Short answer
Yes. In the Hanafi school piercing a girl's ears for earrings is permissible, at any age, since women wore earrings in the Prophet's ﷺ time and he did not object. Piercing a boy's ears is not allowed, because it imitates women's adornment. Do it hygienically and without harming the child.
Piercing a girl's ears is permissible (la ba's) because women wore earrings in the Prophet's time without objection. It is not permissible for boys. Hanafi muftis also allow nose piercing for women where it is a custom of adornment.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Shafi'i scholars differ: al-Ghazali disallowed it as needless pain, while other Shafi'i authorities allowed it for girls as adornment.
- Hanbali
- Allowed for girls and disliked for boys, as reported from Imam Ahmad.
Explanation
On the day of Eid, Ibn Abbas saw the women dropping their earrings and necklaces into Bilal's cloth after the Prophet ﷺ urged them to give charity. Their earrings were in plain view, and he did not object to them. Women of Madinah wore earrings openly, so the scholars treated piercing a girl's ears as an allowed preparation for adornment.
Practical points:
- Any age is allowed. Many families wait until the baby is a few months old and vaccinated; follow your doctor's advice.
- Use a clean, professional piercer and sterile studs.
- Do not do it for a boy.
- Many muftis discourage multiple piercings along the ear or styles tied to immodest fashion, though a second hole is fine where it is normal among Muslim women.
Wudu and ghusl: in ghusl, water must reach inside an open piercing hole, so move the earring if needed. For wudu, the ears are wiped, so nothing extra is needed. If the hole has closed, there is nothing to do.
Earrings of gold and silver are permissible for girls at any age. For more on girls' and women's dress and adornment, see hijab in Islam.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 964
Sahih... فجعلن يلقين تلقي المرأة خرصها وسخابها ...
"They began to throw in their charity, a woman dropping her earring and her necklace."
Women wore earrings in the Prophet's presence and he approved, which shows ear piercing is allowed.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Hazr wal-Ibaha, section on adornment. There is no harm in piercing a girl's ears.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on adornment. Piercing for girls is permitted and for boys is not.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.