The Darul Uloom Deoband in India issued a fatwa on Saturday banning women from plucking, trimming and shaping their eyebrows and also cutting their hair.

Darul Iftaa, which issues the Darul Uloom Deoband’s edicts, termed the act as “un-Islamic”.

A Muslim man from Saharanpur had asked Daul Iftaa on Islamic laws about eyebrow trimming and hair-cutting. “Do Islamic laws allow my wife to go for eyebrow plucking and hair-cutting?” the man asked Darul Iftaa.

In response to his query, the Darul Iftaa issued a fatwa saying that both the acts were ‘un-Islamic’ and banned under Islamic laws. “If a Muslim woman is involved in such acts then she is violating Islamic laws,” read the fatwa in Urdu.

Darul Iftaa clarified that there are 10 acts, including eyebrow plucking and hair-cutting which were banned for Muslim women under Islam. “Hair adds to the beauty of Muslim women and they should never get them cut, pointed the fatwa. Issuing the fatwa, Darul Iftaa head Maulana L. Sadiq Qasmi said, “Muslim women should stay away from beauty parlours as Islam does not permit them to have make-up that  attracts other male members.”

He added that Muslim men too were not allowed to shave under Islam, trim eyebrows, wear make-up etc is.

“The trend of Muslim women going to beauty parlours has increased in the country. It is not a good sign and it should be stopped immediately. We should have issued a fatwa in this regard long ago,” he maintained.

Three years ago, the Darul Iftaa in London had conducted a detailed study on the contentious issue taking into account all schools of Islamic thought including Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali.