Ruling on “peeling” procedures to remove freckles and dark spots from the body

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

It is
permissible to remove defects and deformities that appear on the face or
body, by means of natural or chemical treatments, or lasers, so long as that
does not result in any harm that is greater or equal (to the defect being
dealt with).

That includes
treating freckles, acne and dark spots, even if it is by using some kinds of
permissible food, because of the general meaning of the evidence that it is
permissible to use medical treatment, and because of the report narrated by
Abu Dawood (4170) from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him), who
said: The woman who does hair extensions and the woman for whom that is
done, the woman who plucks eyebrows and the woman for whom that is done, the
woman who does tattoos and the woman for whom that is done when there is no
disease (that would justify doing that) are cursed. This hadith was classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

Ahmad (3945)
narrated from Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I
heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
forbid the woman who plucks eyebrows, the woman who files teeth (for the
purpose of beautification), the woman who does hair extensions and the woman
who does tattoos, except when there is a disease (that would justify doing
that).

Ash-Shawkaani
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the words “except when
there is a disease (that would justify doing that)”, what appears to be the
case is that the prohibition mentioned only applies if it is done for the
purpose of beautification, not to treat a disease or problem, for in that
case it is not prohibited.

End quote from
Nayl al-Awtaar (6/229)

Ibn al-Jawzi
(may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to medical treatment that
removes freckles and beautifies the face for the husband, I do not see
anything wrong with that. Narrated by as-Safaareeni in Ghadhaa’ al-Albaab
(1/432).

Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Recently there have
appeared medicines that make a dark-skinned woman more fair. Can she use
them? Or is using such medicines prohibited on the grounds that they change
the creation of Allah?

He replied: Yes,
that is prohibited if it permanently changes the colour of the skin, because
that is akin to tattooing, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) cursed the woman who does tattoos and the woman for whom that is
done. But if it is done to remove a defect, such as if there is a
disfiguring black mole on the skin, so the individual uses something to
remove it, there is nothing wrong with that. Hence we must understand the
difference between what is done for the purpose of beautification and what
is done to remove a defect, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) gave permission to the Sahaabi whose nose had been cut
off to wear a nose made of gold, so as to remove the defect that resulted
from his nose having been cut off. But he cursed the woman who files teeth
for the purpose of beautification, and the one for whom that is done, which
refers to creating gaps between the teeth and the like. But if we assume
that there is unevenness in the teeth, as some of them stick out and others
do not, in a manner that is disfiguring, then there is no problem with doing
procedures to straighten them.

End quote from
Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb.

Secondly:

It is
permissible for a woman to uncover her knees and lower legs for the purpose
of medical treatment, whilst being careful to cover that which she does not
need to uncover.

It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah
al-Fiqhiyyah (31/47): The fuqaha’ are of the view that the ‘awrah of a
woman in front of another woman is the same as the ‘awrah of a man in front
of another man, i.e., the area between the navel and the knee. Hence it is
permissible for a woman to look at all of another woman’s body, except the
area between the navel and the knee. That is because usually there is no
provocation of desire. But that is haraam when there is desire and the fear
of fitnah. End quote.

But if there is
a need to uncover more than that, for the purpose of medical treatment,
there is nothing wrong with that, as has been explained previously in the
answers to questions no. 5693 and
95891

And Allah knows
best.