The wisdom of male circumcision

5-4-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu Alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh In response to your fatwa https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/90462 a non-muslim asked a following question : “Circumcision does cause harm ... it removes the most sensitive portions of the penis. It causes nerve damage. It removes the natural gliding action of the penis. If Allah knows best, why put the foreskin their to begin with, only to have a risky procedure to cut it off later? ”.Please answer it. We would like to tell you that we are currently running a page on facebook for Da'wah purpose. We take extreme care while doing so. Some of the important points of our page are:1- All answers are taken without editing and with references from: www.alifta.net; www.islamqa.info; www.islamweb.net; www.efatwa.com 2- We don't answer any question ourselves. Even a letter is not added in answers by us. 3- After posting answers from your website , we always put a link directed to your site where the original fatwa is located.4- If we are unable to find an answer in any website we simply write “Allaah knows best. Please ask your question at www.islamweb.net or www.islamqa.info. However, sometimes we are required to answer a non-muslim and we may ask you directly on behalf of them. Therefore we request you to give us a special permission where our questions are answered quicker than others.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

{C}Allaah, The Exalted, is All-Wise; He does not create anything in vain. He says (what means): {Do they not contemplate within themselves? Allaah has not created the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth and for a specified term. And indeed, many of the people, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, are disbelievers.} [Quran 30:8] This is a necessary aspect of faith; a believer should believe in it whether he knows the wisdom behind the creation of Allaah or not. As far as we are concerned, wisdom is based on the fact that it is the work of Allaah, The Exalted, and we are commanded to accept and submissively surrender to His will. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.} [Quran 33:36]

We would like to point out here that it is wrong to focus on the concept of the divine wisdom while addressing the disbelievers; the wisdom behind all the religious rulings is not necessarily known to people. Therefore, the Quran provides the decisive answer in this regard. The disbelievers used to argue with Muslims in the early days of Islam, saying, “How come you consider the animal that Allaah slaughters with a gold knife (meaning the dead animal) unlawful, while you consider the animal that you slaughter with a knife lawful?!” On that occasion, Allaah, The Exalted, revealed the verse that reads (what means): {And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allaah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him].} [Quran 6:121]

Allaah, The Exalted, also says (what means): {And if they dispute with you, then say, “Allaah is most knowing of what you do.* Allaah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you used to differ.”} [Quran 22:68-69]

Part of what was mentioned regarding the wisdom behind creating the foreskin of the penis is to protect the head of the penis from the amniotic fluid (i.e. the liquid surrounding and protecting the baby) inside the womb (of the mother). Therefore, it is removed after birth as the baby is later in no need of it. This is why Islam enjoins male circumcision.

In addition to that, keeping the foreskin incurs many health hazards as underlined in Fatwa 90462. This indicates the merits of Islam and the greatness of the Islamic Sharee'ah. Blessed is Allaah, the best of creators.

Allaah Knows best.