Piercing the ears and nose of an infant child for beautification

Piercing the ears or nose of an infant female for beautification Q. What is the ruling of piercing the ear or nose of a female infant for beautification?

A. The correct opinion is that there is no harm in ear piercing because it coincides with the intentions by which permissible adornment with jewellery is achieved. It is affirmed that the wives of the companions used to wear earrings. It is tormenting, but only slightly and if it is done in the early years it quickly heals. As for nose piercing, I don’t know of any statement of the scholars concerning it, but in our view it is a form of mutilation and deformation of the body. It could be that others do not see it as so, therefore if a woman is in a country in which the piercing of the nose is considered a decoration and beautification then there is no harm in it.

Sheikh Ibn Uthaimeen [Majmu’ Fataawa ash­Sheikh: 4/137]