1

“Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3,

“Abu al- Malih ibn Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: ‘Circumcision is a law for men and a preservation of honour for women.’” — Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 5:75

“Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251

Are these sources reliable and authentic for Female circumcision?

1 Answer 1

-1

Yes, though the first one is a mistranslation. The translators note actually refutes the idea that bazr is the clitoris rather, it is the clitoral hood (which is not apart of the clitoris itself):

e4.3 Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men it consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.)

Reliance of the Traveller e4.3 p. 59

khafđ al-mar-āt is defined as the removal of the skin on top of the glans (see for e.g Lanes' Lexicon). We have some scholars who agree that it is not the clitoris itself as Ibn Hajar (RH) writes:

The clitoris is the piece of flesh that remains in the woman’s vulva after circumcision (removal of the prepuce of the clitoris).

Fath Al-Bari 5/340

The context was the hadith about Abu Bakr (RA) insulting the pagan deity after the pagans belittled the Muslims though it shows that according to Ibn Hajar, the clitoris is not cut.

This is also the view of Shaykh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (RH) as he states:

Praise be to Allah. Yes, they should be circumcised, i.e., the top of the piece of skin that looks like a rooster’s comb [referring to clitoral hood] should be cut. The Messenger of Allah said to the woman who did circumcisions: “Leave something sticking out and do not go to extremes in cutting. That makes her face look brighter and is more pleasing to her husband.”

Majmoo Fatawa 21/114

Lastly, I will just quote the same narration you shared to prove my point:

Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: ‘Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.’” — Abu Dawud 41:5251

You must log in to answer this question.