Cosmetic Surgery for Insecurities

Question: I am 21 years old and I’m very insecure about my nose, causing me psychological distress and negatively affecting my social life. I don’t leave my house because of it, and I don’t even make eye contact with my own family. I avoid all socializing. My family says that my nose isn’t bad and it’s all in my head. I am unmotivated in any aspect of life. I also have a slightly deviated septum that makes my nose lean to one side and protrude out and I have fairly big nostrils, one looking bigger than the other. My septum doesn’t really affect my breathing although I do mainly mouth breathe. When when I smile or talk, the tip droops down and the nostrils flare, and it looks bigger. Will it be permissible for me to get surgery or nose filler to make my nose look more normal? I do not want to reshape it, I want it to look natural and centered.

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question. I implore to see that you are beautiful and Allah made no mistake when He created you. You have countless other blessings, you must not focus so much on your looks. A woman’s beauty has always and will always come out through her character, charm, kindness, sincerity, generosity, gentleness, and smile.

Cosmetic surgery

Surgical procedures entail changing the way Allah created you, and this is forbidden unless it is done as corrective surgery. Your deviated septum should absolutely be corrected as breathing through your mouth can cause many health problems, from dry mouth to allergies and sickness. Please take that seriously and that, on its own, will be enough to fix the nose leaning to one side.

After this, be grateful that you have a beautiful nose, go outside, socialize, see people, help others, volunteer for a charity, and motivate yourself to do well in school and succeed in what you are passionate about. Step back and think about your grave, you will only be asked about your Lord, your religion, and your Prophet. Pray on time, be the best Muslim that you can be. Learn about your religion and read Qur’an with the meaning every day. Nowadays, you can wear a mask when you go out, this can also help you break the ice with people.

May Allah reward you and may you be convinced that you don’t need any fixing or the media’s approval, you just need yourself, your iman, your taqwa, and people that love you.

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.