It is well known that tattoos are a form of drawing shapes on the skin through using a needle or something like that. This practice is prohibited in Islam. Nowadays, there are some forms of tattoos that are drawn or printed on the skin; however, they are easy to be removed by water. Is this form of tattoos prohibited?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Prohibited tattooing which incurs curse to the one who does it is that in which an injection is pierced into the skin layers so that the blood comes out and is replaced by nawzah, kohl, ink or any other substance, thus, it becomes greenish.

As for adorning the body with prints that can be easily removed, it is not called tattoo nor is it included in its ruling. Nonetheless, such decorations are disliked according to the opinion of some scholars. Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in his Musannaf  that ‘Umar prohibited making decorations through dyeing and the decorations made by dyeing at the fingertips.

It was also narrated that when ‘Aa'ishah was asked about dyeing, she said: "There is nothing wrong with it unless it includes decorations."

Accordingly, it is more appropriate for the Muslim individual to give up such decorations.  

Allaah Knows best.