Ruling on removing hair from the ear with fire

Q. What is the ruling on removing hair from the body by burning it with fire when it is connected to the body? I saw my husband burning the hair in his ears with fire, and after that the skin of one of his ears bled, and I was afraid that this might be a punishment from Allah.

Praise be to Allah

Firstly:

The texts of the Revelation describe in detail what it is prescribed to remove of body hair, and what is forbidden, and they remained silent about some types of hair, such as hair in the ears. The basic principle with regard to this type is that removing it is permissible, as is the basic principle of sharia.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said, when discussing the ruling on removing hair from the arms and legs:

If there is a lot of hair, there is nothing wrong with removing it, because it is unsightly. But if it is of an ordinary amount, then some of the scholars said that it should not be removed, because removing it comes under the heading of changing the creation of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Other scholars said that it is permissible to remove it, because it is something concerning which Allah did not say anything. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whatever Allah said nothing about, is overlooked.” In other words, it is not obligatory for you and it is not forbidden to you. These scholars said: Hair may be divided into three categories:

i. That which the religious texts stated it is forbidden to remove.

ii. That which the religious texts stated it is required to remove.

iii. That concerning which the religious texts did not say anything.

Whatever the religious texts stated it is prohibited to remove, should not be removed, such as the beard of a man, or plucking the eyebrows of women and men.

Whatever the religious texts stated it is required to remove, should be removed, such as armpit hair, pubic hair, and the moustache for men.

As for that concerning which the religious texts did not say anything, it is overlooked, because if it was among that which Allah, may He be exalted, does not want us to leave, He would have commanded us to remove it; if it was among that which Allah wanted us to leave, He would have commanded us to leave it. But because He did not say anything about it, then it is down to personal choice: if a person wishes, he may remove it, and if he wishes, he may leave it. And Allah is the source of help.

End quote. Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (11/134).

Secondly:

With regard to that which it is prescribed to remove of body hair, there is no specific way prescribed to remove it, especially if it is the kind of hair concerning which the religious texts did not say anything. So if a person removes it by any means, that is permissible, so long as the way of removing it does not cause any harm, in which case it would be disallowed for that reason.

What appears to be the case is that in skilled hands, removing hair from the ears and the like with light fire does not cause any harm, so in that case it is permissible and is not disliked.

But if someone fears that he may be harmed by removing any of the hair from his body using fire, or he is not skilled in doing that, then this method is not permissible for him, and he should remove it by some other means that he does not fear will cause harm.

It was narrated from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There should be neither harming no reciprocating harm.” Narrated by al-Haakim (2/57-58), who said: Its isnad is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim. It was also classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah (1/498).

And Allah knows best.

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