Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

This matter is one of the issues that

have been raised in the modern age, so we should look at each of the two

scholarly opinions on the matter and indicate which one we believe to be

more correct.

The first opinion is that it is not

permissible to repair the hymen at all.

The second opinion is more detailed:

1.If the rupture of the hymen was caused by an accident

or by an action that is not considered in sharee’ah to be a sin, and was

not caused by intercourse within the bounds of legal marriage, then we

look at the following issue:

If

it is deemed most likely that the girl will suffer hardship and unfair

accusations because of the customs and traditions of her society, then

doing this operation is obligatory. If that is not the case, then it is

still better to do the operation.

2.If the rupture was caused by intercourse within the

bounds of legal marriage, as in the case of woman who has been divorced,

or by zinaa (illicit sexual activity i.e., outside the bounds of marriage)

in a case that is well known among the people, then it is haraam to do

this operation.

3.If the rupture was caused by zinaa in a case that is

not well known among the people, then the doctor has the choice of either

repairing it or not repairing it, although it is better to repair it.

The points on which the scholars differ

The differences between these two

opinions are confined to the first and third cases outlined above. With

regard to the second case, they are agreed that this operation in haraam

in such situations.

Evidence (daleel)

The evidence for the first view (that it is

completely haraam).

Firstly: repairing the hymen could lead

to mixing of lineages, as a woman could become pregnant from a previous

liaison, then she gets marriaed after having her hymen repaired, which

then leads to the pregnancy being attributed to her husband, thus mixing

halaal with haraam.

Secondly: repairing the hymen involves

looking at that part of the ‘awrah which is to hidden most.

Thirdly: repairing the hymen makes

iteasy for young women to commit the sin of zinaa, because they know that

they can have the hymen repaired afterwards.

Fourthly: there is the matter of good and bad

consequences, or pros and cons. If it is possible to achieve the good

consequences whilst warding off the bad consequences, then we should do

that. If the bad consequences outweigh the good consequences, we should

ward off the bad consequences and not worry about the good consequences,

as the fuqahaa’ of Islam have stated.

If we apply this principle and look at the

evil consequences that result from repairing the hymen, we will understand

that it is not permissible to do this operation because of the enormity of

the evil consequences that result from it.

Fifthly: one of the principles of Islamic

sharee’ah is that something harmful cannot be removed by something else

that is also harmful. One of the implications of this principle is that

“it is not permissible for a man to prevent his land from being flooded

by diverting the flood waters onto someone else’s land.” By the same

token, it is not permissible for a girl and her mother to remove harm from

themselves by having the hymen repaired and thus causing harm to the

husband.

Sixthly: the basic idea of repairing the hymen

is not permissible according to sharee’ah because it is a kind of

deceit, and deceit is forbidden in Islam.

Seventhly: repairing the hymen pavest he way

for girls and their families to tell lies about the real reason why the

hymen was ruptured, and lying is also forbidden in Islam.

Eighthly: repairing the hymen paves the way

for doctors to resort to performing abortions for the purposes of

concealing sin.

Evidence for the second opinion:

Firstly: the texts indicate that it is

permissible and is encouraged to conceal sins, and repairing the hymen

helps to achieve that in cases where this operation is permissible.

Secondly: if a woman who is innocent of any

immoral action is allowed to have this operation so as to leave no room

for suspicion, this will ward off unjustice for her and will achieve the

aim prescribed by sharee’ah of thinking well of believing men and women.

Thirdly: repairing the hymen has to ward off

harm . If a woman was left without having this operation done, and her

husband were to notice that, it would cause trouble for her and her

family, and if the matter became well known among people, the family may

never be able to find marriage partners for their daughters. So they are

permitted to ward off harm because they are innocent in this case.

Fourthly: the fact that a Muslim doctor

may perform this operation in order to conceal the illusionary evidence of

has a general educational impact on society, especially where the

psychology of young women is concerned.

Fifthly: the objection of deception does not

exist in cases where we have determined that it is permissible to repair

the hymen.

Which view is more correct?

The view which is more correct- and Allaah knows best – is that which states that it is not

permissible to repair the hymen at all. This is for the following reasons:

Fisrtly: because the reports quoted as

evidence by those who have this view are saheeh.

Secondly: with regard to the evidence quoted

by those who favour the second view, they may be dealt with as follows:

The response to the first :

The concealing that is required in Islam is

that described in the texts as a concealing of sin, but this aim is not

achieved by repairing the hymen. Basically it is haraam because it

involves uncovering the ‘awrah and opens the door to evil.

The response to the second :

Preventing the husband from thinking badly of

the woman may be achieved by informing him of the situation before

marriage. If he accepts it, this is fine, otherwise Allaah will compensate

her with someone better.

The response to the third :

The evil consequence mentioned cannot be

avoided entirely by doing this operation, because there is the possibility

that the husband may find out about it, even if that happens by way of

someone else telling him. He should be told about it, and if he accepts

then the evil consequence is not longer an issue, as is also the case if

he decides not to go ahead with the marriage.

The response to the fourth :

Even though there are some positive aspects to

this concealment, there are also negative consequences, such as making it

easy for women to commit zinaa. Warding off evil consequences takes

priority over gaining benefits.

The response to the fifth :

We do not accept that there is no deception

involved, because this hymen is renewed, it is not the original hymen. If

we accept that there is no deception of the husband involved in cases

where the hymen was broken as a result of jumping and so on, we cannot be

sure that there is no deception in cases where it was broken as a result

of an attack on the woman.

Secondly: blocking the routes that could lead

to harm, as mentioned by those who favour the first opinion, is a very

important matter, especially in cases that have to do with the violation

of the sanctity of private parts and the evil that can undoubtedly result

from permitting the repair of hymens.

Thirdly: the basic principle in Islam is that

it is haraam to uncover, touch or look at that which is ‘awrah. The

excuses mentioned by those who favour the second opinion are not strong

enough to let operations to repair the hymen be exempted from this general

rule. So we have to adhere to this ruling, and say that it is haraam to do

operations to repair the hymen.

Fifthly [sic]: the evil consequence of false

accusations being made can be dealt with by obtaining a medical

certificate after the event to prove the woman’s innocence. This is the

best way, and by doing this there is no longer any need to do an operation

to repair the hymen.

For all of these reasons, it is not

permissible for a doctor or a woman to do this kind of surgery, and Allaah

knows best.

(See Ahkaam al-Jaraahah al-Tibbiyyah

wa’l-Athaar al-Mutarattibah ‘alayhaa  by Dr. Muhammad ibn

Muhammad al-Mukhtaar al-Shanqeeti, p. 403)

Some contemporary scholars have issued fatwas

stating that surgery to repair the hymen is permissible in the case of

rape victims and those who have repented (from zinaa), but it not

permissible in the case of women who have not repented, because this is

helping her to continue committing that sin. By the same token, a woman

who has previously had intercourse is not permitted to do this operation

because this is helping her to deceive and cheat a future husband, since

he will think that she is a virgin when this is not the case. And Allaah

knows best