Is It Important to Remove Pubic Hair in Islam?

Pubic hair is human private part and terminal body hair that found in the genital are of both men or women. It is actually growth after someone growing up into adult. The hair usually located around the sex organs.

In Islam it is recommended to remove our pubic hair and also armpit hair. Rasulullah in the following hadith said,

“The fitrah is five things – or five things are part of the fitrah – circumcision, shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the armpit hairs, and trimming the moustache.” (Al-Bukhari & Muslim)

The command is very clear that we have to removed or shaving the hair in certain area. There must be wisdom behind it like to maintain our cleanliness and prevent ourselves from bad smells or odor.

Another further reasons is to prevent us from germ or bacteria that might nest in it. You can read about how to clean yourself after period in Islam.

“It is Allah who made for you the earth a place a settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things. That is Allah, your Lords, then blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (QS. Ghafir : 64)

The Rules of Removing Pubic Hair In Islam

The answer of the question “is it important to remove pubic hair in Islam?” is clear which is it is strongly important.

Personal hygiene is part of worship and faith, and the purpose to remove pubic hair as mentioned above is to make ourselves clean. You can read about cleanliness in Islam.

“And they ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘it is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.” (QS. Al-Baqarah : 222)

As mentioned in the verse above, Islam loves purification, hygiene, and cleanliness. It our duty to fulfilled the command written in Quran and Hadith. And there are some rules of removing pubic hair we should understand :

a. When to remove pubic hair

There is no strictly rules about it but it is recommended to remove the hair at night, as sugessted in the following hadith.

“Delay it until we enter at night, so that the one who is dishevelled may tidy herself up and the one whose husband is absent may shave her pubic hair.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

b. How to remove pubic hair

We can shave it by razor or any other tools, there is no strict guidance either for that. Al-Bukhari narrated in the story of Khubayb ibn ‘Adiyy, in which it says as follows:

“….when they (the disbeliever who had captured him) decided to kill him, he asked to borrow a razor from one of the daughters of al-Haarith so that he could shave his pubic hair, and she lent it to him…”

The sunnah to remove pubic hair is by shaving it but for armpit hair we can pluck it.

However, most of us can only trims it and there is nothing wrong with that. Since the command is clear only to remove it, there is no strictly rule of how to remove or what tools do we use to remove it. [AdSense-B]

Even we can use scissors to remove our pubic hair, and Allah know what our intentions are. You can read about ways to purify yourself in Islam.

We also can use either waxing, sugaring or other method to remove pubic hair. As long as the method are save and able to remove the pubic hair and does not make any harm then we can used that method.

c. Removing from the front and back

It is mustahab or recommended to remove the pubic hair from the front and back.

And it is more recommended to remove it from the back, since it lest any feces get stuck to it and cannot be removed by cleaning it with water or with tissues. You can read about law of holding Quran without wudhu.

d. We should shave it ourselves

The basic rules of shaving pubic hair is that you should shaving it yourself unless you are under a condition that let you not be able to shave it by yourself. The conditions is like sick or old and you can not move freely.

We can not asked help from other person to remove our pubic hair, since it is a haram deed according to Islam.

There is no other excuse of letting other person even if she/he is the same gender as you or your mahram.

However, in the case of necessity then better to let your mother or father to shave your pubic hair. There is a hadith narrated by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said as follows:

“No man should look at the awrah of another man, and no woman should look at the awrah of another woman, and he said: ‘Guard your awrah from everyone but your wife and that which your right hand possesses (i.e slave woman).

[AdSense-C]

I said : ‘what if the people are living with one another?’ He said : ‘If you can prevent anyone seeing, then do not let him see it.’

I said : ‘what if i am alone?’ He said : ‘Allah is more deserving that you should feel shy before Him.’ And he forbade a man to lie with a man under one cover, or a woman to lie with a woman under one cover.

And he said concerning children : ‘teach them to pray when they are seven and smack them if they do not pray when they are ten, and separate them in their beds. He forbade looking or touching the awrah of a person of the same gender, because that is abhorrent and immoral. As for men with women, this is because of the issue of sexual desire.” 

And narrated by Muslim from Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said :

“As for a man with another amn, each of them may look at that of his companion which is not awrah. And the rulling on a woman with a woman is the same as the rulling on a man with a man.”

It means that muslims are strongly prohibited to ask other people to shave their pubic hair or vice versa.

If we commit this deed then we may including as immoral based on sexual desire, and equal to commiting a major sin.

We can use depilatories to remove it instead of using razor or scissors if we experience difficulties. You can read about law of not reading dua after wudhu.

e. Time set for shaving pubic hair

According to Muslim reported that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said,

“The period that was pescribed for us to trim our moustache, clip our nails, pluck out our armpit hair and shave our pubic hair is forty days.” 

It means that we have to shave our pubic hair every 40 days. This suggestion would be better to be done for since it may have a good impact towards us.

Thus are the explanation of is it important to remove pubic hair in islam? After knowing this fact, we should maintain our physichal conditions better and take good care of our private parts carefully.