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Fatwa CenterUsing laser and plastibell methods for male circumcision
Question
Assalamu aleykum wa rahmutullahi wa barakatuhu, Im a bit confused since i thought there was only one method of circumcising. But then upon searching i found there is different methods availible. So i was wondering which kind of methods that is allowed for the boys circumcision? Is all kinds availible allowed? For example it can be done with laser or with something named plastibell. So what method of circumcision should one choose if having the option of the two above also? And if a non-muslim doctor is doing it, might it be a risk that they make it to small of a cut, since i read that if u do it for medical reasons they only make a cut and that its not like the circumcision you do for religious reasons? Jazakallahu kheiran
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Circumcision for males is to remove the skin (the foreskin) that covers the glans, and the Sharee’ah did not determine the method of doing so. So, if the methods that you mentioned in the question – we mean the laser or the pastibell – are safe and they do not cause any harm to the child and by them the Islamic circumcision is fulfilled, then it is permissible. However, one should choose the easiest and the most gentle of these methods.
In male circumcision, it is better to cut the whole skin that covers the glans. The jurists of the Shaafi’i School stated that the valid method according to them is to cut the whole skin. Sheikh Zakariyya Al-Ansaari 
from the Shaafi’i School, said: “The whole glans must be uncovered when circumcising a male by cutting off the skin that covers it as it is not enough to only cut off some of it.” This is the correct opinion according to their School as stated by An-Nawawi . However, there is a weak narration (in the Shaafi’i School) that it is enough to cut off some of it (the foreskin) even if it is only a little part provided that the cutting is all around the glans.
The Hanbali School has a narration (from Imaam Ahmad ) that corresponds to the correct view of the Shaafi’i School, which is cutting off the whole foreskin. They also have another narration that it is enough to cut off most of it. Al-Mardaawi said: “In male circumcision, the skin that covers the glans should be removed. A number of the scholars of the School [Hanbali] stated that and this is the view that is considered to be the predominant one in Al-Furoo’ (by Ibn Muflih) and he (Ibn Hamdaan) authoritatively asserted this in “Ar-Ri’aayah Al-Kubra” and in other books. Moreover, Al-Maymooni reported from Imaam Ahmad : “Or most of it”, and this is the view that is asserted authoritatively by Al-Majd (Abdussalaam, the grandfather of Ibn Taymiyyah) and others.”
According to the Hanafi School, if more than half (of the foreskin) is removed, it is sufficient, otherwise no. Besides, “Al-Fataawa Al-Hindyyah” reads: “In case a boy is circumcised but not all the foreskin is removed, then if more than half is removed, it is considered a valid circumcision, but if only half or less than half is removed, then it is not considered a valid circumcision; this is stated in “Khizaanat-ul-Mufteen”.”
Finally, being circumcised by a non-Muslim (doctor) is permissible provided that the person doing it is trustworthy as clarified in Fatwa 87792.
Allaah Knows best.
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