Ruling on operations to repair the hymen

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