Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Askmufti.co.za » Circumcision for Old Man

Circumcision for Old Man

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askmufti.co.za

Q: I am a 29 years old female doctor. My father is 63 years old. Due to the circumstances he was not circumcised. This year my father and mother are going for Hajj. But this fact made him really depressed that he is not like other Muslims. The fact that Prophet Ibrahim (A.S) got circumcision at the age of 80 made him desperate.  Due to his respect and as he is also a grand father, he did not find courage to disclose the fact and go to any other doctor. My mother has got him to agree that I should perform this minor surgery on him so nobody will know the fact. As I am a PG fellow so it is not a problem for me. It will take few minutes. The wound will be healed in one week. I need to change the dressing during these days. Mother will take care of him. Before going for this I want to ask your religious opinion that is it allowed that a female perform circumcision and would it be fine if this is perform on her father?

A: The preferred and accepted ruling on circumcision is that it is sunnat, not wajib or obligatory. Furthermore, the Islamic Experts in Jurisprudence state that for an uncircumcised person who has reached old age, it will not be necessary to circumcise. So your father can leave out this sunnat now. This will not affect his acts of worship, nor will it affect his Hajj. Also, he will not be committing a sin.

Furthermore, it is not permissible for you as a daughter to carry out the circumcision on your father. You are not allowed to see his aurah or private parts. The Shariah rules that when one has to decide between leaving out a sunnat and committing an unlawful act, the former will take precedence. SO it will be better for him not be to circumcised rather than expose his body to you or anyone else.

And Allah knows best

Mufti Siraj Desai

This answer was collected from AskMufti.co.za, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Siraj Desai of Darul-Uloom Abubakr, South Africa.