Editing Islamic sexual jurisprudence (section)

==Circumcision==
{{See also|Khitan (circumcision)|Khafd}}
''Khitan'' or ''Khatna'' ({{lang-ar|ختان}}, {{lang-ar|ختنة}}) is the term for male [[circumcision]] carried out as a [[Islamic culture|cultural rite]] by Muslims and is considered a sign of belonging to the wider [[Islam]]ic community.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |title=Circumcision of boys |accessdate=2008-07-29 |work=Religion & ethics&mdash;Islam |publisher=BBC |date=2006-03-24 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305204605/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |archivedate=2008-03-05 }}</ref> Whether or not it should be carried out after [[converting to Islam]] is debated among Islamic scholars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://convertingtoislam.com/circum.html |title=Male circumcision - the Islamic View |publisher=www.convertingtoislam.com |accessdate=2013-02-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217175325/http://convertingtoislam.com/circum.html |archivedate=2015-12-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islamicinvitationcentre.com/FAQ/converts/FAQ_converts.html#Anchor-34662circumcision|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227151507/http://islamicinvitationcentre.com/FAQ/converts/FAQ_converts.html#Anchor-34662circumcision|archivedate=2010-12-27 |title=Is Circumcision obligatory after conversion? |publisher=Islamicinvitationcentre.com |date= |accessdate=2012-05-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1731&CATE=115 |title=Considering Converting: Is it necessary to be circumcised? |publisher=Qa.sunnipath.com |date=2005-07-03 |accessdate=2012-05-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716152023/http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1731&CATE=115 |archivedate=2012-07-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?id=13339&hd=3&cate=0&t=rss |title=Circumcision for Converts |publisher=Qa.sunnipath.com |date=2007-03-21 |accessdate=2012-05-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716180532/http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?id=13339&hd=3&cate=0&t=rss |archivedate=2012-07-16 }}</ref>

The Qur'an itself does not mention circumcision explicitly in any verse. Some hadith mentions circumcision in a list of practices known as ''[[fitra]]'' (acts considered to be of a refined person). [[Abu Hurairah|Abu Hurayra]], a companion of Muhammad, was quoted saying, {{quote|"Five things are fitra: circumcision, shaving pubic hair with a razor, trimming the mustache, paring one's nails and plucking the hair from one's armpits" |(reported in the ''hadiths'' of [[Sahih al-Bukhari]] and [[Sahih Muslim]]).}} 
So, despite its absence from the Qur'an, it has been a [[Religious male circumcision|religious]] custom from the beginning of Islam. However, there are other ''hadiths'' which do not name circumcision as part of the characteristics of ''fitra''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sunnah.com/bukhari/77/107|title=Hadith - Book of Dress - Sahih al-Bukhari - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)|website=www.sunnah.com|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916095339/http://sunnah.com/bukhari/77/107|archivedate=2013-09-16}}</ref> and yet another ''hadith'' which names ten characteristics, again without naming circumcision; in Sahih Muslim, Aisha is quoted, {{quote|"The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Ten are the acts according to fitra: clipping the mustache, letting the beard grow, using toothpicks, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving pubic hair and cleaning one's private parts with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sunnah.com/muslim/2/71|title=Hadith - The Book of Purification - Sahih Muslim - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)|website=www.sunnah.com|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018144335/http://sunnah.com/muslim/2/71|archivedate=2013-10-18}}</ref>}} Hence, the different hadiths do not correspond on whether circumcision is part of fitra or not. According to some traditions Muhammad was born without a [[foreskin]] ([[Aposthia|aposthetic]]), while others maintain that his grandfather [[Abdul-Muttalib]] circumcised him when he was seven days old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |title=Religions - Islam: Circumcision of boys |publisher=BBC |date=2009-08-13 |accessdate=2012-02-26 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629074142/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/malecircumcision.shtml |archivedate=2012-06-29 }}</ref><ref>Al-Halabi, Ali Ibn-Burhan-al-Din. Alsirah al-halabiyyah. Vol.1 Beirut: Al-maktabah al-islamiyyah. (n.d.): 54-5</ref> Many of his early disciples were circumcised to symbolize their inclusion within the emerging Islamic community.<ref name="source">source?</ref> Amongst ''[[Ulema]]'' (Muslim legal scholars), there are differing opinions about the compulsion of circumcision in ''[[Sharia]]'' (Islamic law). [[Imam]]s [[Abū Ḥanīfa]], founder of the [[Hanafi]] school of ''[[Fiqh]]'' (Islamic jurisprudence), and [[Malik ibn Anas]], maintain that circumcision is a ''[[Sunnah]] Mu'akkadah''—not obligatory but highly recommended. The [[Shafi`i]] and [[Hanbali]] schools see it as binding on all Muslims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545032 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530090925/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaE&cid=1119503545032 |archivedate=2010-05-30 |title=Medical Ethics of Male Circumcision |date=2010-05-30 |accessdate=2012-05-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Islamic sources do not fix a particular time for circumcision. It depends on family, region and country. A majority of Ulema however take the view that parents should get their child circumcised before the age of ten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamicvoice.com/may.2000/dialogue.htm |title=Circumcision |publisher=Islamicvoice.com |date=2000-03-28 |accessdate=2012-05-20 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626223309/http://www.islamicvoice.com/may.2000/dialogue.htm |archivedate=2012-06-26 }}</ref> The preferred age is usually seven although some Muslims are circumcised as early as on the seventh day after birth and as late as at the commencement of [[puberty]].<ref name="bbc" />