Answer:

The word tattoo is traced to the Tahitian, tatu or tatau, simply meaning to mark or to strike. A tattoo is a design or marking made by the insertion of a pigment into punctures or cuts to the skin. Tattoos are a type of body modification and this is not allowed in Islam.

Tattooing, in which the skin is pierced with a needle and a blue or other coloured dye is injected, is Haraam in all forms, whether it causes pain or not, because it involves changing the creation of Allah Taa'la, and because the Holy Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad- ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) cursed the one who does tattoos and the one for whom tattooing is done. In the same way, Shari'ah (Islamic laws) warns against Muslah (disfiguring) of the body, as well as "unnecessary intrusion, alteration and defacement of Allah Taa'la's creation".

The Holy Qur'an considers such alterations as inspired by (shaytaan) Satan, who "...will command them (his devotees) to change what Allah (Taa'la) has created..." (Holy Qur'an: An-Nisa': 119) The Holy Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad- ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) banned many cultural practices of the time. Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radi Allah Anho) says that Hadhrat Muhammad- ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) forbade tattooing. (Al Bukhaari) However, there is some difference of opinion by the Ulama (Islamic scholars) as to the reason why tattoos are forbidden, although all are unanimous that it is Haraam.

It is said that it is because they are a form of deception and because it is a way of changing the creation of Allah Taa'la. It is also suggested that what is forbidden is only that which is permanent, because that is changing the creation of Allah Taa'la; as for that which is not permanent, such as kohl (in Arabic means to "brighten the eyes" and is a mixture of soot and other ingredients, used by and other women and, to a lesser extent, men to darken the eyelids) which is used for adornment by women is permitted by the scholars. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 5: 393). Even some Christians and Jews believe Leviticus 19:28 (Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible and also the third book in the Torah) prohibits believers from getting tattoos. It says, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead nor put marks upon you." Be part of the Holy Prophet's Sunnah and NOT part of your friend's group, Munir Khan.