Is It Permissible to Bleach Your Eyebrows?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it permissible to bleach your eyebrows?

Answer

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

There is a difference of opinion among scholars about the permissibility of bleaching. You may follow any one opinion. However, it is better to avoid bleaching eyebrows when exposed in front of non-Mahram men, though it is not haram.

What is Bleaching?

Bleaching the top and bottom of eyebrows with a skin-like color creates an appearance of thinning and shaping.
Sometimes, the eyebrows are bleached to match the skin tone, and a fine line is drawn above them, making the original eyebrows invisible and only the pencil line visible.

Difference of Opinion

Esteemed Muftis and Jurists differ on the permissibility of bleaching eyebrows. Some scholars believe that bleaching eyebrows in the manner described above is not allowed. This is because it looks like excessive plucking and can cause harm to the skin or hair due to the substances used. Therefore, according to these scholars, it is not permissible for women to bleach their eyebrows this way, regardless of whether they are married or not.[Ibn Nujaim, Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq]

Some believe it is acceptable to bleach or lighten eyebrows, as it only involves coloring and not removing the hair. According to these scholars, the general rule for adornment is that it is allowed unless there is evidence to the contrary.

It seems that bleaching the eyebrows in the manner described cannot be deemed haram or unlawful. The Sharia permits coloring and dyeing one’s hair.

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I pray this helps with your question.

Wassalam,

[Mawlana]Ilyas Patel
Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.