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Gone are the time when tattoos were associated with prison, gangsters or the navy. Along with help from reality shows like Miami Ink and LA Ink, tattoos are gaining popularity and acceptance by all cultures and creeds, including the Malay Muslims who are not oblivious to the common conception that having tattoos is considered haram in Islam.
These days it’s quite common to witness Malay men and women sporting ink on their skin as more and more are open and daring enough to have one (or six) permanent decorations on visible parts of their body for others to see. Do these new breed of liberals feel that it’s perfectly okay for Muslims to have their skin used as canvas for body art or have they renounced their faith? It’s either that or are they are perfectly fine with carrying themselves in a liberated-but-conflicted attitude.
Tattooing came about way before Islam did and were prominent throughout the Middle Eastern cultures. To this day, you can still see many Berber Muslim women of North Africa (Morocco and Algeria) who’ve decorated their faces with tattoo motifs from pre-Islamic era. It was up until the 19th century when tattoos were donned by Arab women as a way to titillate men. Prostitutes would have their hands, arms and even their breasts inked for this purpose. The Beduoins and Nawars (Gypsies) were the main influence on body art designs of both Arabic and non Arabic tribes. Bedouin women were the most heavily tattooed and were most likely to have them done by Nawars. These gypsies are known to have tattooed people from Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Iran right up until the beginning of the 20th century.
In Iran, even upper class women had tattoos of blue patterns on their chins while the men in Iraq considered tattooed blue lips of women to be the embodiment of beauty. Tattoos were not only a form of decoration and beautification as they were quite extensively used as amulets (in the form of dots or a small cross on the hands or feet) in the gulf region with the wearers imbuing them with spiritual powers that provided protection and strength. Incidentally, Saddam Hussein is known to have at least one protective tribal tattoo on his hand.
The permeation of tattoo culture in the Muslim world is apparent in recent times with the younger generation in Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt rediscovering tattoos again. According to The World of Tattoo: An Illustrated History by Maarten Hesselt van Dinter, the demand for body art in the Middle East has "exploded particularly amongst young Iranian women who may proudly display their body art in private but are careful in keeping them under wraps from authorities".
More contentiously, according to wikipedia.com, tattoos are allowed in the Shia sect and are not seen to be against sunnah, as per fatwas by high ranking figures such as Ayatollah Sistani. What’s more, some Shia mujahideen warriors during the Soviet-Afghan war were known to have quranic verses tattooed on their bodies. Conversely, the Sunni sect generally correspond to tattooing being frowned upon and forbidden seeing that the hadiths says so and wudhu would be invalid (the ink would come in the way of the water coming in contact with the skin). The hadith also mentions tattoos along with body piercing, branding and cosmetic surgery, are deemed as an unnecessary interference, alteration and mutilation of God’s creations as well as excesses in beautification. Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) has said that wearing tattoos is haram regardless of whether the method is painful or otherwise. Below is a part of a hadith that directly touches on the subject of tattoos:
"Allah's Apostle prohibited taking money for blood, the price of a dog, and the earnings of a slave-girl by prostitution; he cursed her who tattoos and her who gets tattooed, the eater of riba (usury), and the maker of pictures.” [Narrated by Aun bin Abu Juhaifa] - www.islamicity.com
To some Malay tattoo bearers, like Salman (not his real name), who’s inked with an image of tragedy-comedy masks on his left shoulder (personifying his interest and major in English literature during his university days in the US), tattoos are a cultural and not a religion thing. “I got it in my own freewill. I don’t show it off but at the same time I don’t care what other people think of it,” says Salman from Kota Bharu who had a strict Muslim upbringing. The 34 year-old admits that there are times when it became a bit of an inconvenience especially when he’s sharing a room with colleagues during company trips in which he’s extra careful not to reveal his arm decoration. Notwithstanding, the public service employee sees himself as a model citizen who abides by the law and lives a clean life. “People have done worst things than having tattoos and, to me, it’s not a mortal sin,” Salman adds.
Salman plans to go to Sarawak to get another tattoo of a star on his chest. He has thought about removing the existing one since his wife had asked him to do so for their children but he’s open to suggestions. His younger sister has four tattoos.
As for 35 year-old mother Mastura who had a small tattoo of a lizard removed 10 years ago, tattoos are a personal and sacred thing. “I did it [get a tattoo] for myself as a way to fulfil my alter-ego. I always liked tattoos as a form of decoration and my New Zealander housemates then had nice ones,” says the General Manager who spent her university days in New Zealand. Mastura got her ink removed at the same parlour where she got it done in the first place before returning to Malaysia once she completed her studies.
“I was getting addicted to it [tattoos] and was craving to get more so decided it’s best to get rid of it. The removal process was more painful than getting it in the first place,” says Mastura adding that it was also more expensive to have a tattoo removed than to get one. The laser procedure took 2 to 3 hours and she was given a pill to lessen the pain beforehand. The removal of ink left her with a reddish mark that later turned brown but almost all of it has faded out and she believes it was due to her skin stretching and contracting while she was having her daughter who is 4 years old now. She also employed lots of vitamin E to help clear the remaining blotch.
Mastura also believes in taking responsibility for one’s actions and if you are self-assured, then the invalidity of wudhu would not be an issue.
According to the Shaykh Faraz RabbanI, the author of Sufism & Good Character and Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer & the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School, tattooing is impermissible, however, a tattooed Muslim who “realises his or her past mistake must repent and remove the tattoo if it is possible to do so without hardship or excessive pain. Otherwise, it is permitted to leave the tattoo, though one should keep it covered as much as possible”. As for wudhu and prayer, the Islamic law scholar and researcher states that “both are valid in the Hanafi school”.
God will forgive those who have sincerely repented, besides, who are we to judge those who indulge in body art when the decision to do so is a very personal one? Tattooists and tattoo parlours are so acceessible these days any Tajul, Diana and Dahari can get inked and pierced at their local mall so just because a person s has one doesn't mean he or she is a gang member or the promiscuous type. For all we know that she's a math genius, or the teenage child of your imam for that matter.
As for the invalidity of wudhu issue we could argue that, scientifically, seeing that the ink is injected into the dermis, which is the second, deeper layer of skin, water would still come into contact with the epidermis (outer layer of skin) without the ink getting in the way. Most conservative Muslims frown upon the tattooed and the more liberal ones tend to believe it's what's in the heart that determines one's faith, besides, there are more serious vices after all (drug abuse, backbiting, corruption etc). The desire for people to express their individualism with tattoos is explicable. It’s just that as more and more people get inked who will end up being the comformists?
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