Question:
Previously it was said that piercing the ears or nose should not be done, and one of the Qur’anic evidences cited was from Surah An-Nisa (4:118-119) where Satan says:
“I will command them, and they will change the creation of Allahﷻ.”
The question is: Piercing the ears or nose does not actually change the shape of the face. Whether someone pierces their ears or not, their appearance remains the same.
Wouldn’t plastic surgery—which changes the shape of the nose or face—fit this verse better than ear piercing?
Answer:
When scholars speak about “changing Allahﷻ’s creation,” it does not only mean major visible transformations.
Even small modifications done purely for beautification can fall under this category.
There are several hadiths in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 4886, 5931, 5939, 5943, 5948) where the Prophetﷺ warned about certain cosmetic practices.
Among them are women who file their teeth to create gaps for beauty. The Prophetﷺ described such acts as changing the creation of Allahﷻ and condemned them. Notice that filing the teeth slightly to create a cosmetic gap is a very small change, yet it was still classified as altering Allahﷻ’s creation.
Therefore, the concept does not depend on how big the change is. Even a small modification made for cosmetic purposes can fall under the ruling.
In the same way, piercing the ear or nose introduces a new hole into the body, which was not part of the original natural form.
Thus, the reasoning is that such actions represent altering the natural creation, even if the change is small. Plastic surgery would certainly fall under this category as well, but the presence of a larger example does not cancel the smaller one. Both can fall under the principle of altering creation.
