Can Muslim men pluck their eyebrows?

The hadith on eyebrows

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud reported that Allah cursed women who tattoo and have themselves tattooed, women who pluck their eyebrows (an-namisah), and those who file their teeth for beauty, "changing the creation of Allah" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5931). The hadith mentions women because they were the ones doing it at the time, but scholars say the reason, changing Allah's creation for beauty, applies to men too, and even more so since men are told not to imitate women's adornment.

The Quran mentions "changing Allah's creation" as one of Shaytan's aims:

What scholars differ on

• Plucking vs trimming: most scholars say the hadith is about pulling hair out. Many allow trimming long, wild eyebrow hairs with scissors, since that's like trimming any other hair. A minority dislike even that.
• The unibrow: many scholars allow removing hair between the eyebrows, since it isn't part of the brows themselves. Others are more cautious.
• Unusual growth: hair that is clearly abnormal, like a thick patch causing ridicule, is treated by many scholars as removing a defect, which is allowed.
• Shaping: thinning, arching or "eyebrow slits" for style are not allowed according to most scholars of all four schools.

Why it matters for men

Men's grooming trends now include brow shaping and threading. The Prophet ﷺ cursed men who imitate women (Sahih al-Bukhari 5885), and sculpted brows are traditionally a feminine adornment in most cultures. Keeping your eyebrows natural, maybe with a quick tidy, keeps you clearly on the safe side. See Is plastic surgery haram?

Already plucked them?

No need to panic. If you shaped your brows before Islam, or before you knew the ruling, there's no sin on what's past. Just let them grow back naturally. Islam wipes out what came before it. The same goes for other things you did before taking your shahada. See Do I have to remove my tattoos after becoming Muslim?