. If the had only referred it to the messenger or to those charged 
with authority among them, the proper investigators would have known it from 
them (direct). Were it not for the Grace and mercy of Allah unto you, All 
but few of you would have followed Satan.
Quran: 3/83
If you read this verse very carefully and clearly understood the language 
and the content of it, means if any issue to be discussed or debated and you 
have no knowledge or little knowledge of the issue concerned contact any 
learned scholar who is capable to give the right answer before commenting or 
passing any decision wrongly on the subject. To make it short, act, comment, 
contact learned scholars, Allah’s holy Quran and words from our beloved Holy 
Messenger (Muhammad Pbuh) to subjects related to religious affairs in other 
to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings on subjects not even necessarily to 
be dispute among us. If we follow these instructions I see no reason why we 
should argue on the subject concern after the final say of the Quran. Again 
Allah mention the following in the Quran
It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been 
decided by Allah and His messenger, to have any option about their decision. 
If any one disobeys Allah and His messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong 
path.
Quran: 33/36
Knowing the truth, if you don’t accept it means you disobey A God’s word 
which means you are among the disbelievers. Any good religious preacher, 
intelligence enough to address the people, knowing their level of 
understanding shall never neglect the truth from the holy Quran and words 
from His messenger. Therefore God said in the Holy Quran:
O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, 
neither speaks aloud to him in talk, as you may speak aloud to one another, 
lest your deeds become vain and you perceive not.
Quran: 49/2
This means no additional words or sentences should be added to more than 
what his holy messenger has already said. The messenger (Muhammad) said in 
one of His Hadith, God has blessed those who kept, guided and spread the 
message the way it should be. I pray to God to be among those in this Ayah 
which I will reveal to you, that is those who listen to the word and follow 
the best of it. Those are the ones who Allah has guided and those are the 
ones endued with understanding.
Quran: 18/39

May God bless you all!



FACTS ABOUT WOMEN GENITAL MUTILATION

Islam has few factors besides the five pillars to be considered very 
essential when judging subject matters, it has to be analyzed, shorted out 
by learned scholars with accurate knowledge. The following are as follows,
1 - FAR´D:

Meaning, according to the Quran is compulsory to all Muslims to practice it, 
failure to comply with the rules, you will be punished.
But any action to be practiced and might cause damage, suffering and 
hardship through the process and is related to far´d should not be practiced 
because Allah does not impose any unnecessary burden on His human creatures 
because of our weakness from creation.
The definition of far´d in the Holy Quran and addition to what the Holy 
messenger has stated, there shouldn’t be any compromise on any issue related 
to FAR´D.
This indicates that the Holy Quran and messages from Allah’s Holy messenger 
is an illuminative perfect method of life which guides people to true 
solutions for both mundane and religious problems. What ever a deed may be 
good or evil. The Quran not only guides us to solutions for all kinds of 
problems in all times, but the Quranic solutions for these problems are also 
characterised by being just and right, whereas, all other solutions contrary 
to it are short and defective as they are based on human feebleness, 
ignorance and injustice.
God had great mercy upon his human slaves and wishes them to live in comfort 
and peace in the world. It is not His wish to suffer by acting according to 
FAR´D, but if suffering and pain would be the outcome of it, God, the 
Almighty recommended avoiding such practices even thou the issue is 
connected to Far´d.
There should be no compromise on Islamic principles and the words of Allah 
(Quran). Allah’s words can’t be challenged on matters stipulated in His holy 
book (Quran). But at the same time if the action will cause damage, 
suffering and hardship Allah being merciful has shown ways to escape from 
such practices.
We all know that as Muslim it is strictly prohibited to eat pork and 
dead-animals, but what about if you find yourself in a very difficult 
situation, hungry having nothing to eat and if you don’t eat you going die, 
then tell me are you going to let yourself die of hunger or going to eat 
what is prohibited in other to survive? My answer to this critical question 
is to eat what is prohibited in other to survive rather than to die of 
hunger(suicide) refusing to eat means you disobey Allah’s words and if that 
should be the result of your death without doubt you will be punished for 
disobeying Allah’s instructions.
It is stated in the Quran that: He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and 
blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been 
invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without 
wilful disobedience.
Quran:2/173
2 - SUNNAH:
The general concept of Sunnah means an advice from the Holy prophet 
(Muhammad) his sayings and his actions. Is highly appreciated if you follow 
Sunnah in your daily life as Muslim, you will be rewarded for your 
practices. If you don’t act according to Sunnah there is no punishment laid 
upon you. It is a voluntarily message from our beloved prophet to all dear 
Muslims. Practicing it is good, but once again you will not be punished by 
Almighty for failure to practicing it. Example the five daily prayers are 
compulsory to all Muslims, but any other additional prayers are voluntarily. 
ABIHURAIRA said one day he heard the Prophet saying the following words
(A) Anything I advice you to do, perform it wholeheartedly at your best
(B) But anything I advice you to stay away from it put that aside completely 
never aim to practice it.
Hence Sunnah is not compulsory, why should we Muslims create artificial 
problems. Even if the subject/matter is one way or the other connected to 
Sunnah likely to create problems among Muslim community it is advisable to 
put that issue aside to prevent disunity. God dislike seeing his followers 
quarrelling on matters which He God and His prophet has clearly indicated 
solutions on the matter in His Holy Quran:

3 - MUSTAHAB:

Is regarded the lowest grade of all religious performances comparison to 
Far´d and Sunnah. It is only a desirable act of faith; no promise of reward 
is granted for your actions and no punishment for disobeying. As I said 
earlier, any religious practices resulting to inconvenient and hardship 
should be kept aside. The three mentioned topics are the guard lines to help 
solving religious matters with the help of leaders having profound knowledge 
on the issue. Every question needs an answer, but not every answer is 
correct if the right person having the right knowledge not consulted. If you 
ask a wrong person not competent enough surely without any question of doubt 
he/she will feed you a wrong answer. Any subject for discussion study its 
contents carefully, analyze it under which category among three (Far´d, 
Sunnah, Mustahab) should be applied to give correct answer.



CIRCUMCISION

a - Men

Circumcision is Sunnah meaning a circumcised man and uncircumcised are all 
equal before God, because is not part of FAR´D.
The circumcised man is granted a reward for performing some part of Sunnah 
while the uncircumcised is granted no reward neither punishment that is the 
only difference. Both men have the right to be a religious leader like Imam.
Imam Malick said if you were to choose an Imam among two capable persons, 
his advice was to choose the one circumcised simply because he has performed 
part of Sunnah. This does not mean that the other person can’t be a leader 
or Imam.


b - FGM

Women genital mutilation is not Sunnah is among the last category mentioned 
earlier(MUSTAHAB) some called it MAKRAMA meaning respect. Any matter under 
this category especially women genital mutilation is totally voluntarily.

Tradition has more say on the subject than religion. Any one propagating 
women circumcision shouldn’t base your facts on tradition happened thousands 
and thousands of years ago. Some said or believed that Prophet Ebrahim was 
circumcised; note that Ebrahim is a man not a woman. It is pointless to base 
your facts on that. There is no clear evidence or fact that women should be 
circumcised. THALABI said in one of his books(Araisul Majalis), Ebrahim was 
self-circumcised after his first contact with the second wife from Egypt by 
the name (HAJARAH)
His first wife(SARAH) got angry; she thought that Ebrahim was circumcised 
because of the second wife from Egypt. She told Ebrahim am going to revenge 
in three ways namely by cutting a bit of both ears and finally to circumcise 
her. Ebrahims first wife did it for revenge not because of religion.

If women circumcision will cause harm, pain, suffering and inconvenient on 
the individual concern then it is not advisable to go through it. 
Accordingly one may do what is lawful and must avoid what is prohibited or 
will cause suffering insofar as he or she has another choice and the choice 
is you can be without it.

However, there is a grey area between the clearly permissible and the 
clearly forbidden. This is the area of what is doubtful. Some people may not 
be able to decide whether a particular matter is permissible or forbidden, 
such confusion may be due either to doubtful evidence or because of doubt 
concerning the applicability of the text to the particular circumstance or 
matter in question. Anything concerning tradition should be cured or tackled 
traditionally.
Some part of the world do accept women circumcision as legality while some 
didn’t, both groups consist of scholars with wide range of knowledge on 
subject matters. Women circumcision have being existing long before religion 
came to us. This has been an old long tradition. We shouldn’t shout loud to 
a matter which is categorised very minor (MUSTAHAB) if this action will 
create maltreatment, suffering, damage and discomfort being a good Muslim 
such practices shouldn’t be encouraged.
My suggestion concerning the matter of women circumcision is that, 
individuals directly involved must be invited to have their say on the 
matter through which ways and means of a favourable solution could be 
reached to satisfy both partners. They shouldn’t be put aside otherwise the 
whole issue will be meaningless to debate. According to our tradition, women 
has a high statues in our society, we listen to them and treat them with all 
respect. The degree of respect we have for women can’t be compared with any 
other tradition. If we should debate or discuss the actual issue (women 
genital mutilation) it should be within partners having the same respect for 
women as we did.
Some part of the world sees women as Satan very surprising and disappointing 
as long as our tradition is concern. Hence this people at all levels has no 
respect for women seeing them very undervalued, therefore any matter for 
discussion beneficial for these women might be an opposite to them.
To have a fair debate on the matter, those short-sighted people must first 
accept women’s value and dignity there then an open debate can be organised 
to find solutions. Allah has set an example in the Quran for such people:
When news is brought to them, of (the birth of) a female (child), his face 
darkens, and he is filed with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself 
from his people, because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain it on 
(sufferance and) contempt, or bury it in the dust? Ah what an evil (choice) 
they decide on


Quran : 16/58-59

Those believing in women circumcision, they did it because of their 
tradition but for them abortion is inhuman and cruel thing while the other 
partner sees abortion as legality.
Is very confusing to judge who is right and wrong. One group act according 
to their tradition an action not necessarily to practice at all but do 
believe the child’s right to exist, the other group feel that the child in 
question shouldn’t one way or the other (abortion).Very confusing in the 
sense that before any discussion takes place, is it not advisable to give 
the person in question her right to life there then the question of her 
circumcision be raised for discussion.
If we all agreed her right to life is an ultimatum then a serious debate or 
discussion on women circumcision worldwide must be fully encouraged. Take 
this for an example, different countries have different customs and 
different sets of beliefs. The traditional types of cloth worn in Africa are 
not the same worn in Europe. Different customs and traditions of some 
countries differ like day and night. Immigrants living in foreign countries 
have children born in that society; learn the country’s culture, traditions, 
customs and language as such knowledge was required to survive. These 
children without doubt will be positively related to adoption of the country’s 
cultural and traditional practices to greater extend than their country of 
origin. You can’t expect these children to adopt your tradition over one 
night during their vocation because their fathers and mothers were citizens 
of that country but not them. They are born in Europe possessing European 
citizen and in that country woman circumcision is completely prohibited. Any 
unlawful traditional action (women genital mutilation) that has nothing to 
do with religion forced against these children, unlawful in their country of 
birth, if detected by the authorities will result to total destruction of 
the whole family. Punishment for such action always leads to imprisonment, 
loose custody, be fined and possibly deportation. It is never God’s wish to 
punish parents for action they are not the course of it. Because of their 
unlawful action based on no fact and ignorance the whole family suffered, 
these are the families helping the country in a form of sending medical 
equipments paying school fees for the poor, building mosque and helping 
their relatives at home. The point is why you imposed or implement an old 
fashion tradition on a child who has no notion of your tradition at large. 
You can’t expect this child to be part and parcel of your tradition 
automatically because of her background that is completely wrong. She sees 
the world in a different way, if she should decide for herself she would 
surely say No I don’t want to be cut it has nothing to do with religion. God 
said the following in the Quran: No mother shall be treated unfairly on 
account of her child .Nor father on account of his child.
Quran: 2/233
Finally I would like to appeal to all Muslims around the world to follow 
what is written in the Quran and words from our beloved messenger (Muhammad 
Pbuh). It would be of good idea to organise a conference/debate on the 
subject inviting learned scholars all around the world so that we can find a 
better solution. All this misunderstandings is due to misinterpretation of 
the Quran and illiteracy, I seek God’s forgiveness and blessings not to be 
among those as stated in the Quran ignorant, who can read the Quran but can’t 
understand the contents. God said the following words in the Quran:


And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book, But (see 
therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.
Quran: 2/78

Note: A full coverage of this subject in audio CD( in Mandinka language) can 
be ordered through,
Imam seedy Ali Janneh [log in to unmask]
Imam of Gothenburg Tel: office + 4631519146
Sweden Home + 46 31536233

Mobile + 46 704406859




Female Circumcision & Islam

By Sheikh (Dr.) `Abd al-Rahmân b. Hasan al-Nafisah, editor of the 
Contemporary Jurisprudence Research Journal, Riyadh



 The question of female circumcision in Muslim lands attracts considerable 
media attention. This is probably due to the negative reactions and 
condemnation that the practice provokes – especially in European countries 
that have large Muslim communities. This attention grew considerably after 
one African Muslim discussed on television the way that this circumcision is 
carried out and declared that the practice was recommended by Islamic Law. 
This led certain countries to pass legislation prohibiting female 
circumcision on the grounds that it is harmful to women and a violation of 
their rights.



Pre-Islamic Arabia

Before discussing this practice in light of Islamic teachings, it behooves 
us to consider that the circumcision of girls is a custom that has been 
practiced since ancient times in parts of Africa , particularly in Egypt , 
Nubia , Sudan , and their surroundings. The prevalent type of female 
circumcision practiced in that region is known as Pharaonic circumcision, 
and it seems that the reason for it was the desire of the men in those 
societies to weaken the sexual desire of women in order to ensure their 
chastity.



It is quite possible that this practice spread to neighboring Arab countries 
from Egypt and practiced on occasion or that Arabs were at least aware of 
this custom before the advent of Islam, since customs can spread from one 
society to another. However, I have not come across any verifiable evidence 
that the Arabs of pre-Islamic times were in the practice of circumcising 
their daughters. Among them were those who killed their daughters fearing 
the shame that they brought and had no need for circumcision.



What is reported in the Sunnah

There are some narrations attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon 
him) concerning female circumcision. The most important of which are the 
following:



1. "Circumcision is Sunnah for men and an honourable thing for women." 
[Musnad Ahmad (19794)]



Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalâni discusses this hadîth in al-Talkhîs al-Habîr 
(4/1407):

Ahmad and al-Bayhaqî narrate this hadîth from al-Hajjâj b. Arta'ah who 
narrates it from Abû al-Mulayh from Usâmah from his father.



This al-Hajjâj is one who is known to use ambiguous terms in conveying his 
chain of transmission, and moreover he is inconsistent in this narration. 
Sometimes he cites his chain of transmission as given above and at other 
times he mentions an additional narrator named Shidâd b. `Aws after Abû 
Mulayh's father. This is how we find the hadîth being narrated in Musannaf 
Ibn Abî Shaybah, Ibn Abî Hâtim's `Ilal, and Mu`jam al-Tabarânî al-Kabîr.



At other times, he narrates the hadîth from Makhûl from Abû Ayyûb. This 
narration can be found in Musnad Ahmad. Ibn Abî Hâtim mentions this in 
al-`Ilal and quotes his father as laying the blame for the mistake on either 
al-Hajjâj or the narrator who relates it from him `Abd al-Wâhid b. Ziyâd. 
Al-Bayhaqî says about `Abd al-Wâhid b. Ziyâd: "He is a weak narrator and his 
narrations are incomplete."



In al-Tamhîd, Ibn `Abd al-Barr says: "This hadîth depends upon the narration 
of al-Hajjâj b. Arta'ah whose narrations cannot be used as evidence for 
anything."



The hadîth is in fact related by a narrator other than al-Hajjâj b. Arta'ah. 
This statement is related in Mu`jam al-Tabarânî al-Kabîr and in Sunan 
al-Bayhaqî on the authority of Ibn `Abbâs back to the Prophet (peace be upon 
him). However, al-Bayhaqî himself declares it to be a weak hadîth when he 
mentions it in Sunan al-Bayhaqî. He says in his work al-Ma`rifah: "It is not 
authentic as a statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him)."Therefore, this 
is a weak hadîth.



2. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have passed by a 
woman performing circumcision on a young girl. He instructed the woman by 
saying: "Trim, but do not cut into it, for this is brighter for the face (of 
the girl) and more favourable with the husband." [ Mu`jam al-Tabarânî 
al-Awsat (2274)]



Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalâni discusses this hadîth as well in al-Talkhîs al-Habîr 
(4/1407-1408):

Al-Hâkim relates it in al-Mustadrak from `Ubayd Allah b. `Amr who narrates 
it from Zayd b. Abî Usayd from `Abd al-Malik b. `Umayr from al-Dahhâk b. 
Qays that in Madînah there was a woman called Umm `Atiyyah who used to 
circumcise the slave girls, so Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to 
her: "O Umm `Atiyyah! Trim, but do not cut into it, for this is brighter for 
the face (of the girl) and more favourable with the husband."



It likewise related by al-Tabarânî, by Abû Nu`aym in al-Ma`rifah, and by 
al-Bayhaqî with essentially the same chain of transmission except that 
narrator `Ubayd Allah b. `Amr narrates it from "a man from the city of 
Kufah" from `Abd al-Malik b. `Umayr.



Al-Mufdil al-`Ulâ'î says : "I asked Ibn Ma`în about this hadîth and he told 
me that its narrator al-Dahhâk b. Qays is not al-Fahrî."



However, al-Hâkim and Abû Nu`âym discuss him under the biographical entry of 
"al-Fahrî".



`Abd al-Malik b. `Umayr is inconsistent in how he narrates this hadîth. 
Sometimes it is narrated from him as mentioned above. At other times, he is 
allegedly relating it from `Atiyyah al-Qurazî as beginning with the words: 
"In Madînah, there used to be a practitioner of circumcision called Umm 
`Atiyyah…" It is related in this way by Abû Nu`aym in al-Ma`rifah. At other 
times he allegedly relates it with Umm `Atiyyah being the narrator [and not 
the practitioner]. This is how it is related in Sunan Abî Dâwûd.



Abû Dâwûd [in Sûnan Abî Dâwûd (5271)] declares the hadîth to be defective on 
account of the narrator Muhammad b. Hassân, saying: "Muhammad b. Hassân is 
an unknown narrator and this hadîth is weak."



Ibn `Adiyy and al-Bayhaqî confirm Abû Dâwûd's judgment that Muhammad b. 
Hassân is an unknown narrator. `Abd al-Ghanî b. Sa`îd, the author of Îdâh 
al-Shakk, disagrees, saying: "He is Muhammad b. Sa`îd al-Maslûb." He goes on 
to narrate this hadîth from Muhammad b. Sa`îd al-Maslûb in his biographical 
entry for that narrator.



There are two other lines of transmission for this hadîth:



1. Ibn `Adiyy narrates it from Sâlim b. `Abd Allah b. `Umar – and al-Bazzar 
relaes it from Nâfi` - from `Abd Allah b. `Umar that the Prophet (peace be 
upon him) said: "O women of Madînah! Do it lightly, trim and do not cut into 
it, for it is more favorable with your husbands. And do not deny Allah's 
grace." This wording is from al-Bazzar. In al-Bazzâr's chain of 
transmission, there is the narrator Mandal b. `Alî who is a weak narrator. 
In Ibn `Adiyy's chain of transmission, there is the narrator Khâlid b. `Amr 
al-Qurashî who is even weaker.



2. Al-Tabarânî relates it in al-Mu`jam al-Saghîr – and Ibn `Adiyy relates it 
as well – from Abî Khalîfah who narrates it from Muhammad b. Salâm al-Jamhî 
from Zâ'idah b. Abî Ruqqâd from Thâbit from Anas with a text like the one 
found in Sunan Abî Dâwûd.



Ibn `Adiyy comments on this line of transmission, saying: "Zâ'idah is the 
only narrator to relate his hadîth from Thâbit."



Al-Tabarânî says: "Muhammad b. Salâm is the only one to relate it like 
this."



Tha`lab says: "I saw Yahyâ b. Ma`în among some people with Muhammad b. Salâm 
right in front of me and he asked him about this hadîth."



Al-Bukhârî says about Zâ'idah: "His hadîth are false."



Ibn al-Mundhir says: "There is no report about circumcision that can be 
relied upon and no chain of transmission that can be followed."In Nayl 
al-Awtâr (1/137-139), al-Shawkâni discusses the hadîth of Umm `Atiyyah and 
says basically the same things about its weakness that Ibn Hajar says above.



Female circumcision according to the scholars of Islamic Law

Due to the weakness of the hadîth that refer to female circumcision – with 
some of their narrators being known for deceptiveness and others whose 
narrations carry no weight – scholars of Islamic Law have differed widely 
regarding its legal ruling.



In the Hanafî school of law there are two different opinions. Some Hanafî 
scholars consider it to be a Sunnah for women. Others consider it to be 
merely an honorable thing. [refer to: al-Fatâwâ al-Hindiyyah and al-Ikhtiyâr 
li-Tahlîl al-Mukhtâr]



It is considered a preferred act ( mandûb) for women in the Mâlikî school of 
law. They rely upon the hadîth of Umm `Atiyyah for this ruling. [refer to: 
Bulghah al-Sâlik li-Aqrab al-Masâlik and Ashal al-Madârik Sharh Irshâd 
al-Sâlik]



In the Shâfi`î school of law, circumcision is considered an obligation for 
both men and women. This is the official ruling of that school of thought. 
Some Shâfi`î scholars express the view that circumcision is obligatory for 
men and merely Sunnah for women. [refer to: al-Majmû`]



In the Hanbalî school of law, circumcision is obligatory for men and merely 
an honorable thing for women. It is not obligatory for them. The Hanbalî 
jurist Ibn Qudâmah observes: "This is the view of many people of knowledge. 
Imam Ahmad said that it is more emphatic for men." [ al-Mughnî (1/115)]



Among contemporary legal scholars, al-Sayyid Sâbiq writes: "The hadîth that 
call for female circumcision are all weak. Nothing among them is authentic" 
[ Fiqh al-Sunnah (1/36)]



Conclusions:

It appears that female circumcision is more a cultural practice than a 
matter of Islamic teachings. We have seen that the hadîth which refer to the 
practice are all weak. The presence of that practice in Egypt and Nubia up 
to this day is just a continuation of a practice that has been around since 
the time of the Pharaohs. It is often hard for people to give up deeply 
ingrained customs and cultural practiced. They continue to be passed down 
from generation to generation.



Another example of the tenacity of custom is the practice among Indian 
Muslims where the woman pays a dowry to the husband. This is a pre-Islamic 
Indian custom that Islam declares false. Islam requires the husband to pay a 
dowry to the wife. Nevertheless, this custom persists among Muslims in both 
India and Pakistan , even though the history of Islam in India goes back for 
many long centuries.



Likewise, Islam put an end to many pre-Islamic customs that marginalized 
women and denied them their rights. It put an end to people condemning each 
other's lineages. It put an end to the practice of wailing at a person's 
burial. Nonetheless, these practices can still be seen in some Muslim 
societies and are often regarded by the people of those societies to be part 
and parcel of Islamic Law.



The Shâfi`î school of law has been the prevalent legal school in Egypt since 
its formative years. It may be that the scholars of the Shâfi`î school who 
promoted the view that female circumcision is obligatory had been influenced 
by the prevailing culture of the region.



There is no evidence that this practice was widespread among the Pious 
Predecessors. Moreover, the practice has never been prevalent in the regions 
where Islam originated – Mecca and Madinah and the surrounding areas of 
Arabia . It is extremely rare. If female circumcision had truly been 
endorsed by Islamic Law, it would certainly have been practiced and 
perpetuated in those regions. Only male circumcision is practiced, due to 
the authentic evidence in the Sunnah that it is part of the natural way ( 
fitrah).



We conclude that female circumcision is merely a cultural practice that has 
no prescribed Islamic ruling for it and that is supported by no decisive 
textual evidence. It is simply a regional custom in the places where it is 
practiced. We must then take into consideration that many medical 
professionals consider it to have detrimental affects for the girls who 
undergo the operation. On that basis, it would be impermissible to allow 
this custom to continue. In Islamic Law, preservation of the person – the 
life and bodily soundness of the person – is a legal necessity. Anything 
that compromises this legal necessity by bringing harm to the person is 
unlawful.



Thanks for reading, I hope you gather some thing(s) from it. And Allah knows 
best.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Y Jallow" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:57 PM
Subject: FGM/Circumcision


By YJ

FGM, otherwise Female genital mutilation locally “Female circumcision” is 
the cutting of the female’s clitoris. This topic is one of the most 
confused. For one, it is a whole chapter of differences: Western believes 
Vs. Traditional believes. Some has attached it to religion as well. Some 
respected imams in the Gambia especially, argued in favor of the practice 
with emphasis that it is not “mutilation” but rather “circumcision.”  Others 
will question the difference of the two words. That will not be my argument 
here.

Those that support the practice said that it controls the excessiveness of 
sexual desire and make the woman control such moods with true satisfaction 
after intercourse.

Those that don’t support it argued that the act is cruel and meant to tame 
the woman’s sexual feelings. Further, the fear for a ‘scar and wound’ which 
would always live to hurt the woman during birth, intercourse and urination 
is disturbing.

Locally, we know traditional doctors use one knife to practice it on a lot 
of people at the same time. These blades never get sterilized. It leaves 
many vulnerable to blood transmitted diseases like HIV Aids.

The case for men is different. We know that it is healthy to remove the 
foreskin to expose the “head”, so as to clean dirt of urine and sperm that 
can accumulate around the “head.”  It is also a known fact that during 
sexual intercourse, ejaculation would need to empty out to the recipient, 
and otherwise union and production of offspring will never materialize.

As I piece this, I also intend to find out the teachings of the Holy 
Scriptures on this subject matter. All is certain; the process creates 
bleeding of blood.

In the case of plants and flowers, it is ok to prune them all the time. That 
gives them better canopies and growth. These are also living things. Could 
it be that a similitude holds? I truly don’t know. I also have a daughter, 
so this matter concerns me. I am sure, it concerns others too. The truth is 
what we are after so let it gush forth with the help of God whose wisdom and 
knowledge supersedes everything.

If you have an answer, please sincerely share it with reference to 
tradition, health wise, religion and et cetera…

Regards,
YJ







Norway accuses Gambian couple of circumcising daughters: report
3 days ago
OSLO (AFP) — Norwegian police accused a Gambian couple on Friday of 
subjecting five daughters to genital mutilation in the country's first-ever 
case against the illegal act of female circumcision.
"The father and mother are accused under laws against genital mutilation 
because they are suspected of contributing to the circumcision of five of 
their six daughters," Hanne Kristin Rohde, a police official told NRK radio.
Only two of the six children who are aged between three and 14 live in 
Norway, although the others -- who live in West Africa's Gambia, with the 
man's two other wives -- have Norwegian passports. These include a 
three-year old who has not yet been circumcised.
Rohde made it clear that Norway's public child protection agency would be 
entrusted with caring for all the children.
Their father, a 41 year-old whose identity has not been disclosed, is 
expected to appear before a judge with authorities seeking his detention. 
Their mother, due to give birth to a seventh child, is said to be too weak 
to spend time behind bars.
Rohde said Norwegian laws against female genital mutilation carry a prison 
term of several years depending on the severity of the case.



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