Short answer
It is not a religious duty. The Hanafi school counts it neither wajib nor sunnah, and classical texts call it at most a makrumah (an honourable custom). Any cutting that harms a girl, which is what FGM is, is haram because Islam forbids causing harm, and it is a crime in the US, the UK and many other countries.
Female circumcision is neither wajib nor sunnah; classical texts describe it only as a makrumah. Since no authentic hadith requires it and harm is forbidden, there is no religious duty, and any form that damages the body is haram. Where it is a crime, as in the US and the UK, the law must be obeyed.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The classical texts call a minimal form wajib: removing a tiny piece of skin, never the organ itself.
- Hanbali
- Ibn Qudama in al-Mughni held it is an honour for women, not an obligation; another report from Imam Ahmad makes it wajib.
Explanation
The question is sensitive, and the answer turns on two facts. First, there is no authentic hadith that commands it. The report "circumcision is a sunnah for men and an honour for women" is weak, and Abu Dawud himself called his own report about a woman who circumcised in Madinah weak. Second, the Shariah forbids causing harm.
On that basis the Hanafi school never made it a duty. What the classical jurists of any school discussed was, at most, the removal of a tiny piece of skin. The practices known today as female genital mutilation (FGM), which cut away or close parts of the genitals, cause lifelong pain and medical harm. They are haram by the agreement of the scholars, whatever the local custom says.
In practice:
- A girl's faith, purity, prayer and marriage do not depend on it in any way.
- Parents carry no sin for not doing it.
- In the US, the UK, Canada and many other countries it is a serious crime, and obeying the law here is part of keeping your agreements.
- Many contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies advise that it should not be done at all today because of the harm and abuse linked to it.
If your family is pressing for it, speak to a trusted local scholar and a doctor. For boys, see male circumcision, which is a different ruling.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:195
وَأَنفِقُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا۟ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى ٱلتَّهْلُكَةِ ۛ وَأَحْسِنُوٓا۟ ۛ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿١٩٥﴾
And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.
Causing serious harm to the body is forbidden.
Sunan Ibn Majah 2341
Graded sahih... لا ضرر ولا ضرار ...
"There should be neither harm nor returning harm."
The general rule that forbids practices which injure a person.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on circumcision. Describes female circumcision as a makrumah, not a sunnah.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, section on the sunnahs of fitrah. Calls it an honour for women and not an obligation.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, discussion of circumcision. The Shafi'i view and the minimal form it describes.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.