Circumcision of girls and some doctors’ criticism thereof
Question

                Nowadays we hear that many doctors denounce the circumcision of girls, and say that it harms them physically and psychologically, and that circumcision is an inherited custom that has no basis is Islam .
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    Circumcision is not an inherited custom as some people claim, 
    rather it is prescribed in Islam and the scholars are unanimously agreed 
    that it is prescribed. Not a single Muslim scholar – as far as we know – has 
    said that circumcision is not prescribed. 

    Their evidence is to be found in the saheeh ahaadeeth of the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which prove that 
    it is prescribed, for example: 

    1- 

    The hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (5889) and Muslim (257) 
    from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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." 

    This hadeeth includes circumcision of both males and 
    females. 

    2-  

    Muslim (349) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased 
    with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him) said: “When a man sits between the four parts (arms and legs of 
    his wife) and the two circumcised parts meet, then ghusl is obligatory.” 

    The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    mentioned the two circumcised parts, i.e., the circumcised part of the 
    husband and the circumcised part of the wife, which indicates that a woman 
    may be circumcised just like a man. 

    3- 

    Abu Dawood (5271) narrated from Umm ‘Atiyyah al-Ansaariyyah 
    that a woman used to do circumcisions in Madeenah and the Prophet  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her: “Do not go to the 
    extreme in cutting; that is better for the woman and more liked by the 
    husband.” But the scholars differed concerning this hadeeth. Some of them 
    classed it as da’eef (weak) and others classed it as saheeh. It was classed 
    as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. The fact that 
    circumcision for women is prescribed in Islam is confirmed by the ahaadeeth 
    quoted above, not by this disputed hadeeth. But the scholars differed 
    concerning the ruling, and there are three opinions: 

    1 – That it is obligatory for both males and females. This is 
    the view of the Shaafa’is and Hanbalis, and is the view favoured by al-Qaadi 
    Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi among the Maalikis (may Allaah have mercy on them 
    all). 

    Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    al-Majmoo’ (1/367): Circumcision is obligatory for both men and women in 
    our view. This is the view of many of the salaf, as was narrated by 
    al-Khattaabi. Among those who regarded it as obligatory is Ahmad… it is the 
    correct view that is well known and was stated by al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah 
    have mercy on him), and the majority stated definitively that it is 
    obligatory for both men and women. end quote. 

    See Fath al-Baari, 10/340; Kishshaaf al-Qinaa’, 
    1/80 

    2 – That circumcision is Sunnah for both males and females. 
    This is the view of the Hanafis and Maalikis, and was narrated in one report 
    from Ahmad. Ibn ‘Aabideen al-Hanafi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    his Haashiyah (6/751): In Kitaab al-Tahaarah of al-Siraaj 
    al-Wahhaaj it says: Know that circumcision is Sunnah in our view – i.e., 
    according to the Hanafis – for men and for women. end quote. 

    See: Mawaahib al-Jaleel, 3/259 

    3 – That circumcision is obligatory for men and is good and 
    mustahabb for women. This is the third view of Imam Ahmad, and it is the 
    view of some Maalikis such as Sahnoon. This view was also favoured by 
    al-Muwaffaq ibn Qudaamah in al-Mughni. 

    See: al-Tamheed, 21/60; al-Mughni, 1/63 

    It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (5/223): 

    Circumcision is one of the Sunnahs of the fitrah, and it is 
    for both males and females, except that is it obligatory for males and 
    Sunnah and good in the case of women. End quote

    Thus it is clear that the fuqaha’ of Islam are agreed that 
    circumcision is prescribed for both males and females, and in fact the 
    majority of them are of the view that it is obligatory for both. No one said 
    that it is not prescribed or that it is makrooh or haraam. 

    Secondly: 

    With regard to the criticism of circumcision by some doctors, 
    and their claim that it is harmful both physically and psychologically, 

    This criticism of theirs is not valid. It is sufficient for 
    us Muslims that something be proven to be from the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him), then we will follow it, and we are certain 
    that it is beneficial and not harmful. If it were harmful, Allaah and His 
    Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would not have 
    prescribed it for us. 

    In the answer to question no.
    45528 
    we have mentioned some of the medical benefits of circumcision for women, 
    quoting from some doctors. 

    Thirdly: 

    We would add here the fatwas of some modern scholars who have 
    responded to this war that has been launched against female circumcision on 
    the grounds that it is harmful to health. 

    Shaykh Jaad al-Haqq ‘Ali Jaad al-Haqq, the former Shaykh of 
    al-Azhar, said: 

    Hence the fuqaha’ of all madhhabs are agreed that 
    circumcision for both men and woman is part of the fitrah of Islam and one 
    of the symbols of the faith, and it is something praiseworthy. There is no 
    report from any of the Muslim fuqaha’, according to what we have studied in 
    their books that are available to us, to say that circumcision is forbidden 
    for men or women, or that it is not permissible, or that it is harmful for 
    females, if it is done in the manner that the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught to Umm Habeebah in the report quoted 
    above. 

    Then he said: 

    From the above it is clear that the circumcision of girls – 
    which is the topic under discussion here – is part of the fitrah of Islam, 
    and the way it is to be done is the method that the Messenger of Allaah  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained. It is not right to 
    abandon his teachings for the view of anyone else, even if that is a doctor, 
    because medicine is knowledge and knowledge is always developing and 
    changing. End quote. 

    In the fatwa of Shaykh ‘Atiyah Saqar – the former heard of 
    the Fatwa Committee in al-Azhar – it says: 

    The calls which urge the banning of female circumcision are 
    call that go against Islam, because there is no clear text in the Qur’aan or 
    Sunnah and there is no opinion of the fuqaha’ that says that female 
    circumcision is haraam. Female circumcision is either obligatory or 
    recommended. Even though there is a fiqhi principle which says that the 
    decree of a ruler may put an end to a dispute regarding controversial 
    matters, the decree of the ruler in this case cannot be but either of two 
    things: that it is either obligatory or recommended, and it is not correct 
    to issue a decree banning it, so as not to go against sharee’ah which is the 
    principal source of legislation in our land, whose constitution states that 
    Islam is the official religion of the country. It is permissible to issue 
    some legislation that provides guidelines for performing this procedure 
    (female circumcision) in the proper manner in such a way that does not 
    contradict the rulings of sharee’ah.  

    The words of the doctors and others are not definitive. 
    Scientific discoveries are still opening doors every day which change our 
    old perceptions. End quote. 

    In the fatwa of Dar al-Ifta’ al-Misriyyah (6/1986) it 
    says: 

    Thus it is clear that female circumcision is prescribed in 
    Islam, and that it is one of the Sunnahs of the fitrah and it has a good 
    effect of moderating the individual’s behaviour. As for the opinions of 
    doctors who say that female circumcision is harmful, these are individual 
    opinions which are not derived from any agreed scientific basis, and they do 
    not form an established scientific opinion. They acknowledge that the rates 
    of cancer among circumcised men are lower than among those who are not 
    circumcised, and some of these doctors clearly recommend that circumcision 
    should be done by doctors and not these ignorant women, so that the 
    operation will be safe and there will be no negative consequences.  However, 
    medical theories about disease and the way to treat it are not fixed, rather 
    they change with time and with ongoing research. So it is not correct to 
    rely on them when criticizing circumcision which the Wise and All-Knowing 
    Lawgiver has decreed in His wisdom for mankind. Experience has taught us 
    that the wisdom behind some rulings and Sunnahs may be hidden from us. May 
    Allaah help us all to follow the right path. End quote.