Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “The Qur’an consistently enjoins upon the faithful their duty to emulate the Prophet, to follow his fine examples, and to obey his orders (See for instance verses, An-Nahl 44; Al-Hashr 7; Al `Imran 31-32; An-Nisa’ 59′, 66, 105, etc.). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not a postal-delivery man who simply brought us the Qur’an; rather he has also been entrusted with the task of explaining its teachings to us; thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not only explained the Qur’an in theory, but also by putting into practice each and every ideal of the Qur’an. This is why `A’ishah, the Prophet’s beloved wife, described the Prophet’s character by saying: He was Qur’an personified.
In an authentic Hadith, jointly reported by both Al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “There are five things which form (an integral) part of the fitrah (natural way of Allah which has been inherited from all previous Prophets of Allah), namely, circumcision, removing the pubic hair and shaving the armpit, clipping of nails, and trimming one’s moustache.”
Based on such authentic reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the scholars of Islam have unanimously concluded that circumcision is an important rite of Islam as far as males are concerned. The only difference of opinion among them is whether it is absolutely mandatory or merely highly recommended. While some scholars consider it as highly recommended, the majority of them consider it as obligatory upon males.
It is, however, important to note that there is nothing in the sources prescribing circumcision on females.”