Thursday, August 25, 2011

This aayah does not mean that it is not allowed to have one’s teeth straightened

 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould)” [al-Teen 95:4], yet nowadays we find people going to orthodontists to have their teeth straightened. What is the ruling on that?.

Praise be to Allaah.

What is meant by the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould)” [al-Teen 95:4]
is that Allaah created man in the best form and shape, sound and
good-looking, as Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his
Tafseer (4/680). 

Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “in the
best stature (mould)” means: he is upright and sound in his youth, as
most of the mufassireen said, and he is the best that he can be, because He
created everything else looking face down, but He created him upright, with
a tongue, and a hand and fingers with which to grasp things. Abu Bakr ibn
Taahir said: Adorned with reason, able to follow commands, guided by means
of discernment, standing upright, picking up his food with his hand. End
quote from Tafseer al-Qurtubi (20/105). 

This does not mean that a person should not have his teeth
treated, or have them straightened if they are crooked, just as he is not
prevented from treating any other sicknesses. What matters is that he should
not do that merely for the purpose of beautification, because the general
principle with regard to cosmetic procedures is that if they are done to
remove a deformity or fault, there is nothing wrong with them, but if they
are done merely for purposes of beautification, then they are not allowed.
See: Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him), vol. 17, question no. 4. 

He (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: What is the
ruling on having the teeth straightened? 

He replied: Straightening the teeth falls into two
categories. 

1 – Where the purpose is to increase beauty. This is haraam
and is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) cursed the women who filed teeth for the purpose of beauty and
altered the creation of Allaah, even though women are required to look
beautiful and they are the ones who grow up with adornments, so it is even
more forbidden in the case of men. 

2 – Where they are straightened because of a fault; there is
nothing wrong with that. Some people may have teeth that stick out – either
the incisors or other teeth – in a way that makes them appear ugly to
others. In this case there is nothing wrong with straightening the teeth,
because this is removing a fault and not increasing beauty. This is
indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) told a man whose nose had been cut off to get a nose made of
silver, then when that caused a foul smell he told him to get a nose made of
gold. This was a case of removing a fault; the aim was not to increase
beauty. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 17, question no. 6. 

See also the answer to question no.
21255. 

Conclusion: The verse does not mean that it is forbidden to
have the teeth treated and straightened in order to remove a deformity or
fault.  

And Allaah knows best.

 

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