Is having false teeth fitted regarded as changing the creation of Allaah?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Fitting false teeth to replace teeth that have been taken out
because they were unhealthy or damaged is something permissible and there is
nothing wrong with doing it, and we do not know of any scholar who disallows
it. It makes no difference whether the teeth are fixed in place in the mouth
or not. The patient should do what is best for him in consultation with a
specialist in that field.

Changing the creation of Allaah means not accepting the
creation of Allaah with regard to the length or shape of the teeth or the
gaps between them. Hence the one who changes the creation of Allaah in
general is cursed, and the one who changes it with regard to his teeth in
particular is cursed.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They (all those who worship others than Allaah) invoke
nothing but female deities besides Him (Allaah), and they invoke nothing but
Shaytaan (Satan), a persistent rebel!

118. Allaah cursed him. And he [Shaytaan (Satan)] said: ‘I
will take an appointed portion of your slaves.

119. ‘Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will
arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the
ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by
Allaah.’ And whoever takes Shaytaan (Satan) as a Wali (protector or helper)
instead of Allaah, has surely, suffered a manifest loss”

[al-Nisa’ 4:117-119]

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the one who does tattoos and the one who
has a tattoo done, the one who plucks eyebrows and the one who has her
eyebrows plucked, and those who file teeth for the purpose of
beautification, changing the creation of Allaah.” Narrated by Muslim
(2125).

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The one who does tattoos is the one who uses a needle and the
like on the back of the hand, wrist, temple or other place on a woman’s body
where blood flows, then fills that place with kohl etc and it turns blue.

“The one who plucks eyebrows” is one who removes hair from
the face.

“Those who file teeth” refers to women who file the teeth to
create a gap between the front teeth and second incisors. This was done by
elderly women and those of similar age to make them look younger and to make
the teeth look more beautiful, because it is younger girls who have these
nice gaps between their teeth. When a woman grows older her teeth become
bigger, so they used to file them to make them look nicer and to make people
think they were younger. This action is haraam for the one who does it and
the one to whom it is done, because of these ahaadeeth, and because it is
changing the creation of Allaah, and because it is cheating and deceiving
people.

“Those who file teeth for the purpose of beautification” –
this indicates that what is haraam is that which is done for the purpose of
beautification. But if it is needed for medical reasons or to correct a
fault in the tooth and so on, then there is nothing wrong with it.

Sharh Muslim (14/106, 107).

The words of al-Nawawi point to the difference between
treating the teeth in order to remove a fault in them and not being pleased
with the creation of Allaah and tinkering with it for the purpose of
beautification. The former is permissible and the latter is haraam.

There is evidence in the Sunnah which shows that it is
permissible to wear false teeth if the teeth have fallen out due to old age
or sickness, and it is permissible for them to be made of gold if nothing
else can be used.

It was narrated from ‘Arfajah ibn As’ad that his nose was
cut off at the battle of Kilaab during the Jaahiliyyah, and he wore a nose
of silver, but it caused a foul stench, so the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) told him to wear a nose made of gold.

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1770), Abu Dawood (4232) and
al-Nasaa’i (5161). Classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Irwa’
al-Ghaleel (824).

The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

But in cases of necessity it is permissible to use gold for
teeth, noses and the like, if nothing else can be used instead. End quote.

Fataawa Islamiyyah (4/248).

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:

We should note that it is not permissible to have a gold
tooth except when there is a need for that. It is not permissible for anyone
to have a gold tooth put in for the purpose of adornment, except women for
whom is it customary to have gold teeth, in which case there is nothing
wrong with it. But for men it is not permissible at all except in cases of
necessity. End quote.

Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh
(28/question no. 5).

And Allaah knows best.