If am Muslim has a tattoo, but since getting has realized what a mistake it was what should they do? Repent or have it removed?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Walaikum assalam,
In the name of Allah, the inspirer of truth,
Tattooing is impermissible, and the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) cursed the one both the one who gets tattooed and the tattooer.
If one has a tattoo from the past, one should repent and seek forgiveness.
Ibn Abidin mentioned in his Radd al-Muhtar, that the ruling for tattooing (washm) is the same as dying one's hair or clothing with a filthy substance: after washing the area, it is considered tahir, and the remaining trace is excused, because it is a trace that cane only be removed by operation, which is considered a hardship (in terms of the rulings related to purity and filth).
The purification, prayer, and imamate of such a person would be valid.
If it is possible to remove without excessive hardship, one should remove it, especially if it has impermissible images, and because it is a sign of un-Islamic ways. But if this is not reasonably possible, it is excusable.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp? ... 09&CATE=13