Are Nose Jobs Haram?

Praise be to Allah.

Types of cosmetic surgery 

Cosmetic surgery may be divided into two categories: 

1 – Essential surgery 

These are operations that are done to remove faults, such as those that result from sickness, traffic accidents, burns, etc. or to remove congenital defects with which a person was born, such as to remove an extra digit or separate fused digits, etc. 

This kind of operation is permissible. There is evidence in the Sunnah to indicate that they are permissible and that the one who does them does not intend to change the creation of Allah. 

(i) ‘Arfajah ibn As’ad narrated that he lost his nose in the battle of al-Kulab during the Jahiliyyah, so he wore a nose made of silver but it became putrid, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told him to wear a nose made of gold. Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1770; Abu Dawud, 4232; al-Nasai, 5161. This hadith was classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albani in Irwa al-Ghalil, 824.

(ii) ‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ud said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursing those women who pluck their eyebrows and file their teeth for the purpose of beautification and change the creation of Allah. Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to the phrase “those who file their teeth”, this refers to those who did that for the purpose of beautification and looking younger. This indicates that what is haram is that which is done for the purpose of beautification; but if it is needed for medical treatment or to correct a fault in the teeth and so on, there is nothing wrong with it. And Allah knows best. 

Cosmetic surgery for the purpose of beautification

2 – The second type of cosmetic surgery is that which is done for the purpose of beautification. 

These are operations that are done to improve the appearance in the eye of the beholder, such as making the nose look more beautiful by making it smaller, or making the breasts look more beautiful by making them smaller or larger, or facelifts, and so on. 

This kind of surgery is not for any necessary reason, rather the purpose is to change the creation of Allah and tinker with it according to people’s whims and desires. So this is haram and it is not permissible to do it, because it is changing the creation of Allah. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“They (all those who worship others other than Allah) invoke nothing but female deities besides Him (Allah), and they invoke nothing but Shaytan (Satan), a persistent rebel! Allah cursed him. And he [Shaytan (Satan)] said: ‘I will take an appointed portion of your slaves. ‘Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah’” [al-Nisa’ 4:117-119]

The Shaytan is the one who tells people to change the creation of Allah. 

Please see: Ahkam al-Jarahah al-Tibbiyyah by Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shanqiti. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: 

What is the ruling on cosmetic surgery? What is the ruling on learning the science of beautification? 

He replied: 

Cosmetic procedures are of two types: 

1 – Those which are done to remove a fault resulting from an accident etc. There is nothing wrong with that because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave permission to a man whose nose had been cut off in battle to wear a nose made of gold. 

2 – Those which are unnecessary and are not done to remove a fault but rather to increase beauty. This is haram and is not permissible, because the Messenger of Allah cursed women who pluck eyebrows, those who have their eyebrows plucked, those who fix hair extensions, those who have hair extensions done, those who do tattoos and those  who have tattoos done, because that is done as an enhancement and is not done to remove faults. 

With regard to the medical student who learns about cosmetic surgery during the course of his studies, there is nothing wrong with him learning that, but he should not do that in haram cases, rather he should advise those who ask for that to avoid it because it is haram. Perhaps if this advice comes from the lips of a doctor it will have more effect on a person. (Fatawa Islamiyyah, 4/412)

See also the answer to question no. 1006 . 

In conclusion, if there is some defect in the nose and the purpose of the cosmetic surgery is to remove that defect, then there is nothing wrong with that. 

But if the purpose is simply to make it more beautiful, then it is not permissible to do this surgery. 

And Allah knows best.