Are Ear Piercings Haram?
Are ear piercings haram? Most Islamic scholars agree that ear piercings are halal for females in Islam although any piercings for men are haram.
Are Ear Piercings Haram In Islam?
Mulsim women are generally allowed to look beautiful for their husbands and in order to do so they are allowed to wear ornaments or jewelry like earrings or necklaces.
Islam has allowed Muslim women to wear earrings and in order to wear them ear piercings are required.
Some scholars say that ear piercings are not suggested as they bring pain for a few days, but in general, most Islamic scholars claim it to be halal.
Aisha reported that (one day) there sat together eleven women making an explicit promise amongst themselves that they would conceal nothing about their spouses. The eleventh one said:
“My husband is Abu Zara’. How fine Abu Zara’ is! He has suspended in my ears heavy ornaments and (fed me liberally) that my sinews and bones are covered with fat. So he made me happy.”
Aisha reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to me: I am for you as Abu Zara’ was for Umm Zara’.
[Sahih Muslim 2448a]
In the light of the above hadith we know that Prophet’s companion used to gift heavy earrings to his wife and the Prophet (peace be upon him) didn’t stop him. On the contrary, the Prophet was supportive.
This suggests that women usually wore earrings in those times as well and it’s halal for women to have ear piercings.
In terms of it hurting the girl, the goal is in her best interests since she needs jewelry to adorn herself.
The main condition is that the ornaments not be particularly showy or imitate men.
Imitation of the opposite sex is forbidden in Islam.
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.”
[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2784]
Likewise, it will be haram for men to imitate women, and hence ear piercings or wearing earrings are haram for Muslim men.
Furthermore, any jewelry a woman wears must not imitate anything from non-Muslims. The cross, for example, symbolizes Christianity, so in Islam, such earrings are not allowed.
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Is Ear Piercing Haram For Men?
Yes, Muslim men are not allowed to have ear piercings or allowed to wear any jewelry that imitates women.
Generally, men don’t need ornaments and Islam allows this for women only. Imitation of women is haram for Muslim men.
Earrings are forbidden for men, although earrings and bracelets are permissible for women. Silver rings are permitted for men.
In a hadith, Ibn Abbas claimed that the Prophet Muhammad cursed men who portray themselves as women and women who portray themselves as men.
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.”
[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2784]
There are some adornments that men may wear in Islam. Silver rings are permitted for men, for example. According to Ibn Umar, the Prophet Muhammad wore a silver ring.
Furthermore, men wearing earrings may be perceived as imitating non-Muslims.
Ibn ’Umar (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“He who imitates any people (in their actions) is considered to be one of them.”
[Book 16, Hadith 35]
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Is It Haram To Get A Second Ear Piercing?
Second or third ear piercings are not haram but scholars suggest not to get too many of them as they can cause pain and in some cases can also be harmful.
In the hadith above we read where Prophet’s companion gifted multiple earrings and his wife wore them until her ears got heavy proving that multiple earrings and ear piercings are halal.
Islam suggests not too many ear piercings as they might harm our bodies.
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Final Thoughts
Ear piercings are allowed and halal for Muslim women as many as they want just make sure that it is not harmful to the human body.
Any piercings are haram for Muslim men as it is an imitation of the women which is forbidden.
And Allah Knows Best.
