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Why do Muslims get circumcised?

Why Muslim boys are circumcised (khitan), whether it is required, at what age, and whether a new Muslim has to do it.

By the AmalKit team · Updated 31 Oct 2026 · Pending scholar review

Short answer: Muslim boys are circumcised because the Prophet ﷺ named circumcision (khitan) first among the five habits of fitrah, the natural way of the prophets, and because it was the practice of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), whom Muslims are told to follow (16:123). The Hanafi school counts it a confirmed sunnah; the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools make it obligatory for males. It is usually done in childhood. There is no ceremony required, and it is not a condition for becoming a Muslim.

What the Quran says

The Quran does not mention circumcision by name. It tells the Prophet ﷺ and his followers to follow the way of Ibrahim, and the hadith show circumcision was part of that way:

ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ أَنِ ٱتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ حَنِيفًۭا ۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ﴿١٢٣﴾

Summa awhainaa ilaika anit tabi' Millata Ibraaheema haneefaa; wa maa kaana minal mushrikeen

Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of those who associate with Allah.

Quran 16:123 · Sahih International · Read Surah An-Nahl

Ibn Abbas is reported to have counted circumcision among the "words" with which Allah tested Ibrahim in 2:124 (in al-Tabari's tafsir).

What the Prophet ﷺ taught

الْفِطْرَةُ خَمْسٌ الْخِتَانُ، وَالاِسْتِحْدَادُ، وَقَصُّ الشَّارِبِ، وَتَقْلِيمُ الأَظْفَارِ، وَنَتْفُ الآبَاطِ

Five things are of the fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, trimming the moustache, clipping the nails, and plucking the armpit hair.

Sahih al-Bukhari 5891; Sahih Muslim 257 · narrated by Abu Hurayrah · sahih

اخْتَتَنَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَعْدَ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً، وَاخْتَتَنَ بِالْقَدُومِ

Ibrahim circumcised himself after he was eighty years old, and he circumcised himself with an adze.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6298 (also 3356); Sahih Muslim 2370 · narrated by Abu Hurayrah · sahih

The wisdom scholars mention

  • Cleanliness for prayer. Islam asks for care with traces of urine before salah, and circumcision makes that easier.
  • Fitrah. The hadith puts it with other habits of personal care that the prophets kept.
  • Following Ibrahim. Muslims and Jews both trace the practice to him.

Medical opinion on routine circumcision differs from country to country. Muslims do it because of the Sunnah, not because of any study.

Wisdom, not the reason. These are benefits scholars have reflected on. Muslims follow this because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded it, and would follow it even if none of these benefits were known.

The ruling, Hanafi first

Hanafi position

Circumcision of boys is a confirmed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah) and one of the visible signs of Islam. There is no fixed age: it is best done in childhood, and many do it in the first weeks or months, when it heals quickly. An adult who becomes Muslim is encouraged to do it, but if a doctor says it would harm him, it is dropped, and his Islam and his prayers are complete without it.

Other madhhabs
Shafi'i
Obligatory for males, and recommended on the seventh day after birth.
Hanbali
Obligatory for males.
Maliki
A confirmed sunnah for males, as in the Hanafi school.

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FAQ

Is circumcision mandatory in Islam?

In the Hanafi and Maliki schools it is a confirmed sunnah, not a strict obligation. In the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools it is obligatory for males. All agree it is the way of the prophets.

At what age should a Muslim boy be circumcised?

There is no fixed age. The Shafi'i school recommends the seventh day; Hanafi scholars say any time in childhood, and earlier is easier.

Does a convert to Islam have to be circumcised?

It is not a condition for becoming Muslim, and his prayers are valid without it. Scholars encourage it if it is safe; if it would harm him, it is not required.

Do Muslims and Jews both circumcise?

Yes. Both trace it to Ibrahim (Abraham). In Judaism it is done on the eighth day as a sign of the covenant; in Islam there is no fixed day and no required ceremony.

What about girls?

This page is about boys. Female circumcision is a separate question: the hadith usually cited for it are graded weak by many hadith scholars, the schools differ, and harmful cutting (FGM) is a crime in the US and the UK. It is never part of becoming Muslim.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Sources

  1. Quran 2:124 and 16:123, translation by Sahih International.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 5889 and 5891, and Sahih Muslim 257, from Abu Hurayrah.
  3. Sahih al-Bukhari 3356 and 6298, and Sahih Muslim 2370, from Abu Hurayrah.
  4. The report from Ibn Abbas on 2:124, in al-Tabari's tafsir.
  5. Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibahah (khitan), for the Hanafi position.
  6. Al-Nawawi, al-Majmu; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni; and al-Dardir, al-Sharh al-Kabir, for the other schools.

Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English translation by Sahih International. Hadith gradings are those of the hadith scholars named. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas.