He has Klinefelter syndrome; does he have to wear hijab?
Question
A friend of mine, has been diagnosed with an inter-sex medical condition called Klinefelter syndrome. He is 21 years old and has female body characteristics such as breast growth, weak in strength and wide hips. He is asking me whether he is regarded as a male or female in Islam and if he needs to wear the hijab.
Praise be to Allah.
Klinefelter syndrome is a condition that affects malesbecause of irregularities in the chromosomes. It is named after Dr HenryKlinefelter, who first described it in 1942 CE.
Symptoms include:
👉 For more insights, check out this resource.
1.Sterility, as a result of thelack of cells that produce sperm.
2.Larger breasts.
👉 Discover more in this in-depth guide.
3.Weak muscles, like those of awoman.
4.Pubic hair may resemble that ofthe female.
5.Impotence and low sex drive.
6.Small testicles.
Individuals who are affected by this condition are males, andthe rulings concerning males – particularly with regard to interactions withwomen – also apply to them; so it is haraam for them to mix with women, lookat them, imitate them and other rulings governing interactions of men withwomen.
They may seek treatment for this disease, and there is no sinon them and no shar ‘i blame for having physical features that resemblethose of females. But they also have to avoid resembling women in their toneof voice, movements, clothing and so on, because for men to imitate orresemble women is a major sin, as we have explained in fatwa no.81994
With regard to hijab, he does not have to wear hijab, becausehe is a man and hijab is only for women, not men. But we should point out animportant matter, which is that if he is afraid in a particular situationthat he may be a source of temptation for people, then he must avoid thatsituation. The same applies to anyone who fears that he may be tempted if hemixes with a person who has this condition; he should avoid interacting withhim and he should lower his gaze and avoid looking at him, especially ifthat person is good-looking. In that case he comes under the same ruling asthe ruling on “beardless youths,” in whose case there may be the fear oftemptation.
For rulings on interactions with beardless youths, please seefatwas no. 178152 and94836
And Allah knows best.
