Can One Have a Tattoo or an Eyebrow Wig Attached If One Has Alopecia?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I would like to know if a female with severe alopecia whose eyebrows are no longer visible causes her embarrassment and low self-esteem is permitted to have her eyebrows tattooed. One type of tattoo will last six months, and the other is permanent.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

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

Islamically, cosmetic tattooing and plastic surgery for beautifying and adornment are impermissible. However, if there is a genuine need due to something being abnormal or deformed, then there is a dispensation of permissibility in your case with alopecia, an eyebrow wig from non-human fiber, semi and permanent tattooing would be permissible.

Suppose the wig is fitted to the eyebrow area so that it is not detachable. In that case, it will be permitted to wipe over the wig when performing wudu and taking a ritual obligatory bath (ghusl) will be valid with keeping the wig on. However, if it is a removable wig, one must remove it when performing wudu or ghusl. [Usmani, Takmila Fath al-Mulhim]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive detailed explanations and guidance, in sha’ Allah.

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• Is Scalp Micro-Pigmentation Permissible for a Bald Man?
• Scalp Micro-Pigmentation
• Is Cosmetic Surgery Allowed?
• Wigs and False 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.