The Ruling on Removing the Hair on the Back, the Legs and Thighs for Men

Question :

Is it permissible for a man to shave the hair from his back, legs and thighs, along with the pubic area and the armpits, without imitating women, or disbelievers such as the People of the Book and others?

Answer:

It is permissible to remove the hair from the aforementioned places, as there is no harm in it to the body, so long as it is not done with the intention of imitating women or disbelievers. This is because, fundamentally, things are permissible, and it is not allowed for the Muslim to make anything forbidden except with evidence, and there is no evidence that what we have mentioned is forbidden. The silence of Allah, the Most Glorified and His Messenger in this matter proves that it is permissible. This is because the Messenger made it lawful for us to shorten the moustache, trim the nails, pluck the armpits and shave the pubic region; and He permitted men to shave their heads, and He cursed those women who remove the eyebrow hair of others and those who have their eyebrow hair removed, and he ordered us to grow our beards, but he was silent concerning hair other than that. Anything about which Allah and His Messenger are silent is allowed and it is not permissible for anyone to forbid it, as the Prophet said, in the Hadith narrated by Abu Tha'labah Al-Khushani:

"Verily, Allah has imposed certain obligations, so do not lose them; and He has imposed certain limits, so do not exceed them; and He has forbidden certain things, so do not violate them; and He is silent regarding some things as a mercy to you, not due to forgetfulness, so do not investigate such matters.

A number of scholars have written about the above-mentioned Hadith and other Hadiths and narrations from the Companions carrying the same meaning. Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab may Allah have mercy on him - has mentioned some of them in Jami' Al- 'Uloom wal-Hikam in his explanation of the Hadith of Abu Tha'labah. Whoever wishes to investigate this matter should refer to it. And Allah knows best.

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