[don't 'interpret' individual hadith - give outline of hadith interpretation at start of hadith section - especially tacit approvals - then just cite the hadith - give commentary - but only explaining (what words mean, who aisha , uthman etc are)
explain relationship betwee qur'an and sunnah examples of 'vague quran' explained by hadith - > in section explaining Islam's holy texts]Bold text
Islam's sacred texts are the Qur'an, the Hadith and the Sirah. The Qur'an is..... The Hadith are..... the Sirah is the biography of Mohammed.
Also fundamental to Muslims are the manuals of the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).
There are several mentions of FGM in the Hadith and FGM is mentioned in the relating of an incident in the Sirah.
There is no explicit mention of FGM in the Qur'an. However, Sura 30, verse 30 of the Qur'an is explained by a Hadith which requires Muslims to practice FGM.
check arabic of https://islamqa.org/hanafi/fatwa-tt/134090/what-is-the-ruling-of-shariah-on-female-circumcision/
The Hadith
editThe Hadith are.... explain approvals, link to quran, perfect man, history, sahih etc The Arabic word (or words) used to denote FGM is added to each Hadith.
The Hadith are grouped according to the Arabic word (or phrase) used for (female) 'circumcision'. Within each grouping they are arranged according to their ranking.
Two words are used for FGM in the hadith: khitan and khaffad.
Hadith using 'Khitan'
editDictionaries of modern Arabic define 'khitan' as simply 'circumcision'. However, dictionaries and lexicons of classical Arabic (the Arabic of the Quran, Hadith, Sirah, Tafsir etc) define 'khitan' as male circumcision and/or female circumcision.
“Circumcision of a boy, and of a girl” LANE, Edward William – ‘Arabic-English Lexicon’ (1863-93)[1]
“Circoncire (un garçon ou une fille)” (trans: to circumcise (a boy or a girl)) KAZIMIRSKI, Albert de Biberstein - ‘Dictionnaire Arabe-Francais’ (1860)
Also note that several of the following hadith use the word 'khitan' in contexts where the 'circumcision' in question is clearly being performed on women or girls, and only on women or girls.
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيٌّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، رِوَايَةً " الْفِطْرَةُ خَمْسٌ ـ أَوْ خَمْسٌ مِنَ الْفِطْرَةِ ـ الْخِتَانُ، وَالاِسْتِحْدَادُ، وَنَتْفُ الإِبْطِ، وَتَقْلِيمُ الأَظْفَارِ، وَقَصُّ الشَّارِبِ "
Allah's Messenger said, "Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision [Arabic: al-khitan], shaving the pubic region, clipping the nails and cutting the moustaches short."
There are several traditions and narrations of the above hadith - not all include circumcision/khitan as a component of the fitrah.
وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الأَنْصَارِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ حَسَّانَ، حَدَّثَنَا حُمَيْدُ بْنُ هِلاَلٍ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيِّ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الأَعْلَى، - وَهَذَا حَدِيثُهُ - حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، عَنْ حُمَيْدِ بْنِ هِلاَلٍ، قَالَ - وَلاَ أَعْلَمُهُ إِلاَّ عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، - عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ اخْتَلَفَ فِي ذَلِكَ رَهْطٌ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنْصَارِ فَقَالَ الأَنْصَارِيُّونَ لاَ يَجِبُ الْغُسْلُ إِلاَّ مِنَ الدَّفْقِ أَوْ مِنَ الْمَاءِ . وَقَالَ الْمُهَاجِرُونَ بَلْ إِذَا خَالَطَ فَقَدْ وَجَبَ الْغُسْلُ . قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى فَأَنَا أَشْفِيكُمْ مِنْ ذَلِكَ . فَقُمْتُ فَاسْتَأْذَنْتُ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ فَأُذِنَ لِي فَقُلْتُ لَهَا يَا أُمَّاهْ - أَوْ يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكِ عَنْ شَىْءٍ وَإِنِّي أَسْتَحْيِيكِ . فَقَالَتْ لاَ تَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ تَسْأَلَنِي عَمَّا كُنْتَ سَائِلاً عَنْهُ أُمَّكَ الَّتِي وَلَدَتْكَ فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا أُمُّكَ . قُلْتُ فَمَا يُوجِبُ الْغُسْلَ قَالَتْ عَلَى الْخَبِيرِ سَقَطْتَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا جَلَسَ بَيْنَ شُعَبِهَا الأَرْبَعِ وَمَسَّ الْخِتَانُ الْخِتَانَ فَقَدْ وَجَبَ الْغُسْلُ "
Abu Musa reported: There cropped up a difference of opinion between a group of Muhajirs (Emigrants and a group of Ansar (Helpers) (and the point of dispute was) that the Ansar said: The bath (because of sexual intercourse) becomes obligatory only-when the semen spurts out or ejaculates. But the Muhajirs said: When a man has sexual intercourse (with the woman), a bath becomes obligatory (no matter whether or not there is seminal emission or ejaculation). Abu Musa said: Well, I satisfy you on this (issue). He (Abu Musa, the narrator) said: I got up (and went) to 'A'isha and sought her permission and it was granted, and I said to her: 0 Mother, or Mother of the Faithful, I want to ask you about a matter on which I feel shy. She said: Don't feel shy of asking me about a thing which you can ask your mother, who gave you birth, for I am too your mother. Upon this I said: What makes a bath obligatory for a person? She replied: You have come across one well informed! The Messenger of Allah said: When anyone sits amidst four parts (of the woman) and the circumcised [Arabic: al-khitan] part touches the circumcised [Arabic: al-khitan] part a bath becomes obligatory.
The following is a different narration of the above hadith. It is rated sahih. Al-Tirmidhi was a student of Al Bukhari.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُوسَى، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْقَاسِمِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ إِذَا جَاوَزَ الْخِتَانُ الْخِتَانَ فَقَدْ وَجَبَ الْغُسْلُ فَعَلْتُهُ أَنَا وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاغْتَسَلْنَا . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو وَرَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ
Aishah narrated: When the circumcised [Arabic: al-khitan] meets the circumcised [Arabic: al-khitan], then indeed Ghusl is required. Myself and Allah's Messenger did that, so we performed Ghusl.
The following hadith comes from.... It is rated hasan by Al-Albani.
حَدَّثَنَا أَصْبَغُ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرٌو، أَنَّ بُكَيْرًا حَدَّثَهُ، أَنَّ أُمَّ عَلْقَمَةَ أَخْبَرَتْهُ، أَنَّ بَنَاتَ أَخِي عَائِشَةَ اخْتُتِنَّ، فَقِيلَ لِعَائِشَةَ: أَلاَ نَدْعُو لَهُنَّ مَنْ يُلْهِيهِنَّ؟ قَالَتْ: بَلَى. فَأَرْسَلْتُ إِلَى عَدِيٍّ فَأَتَاهُنَّ، فَمَرَّتْ عَائِشَةُ فِي الْبَيْتِ فَرَأَتْهُ يَتَغَنَّى وَيُحَرِّكُ رَأْسَهُ طَرَبًا، وَكَانَ ذَا شَعْرٍ كَثِيرٍ، فَقَالَتْ: أُفٍّ، شَيْطَانٌ، أَخْرِجُوهُ، أَخْرِجُوهُ.
Umm 'Alqama related that when the daughters of 'A'isha's brother were circumcised [Arabic: al-khitan], 'A'isha was asked, "Shall we call someone to amuse them?" "Yes," she replied. 'Adi was sent for and he came to them. 'A'isha passed by the room and saw him singing and shaking his head in rapture - and he had a large head of hair. 'Uff!' she exclaimed, 'A shaytan! Get him out! Get him out!'"
The following hadith is rated sahih by Al Albani. However, Abu Dawud, who compiled this hadith, wrote that it was'not a strong tradition' and also that it was 'weak'.
عَنْ أُمِّ عَطِيَّةَ الأَنْصَارِيَّةِ، أَنَّ امْرَأَةً، كَانَتْ تَخْتِنُ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَقَالَ لَهَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " لاَ تُنْهِكِي فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَحْظَى لِلْمَرْأَةِ وَأَحَبُّ إِلَى الْبَعْلِ "
A woman used to perform circumcision [Arabic: al-khitan] in Medina. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband.
“Abu al- Malih ibn `Usama’s father relates that the Prophet said: “Circumcision [Arabic: al-khitan] is a law (sunnah) for men and a preservation of honour (makrumah) for women.””
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal 20:719 According to the authors Ibrahim Lethome Asmani & Maryam Sheikh Abdi (https://unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/De-linking%20FGM%20from%20Islam%20final%20report.pdf) the word used for 'circumcision' is 'khitan'
Hadith using 'Khaffad'
edit'Circoncire une fille' 'Subir la circoncision (ce mot ne s'emploie que en parlant des filles, qu'on circoncit en Orient: cette opération se pratique sur le clitoris' Kazimirzki
'get circumcised (girl)' Steingass
' She (a girl) was, or became, circumcised' 'the place of a girl where the operation of circumcision is performed' 'a girl circumcised' Lane's Lexicon
يا نســاء الأنصــار اختضـبن عمســاً ، واختفـضن ولا تنـهـكن ؛ فإنه أحظـى لإناثكن عند أزواجهن
[Abdalla ibnu Umar reports that Muhammad said] "Oh women of the Ansâr! Apply henna and circumcise [Arabic: al-khaffad]! But do not exaggerate for it is more pleasing for your women folks when they are with their husbands.”
— Mukhtassar Zawa’id Musnad Al-Bazzar of Ibn Hajar Item 1227, I, 669
Note that this appears to be a different narration of the tradition.... Al Shawkani (1759–1839) has declared this tradition daif (weak)
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَتْنَا عَجُوزٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ جَدَّةُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ غُرَابٍ قَالَتْ: حَدَّثَتْنِي أُمُّ الْمُهَاجِرِ قَالَتْ: سُبِيتُ فِي جَوَارِي مِنَ الرُّومِ، فَعَرَضَ عَلَيْنَا عُثْمَانُ الإِسْلاَمَ، فَلَمْ يُسْلِمْ مِنَّا غَيْرِي وَغَيْرُ أُخْرَى، فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ: اذْهَبُوا فَاخْفِضُوهُمَا، وَطَهِّرُوهُمَا.
An old woman from Kufa, the grandmother of 'Ali ibn Ghurab, reported that Umm al-Muhajir said, "I was captured with some girls from Byzantium. 'Uthman offered us Islam, but only myself and one other girl accepted Islam. 'Uthman said, 'Go and circumcise [Arabic: al-khitan] them and purify them.'"
Hadith using neither khitan or khaffad
editخَرَجْتُ مَعَ النَّاسِ إِلَى الْقِتَالِ، فَلَمَّا اصْطَفُّوا لِلْقِتَالِ خَرَجَ سِبَاعٌ فَقَالَ هَلْ مِنْ مُبَارِزٍ قَالَ فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِ حَمْزَةُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ فَقَالَ يَا سِبَاعُ يَا ابْنَ أُمِّ أَنْمَارٍ مُقَطِّعَةِ الْبُظُورِ، أَتُحَادُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ صلى
I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba’ came out and said, ‘Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?’ Hamza bin `Abdul Muttalib came out and said, ‘O Siba’. O Ibn Um Anmar, the one who cuts clitorises [Arabic: muqteh al-basr]! Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?’
This hadith is evaluated as sahih. This passage is an extract from a long hadith which reports the death of Hamza (a companion of Mohammed) during the battle of Uhud, in which a Meccan army clashed with Mohammed and his followers. Hamza taunts the Meccan warrior, Siba. This incident, with slight variations, is also reported in the Sirah (see below).
The Sirah
editThen Siba' b. 'Abdu’l-'Uzza al-Ghubshani, who was known as Abu Niyar, passed by him, and Hamza said, ‘Come here, you son of a female circumciser.’ Now his mother was Umm Anmar, freedwoman of Shariq b. 'Amr b. Wahb al-Thaqafl, a female circumciser in Mecca. When they closed Hamza smote him and killed him.
Wahshi the slave of Jubayr b. Mut'im, said, ‘By God, I was looking at Hamza while he was killing men with his sword, sparing no one, like a huge camel, when Siba'came up to him before me, and Hamza said, “Come here, you son of a female circumciser,” and he struck him a blow so swiftly that it seemed to miss his head.
The Qur'an
editNhere is no explicit mention of FGM in the Qur'an.
However, Qur'an 30:30 is explained by a Hadith which requires Muslims to practice FGM.
So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.
This is the only use of the word 'fitrah' in the Qur'an. 'Fitrah' refers to an innate, god-given predisposition towards Islamic behaviour and beliefs.
The apostle and Gabriel went their way until they arrived at the temple at Jerusalem. There he found Abraham, Moses, and Jesus among a company of the prophets. The apostle acted as their imam in prayer. Then he was brought two vessels, one containing wine and the other milk. The apostle took the milk and drank it, leaving the wine. Gabriel said: “You have been rightly guided to the way of nature [Ar. fitrah] and so will your people be, Muhammad. Wine is forbidden you.
— Ibn Ishaq 264
The Quran does not explain what Muslims must do in order to 'adhere to the fitrah' (this occurs quite frequently in the Qur'an). For the explanation and detailed instructions Muslims must turn to the Sunnah (i.e. the Hadith and/or Sirah). The following hadith explains how Muslims should 'adhere to the fitrah'.
Abu Huraira reported: Five are the acts quite akin to the Fitra, or five are the acts of Fitra: circumcision [Ar. khitan], shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits and clipping the moustache.
— Sahih Bukhari 8,74,312 (see also Bukhari 7,72,779; Bukhari 7,72,777; Sahih Muslim 2,496 & 2,495)
There are many examples where the Qur'an enjoins Muslims to do something, with the Sunnah explaining exactly how Muslims must do that thing.
[give examples...]
The Shariah
editSharia (/ʃəˈriːə/; Arabic: شريعة, romanized: sharīʿa [ʃaˈriːʕa]) is a body of religious law that forms part of the Islamic tradition.[2][3][4][5] It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith.[2] In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations.[6][7][8] The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim fundamentalists and modernists.[9][3]
A madhhab (Arabic: مذهب maḏhab, IPA: [ˈmaðhab], "way to act") is a school of thought within fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
The major Sunni madhhabs are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
FGM/female circumcision is mentioned in the fiqh manuals
“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 clitoris (this is called Hufaad).”
— Shihabuddin Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn an-Naqib al-Misri, Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper), DURIE, Mark and Bat Ye’or. 'The Third Choice: Islam, Dhimmitude and Freedom' Deror Books, 2010
The only book-form translation of Reliance of the Traveller is by Nuh Ha Mim Keller. His translation differs from the above in claiming that the Arabic word 'Bazr' means 'prepuce of clitoris' rather than simply 'clitoris'. And thereore 'Hufaad' (Khaffad) is the removal of the prepuce of the clitoris, not of the clitoris.
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.)
— Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, translator Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Reliance of the Traveller, section e4.3
Note that all Arabic-English dictionaries, including dictionaries of classical Arabic (such as Steingass and Kazimirski) define the Arabic word ‘bazr’ as ‘clitoris’. The one exception (and the possible source of Keller’s translation) is Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon which defines ‘bazr’ as ‘prepuce of the clitoris’. Lane’s justification for this is based on a single source and accepts notions that are erroneous (e.g. that in certain races the clitoris, if left uncut, will grow to ‘an extraordinary size’).
Sharia [al-Risala 29.9b] female circumcision (khifad) is praiseworthy (makruma)
Al-Risala is the manual of Sharia of the Maliki school of Islam.
Judaism
editThe core religious texts of Judaism are....
There is no mention of FGM (or related practices) in these texts.
However, some Muslims who practice FGM explain the origins of the practice through a retelling of the Sarah and Hagar story. This is the story as told in Genesis 16 & 21.
Hagar was the slave and maid of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Abraham and Sarah were growing old, and their marriage had been barren. Sarah, worried that god’s promise to Abraham – that he would be father of many nations – would not be fulfilled, offered Hagar to Abraham as a second wife.
When Hagar became pregnant tension arose between her and Sarah. Sarah complained to Abraham, and treated Hagar so harshly, that Hagar eventually fled to the desert.
An angel appeared to Hagar whilst she was resting at a spring. The angel instructed her to return to Sarah. The angel told Hagar to call her son Ishmael. Hagar returned to Abraham and Sarah, and soon gave birth to a son, whom she named as the angel had instructed.
The tension between the women returned when Sarah later gave birth to her own child, whom she called Isaac. At a celebration, Sarah found the older Ishmael mocking her Isaac, who had just been weaned. Sarah was so upset at Ishmael’s treatment of her son that she demanded that Abraham banish Hagar and Ishmael and declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac’s inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed by this, but God told Abraham to do as his wife commanded because God’s promise would be carried out through both Isaac and Ishmael.
The next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together. Abraham gave Hagar bread and water then sent them into the desert of Beersheba. Hagar and her son wandered aimlessly until they had no more water. Hagar, succumbing to despair, began to weep. God heard her and her son crying and came sent an angel who opened Hagar’s eyes and showed her a well of water. The Angel also told Hagar that God “will make a great nation” of Ishmael.
Hagar eventually found Ishmael a wife from Egypt and they settled in a place called the Desert of Paran.
A retelling of this story is found in al-Tabari
“Sarah said to Abraham, ‘Take Hagar as a concubine’. And so Abraham slept with Hagar, and she got pregnant with Ismail. Afterwards, Abraham slept with Sarah, and she got pregnant with Isaac. When Sarah delivered Isaac and he grew up, he fought with Ismail, and Sarah [because of this] was crossed with Ismail’s mother, and became jealous of her, and so she sent her out. But later, Sarah returned Hagar back, only to get crossed with her again, and drive her away once more. But a second time she returned her. However, this time Sarah swore that she would cut off part of Hagar’s, and said, ‘I shall cut her nose or her ear, so that she is disfigured’; then she said, ‘No, I shall cut her genitalia. And so she circumcised Hagar … and for this reason women became circumcised … And then Sarah said, ‘[Hagar] should not live in the same country where I live’. And so Allah inspired Abraham to go to Mecca, where he left Hagar and her son there.”
— Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings), edited by Muhammad Abul-Fadl Ibrahim (Cairo, Dar al-Ma’arif, 2nd Print); Vol. 1; pp. 253-4
A place "at the extremity of al-Hijaz at a place called Faran".[10] is claimed to be the 'the desert of Paran', where, in the Biblical account, Hagar and Ishmael eventually settle. Al-Hijaz is the region of Saudi Arabia where Mecca and Medina are found.
- ^ LANE, Edward William – ‘Arabic-English Lexicon’ (1863-93)
- ^ a b Bassiouni, M. Cherif (2014) [2013]. "The Sharīa, Islamic Law (Fiqh), and Legal Methods (Ilm Uṣūl al-Fiqh)". In Bassiouni, M. Cherif (ed.). The Shari'a and Islamic Criminal Justice in Time of War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–87. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139629249.003. ISBN 9781139629249. LCCN 2013019592. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
- ^ a b "British & World English: sharia". Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Islam". HISTORY. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
- ^ Dahlén 2003, chpt. 2a.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ODI
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Vikør 2014.
- ^ Calder 2009.
- ^ Amanat 2009: "Muslim fundamentalists [...] claim that Shari’a and its sources [...] constitute a divine law that regulates all aspects of Muslim life, as well as Muslim societies and Muslim states [...]. Muslim modernists, [...] on the other hand, criticize the old approaches to Shari’a by traditional Muslim jurists as obsolete and instead advocate innovative approaches to Shari’a that accommodate more pluralist and relativist views within a democratic framework."
- ^ Al-Muqaddasi, Muhammad (1994). The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. The United Kingdom: Garnet Pub. p. 11. ISBN 1873938144.