Can a woman shave her legs and arms?

Question

I am a 13 year old Muslim girl. I want to know if I am able to remove my body hair. My mum allows me to remove pubic hair yet forbids to do it anywhere else. I hate my body hair but I want to know if I am allowed to do it. Please tell me if it is a sin to remove hair from the arms and legs.

Answer 1

Generally it's considered acceptable. E.g. IslamWeb writes:

There is no an evidence in Shari'a that prohibits or commands shaving/removing the hair of a woman's/man's leg.

and its permissibility is confirmed in another IslamWeb fatwa:

It is permissible for women and girls to remove the hair of their arms, legs and the rest of the body, except that of the eyebrow, since the Prophet, did not forbid this.

as well as a fatwa by Islam Q&A.

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Islam Q&A presents some difference of opinion; while most fatawa they cite say it's permissible, they also write:

Some said that it is not permissible to remove it, because removing it implies changing the creation of Allaah ... (Qur'an 4:119)

This seems tenuous to me, as Sahih Muslim 261a (sunnah.com) indicates some forms of hair removal are sunnah (armpits, pubic hair).