Can Women Pluck Their Eyebrows?

Question:

I live in Saudi Arabia and I noticed that most women (99%) completely pluck their eyebrows and paint them. It is also common in other Arab countries but contrary to hadith. Please give your views.

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

In principle, it is impermissible for women to remove or shape their eyebrows. The only exception is a woman whose eyebrows have stray strands of hair and are unnaturally bushy; in which case it will be permissible to remove only the stray strands. If a woman removes more hair than the stray strands, she will be blameworthy and sinful.[i]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb