Third: Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, objected to shaving the forehead and cited the hadith as proof, as has preceded in al-Haytham’s narration. This indicates that there is no difference between shaving and plucking, since each constitutes altering Allah’s creation. It also proves that plucking is not confined to the eyebrows, as some have claimed. Reflect on this.
Fourth: it contradicts the understanding of the early scholars. Al-Ḥāfiẓ’s explicit statement, previously cited, that hair extensions are included with tattooing and the like is enough. Even more explicit and more beneficial is what he relates (10/377) from Imam al-Ṭabarī, who said:
“It is not permissible for a woman to alter anything of the form in which Allah created her, whether by addition or removal, in pursuit of beauty—whether for a husband or anyone else. This includes a woman whose eyebrows are joined, who removes the hair between them in order to create the appearance of a gap between them, or the reverse; a woman who has an extra tooth and removes it, or a long tooth and trims it; or one who has a beard, moustache, or a tuft of hair beneath the lower lip and removes it by plucking; or one whose hair is short or sparse and lengthens it or makes it fuller with another’s hair. All of this falls under the prohibition and constitutes altering Allah’s creation, Most High.” He said: “An exception is made for that which causes harm or injury, such as a woman who has an extra tooth or one that is excessively long and hinders her from eating…” etc.
I say: Reflect, then, on the Imam’s words, “or the reverse,” “or a beard…,” and, “All of this falls under the prohibition and constitutes altering Allah’s creation.” You will then be certain of the falsity of al-Ghumārī’s aforementioned statement. Allah, Most High, is the Guide.
Moreover, Ibn Masʿūd’s seeing the old woman’s forehead gleaming is evidence that a woman’s face is not part of the ʿawrah—that is, a part of the body that must be covered. The reports on this, in both word and practice, are numerous, and I have cited some of them in The Muslim Woman’s Jilbab. As for what some have claimed—that this narration provides no evidence for this because the old woman was one of