2017 06 The Light June 2017

June 2017 The
Light 12
ways through which this Hadith is transmitted
are weak and cannot be considered a proof of a
legal ruling. In his thesis on female circumcision,
Muhammad Lutfy As-Sabbagh, Professor
in Islamic Studies in Riyadh University, says,
“See, may Allah guide you, how the two great
Imams, Abu Dawood and Al-Iraqi, have judged
this Hadith to be da‛if. The da‛if hadith is the one
lacking authenticity criteria.” 18
Fifth Hadith
It is reported on the authority of Hazrat
Ayesah (r) that the Prophet (s) said: “if the two
organs to be removed by circumcision are met,
then performing Ghusl (ritual bath) is obligatory.”
19
Although this is regarded as an authentic
hadith, the objections to it are the same as discussed
above. It uses the khitaanani as the dualplural.
It has been pointed out already that this
means male circumcision. So, it is not saying
when these “circumcised” organs of both the
male and female meet then they should take a
bath. Also, the hadith is found in the chapters
related to purification.
The idea that this hadith shows female circumcision
is allowed is based on a misunderstanding.
Such dual-plurals are applied in Arabic
to two things which, though different, share
some attribute. Here are some examples.
i. Al-umareyn - (the two Umars) referring to
two close companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(s) (Abu bakar and Umar (r)). The
Prophet (s) called these two companions
“Umareyn,” yet they were two different individuals.
ii. Al-Bahreyn - (two seas) referring to the
sea (bahr) and river (nahr)
iii. Al-qamareyn - (the two moons), referring
to the sun (al-Shams) and the moon (al- qamar).
iv. Al-ishaeyn - (the two ishas) referring to
Isha and Maghrib prayers.
v. Al-aswadeyn - (the two black things) referring
to water and dates. 20
Recent Scholars
In several Muslim countries, the government
has legislated to try and outlaw FGM. In
the 1950s, the Egyptian government tried to
stop midwives from performing the custom,
while allowing doctors to do so — fearing that
otherwise the daughters of the families who insisted
on circumcising would have the operation
carried out in unsafe conditions. But in
1996, the health minister imposed a total ban
on the practice.
Religious authorities have also given decrees
against this practice. Egypt's two top Islamic
clerics, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the
Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, the foremost theological
institute in the Sunni Muslim world, and
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, attended a conference
to discuss this issue, which drew scholars from
as far afield as Russia. 21 They both spoke
against FGM.
From the above discussion, it can be concluded
that female circumcision, or FGM, is not
sanctioned by the Holy Quran or the actions of
the Holy Prophet. The ahadith on which supporters
of FGM rely are unreliable or they have
been mistranslated. Indeed, one can go further
and argue that the Holy Quran forbids FGM.
(end)
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18 Female Circumcision from an Islamic perspective,
from Islam by USAID, page 11
page 3.
21 http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/muslim-
19 Malik, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and others
20 Delinking Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting
scholars-rule-female-circumcision-unis-
lamic/2006/11/24/1163871589618.html
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