Q: Is it okay to pierce the tongue and put a ball on it? have belly button ring? (Private email)

A: Rings upon the finger and nose are generally not attributed to persons that lead a promiscuous lifestyle. By contrast, tongue piercings and belly button objects  remain associated to persons that generally have a lifestyle that contradicts traditional values and norms.

In making a query on a social level pertaining to your question, a tattoo store owner filled with tattoos and piercings upon his body said the following: ‘people with an alternative lifestyle prefer such body embellishments.’ When the tattoo store owner was asked, what is an ‘alternative’ life style, his response: ‘hookers (prostitutes) nude dances, people that are in a same sex relationship, transvestites — people that are inclined towards lifestyle choices that are out of the norm. People that just want to be out there, people that want to be different.’

Thus, in line with professionals within the piercing world and their claim of who gets ‘embellishments’ upon their bodies, we place a foundational prohibition upon it.

Allah Certainly Knows Best.