Question
Hi, I looked through your site regarding tattoos but did not find a clear answer, so I apologize in advance if this is repetitive question. I was wondering, what does Islam and the Qur’an say about Tattoos on a Muslim’s body. Is there a general prohibition or prohibition on specific kinds of tattoo? If somebody already has a tattoo is he/she prohibited of going to Hajj?
Thank you very much for your time.
Answer
The summary of our opinion regarding getting one’s body tattooed, as given in our previous responses, is as follows:
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One should avoid making pictures of things which are revered (or worshipped) in a community, as such tattoos may, in a way promote, idolatry and polytheism;
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Tattooing one’s body with images other than those that are revered (or worshipped) in a community cannot be termed as prohibited in the Shari`ah. Nevertheless, if the impression is of a permanent nature, it should then be avoided as such can result in a distorting the nature on which God has created us.
As far as the question whether a person who already has tattooed his body be allowed to go to Hajj or Umrah is concerned, in my opinion, the answer to this question, in the absence of a clear directive of the Shari`ah cannot be in the negative. In other words, if the Shari`ah has not clearly and explicitly disallowed such a person from going to Hajj, then no scholar has right of disallowing him from visiting the Ka`bah.
11th June 2000