Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath (10/343): Al-Nawawi said: what is meant by al-‘aanah (pubic hair) is the hair which is above and around the man’s penis, and the hair around the woman’s vagina. It was reported from Abu’l-‘Abbaas ibn Surayj that it is the hair that grows around the back passage. From all of this, we may understand that it is mustahabb to shave all the hair from the front and back and all around them. Shaving is mentioned because this is the most common method, but it is also permissible to remove hair by waxing, plucking, etc.
Abu Shaamah said: al-‘aanah is the hair that grows on the rakab, which is what is underneath the bulge of the abdomen and above the private parts. Or it was said that it is the exterior of the private parts; or the private part itself, whether of a man or a woman. It is mustahabb to remove the hair from the front and back, indeed it is more important to remove the hair from the back, lest any faeces get stuck to it and cannot be removed by cleaning it with water or with stones, tissues, etc. Depilatory agents (waxing, sugaring, etc.) may be used instead of shaving, or the hair may be plucked or cut. Ahmad was asked about removing the pubic hair with scissors. He sa
id, “I hope this will be good enough.” He was asked, “What about plucking?” He said, “Could anyone do that?” Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eed said: the scholars of the Arabic language said: “al-‘aanah is the hair that grows around the private part, or it was said that it is where the hair grows. This is what was meant in the report. Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi said: The pubic hair is the body hair which it is most important to remove, because it grows thick and dirt gets trapped in it. Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eed said: it is as if those who said it is mustahabb to shave the hair around the back passage mentioned this by way of analogy.”
The well-known Muslim scholar, sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih Al-`Uthaymin, states: “There are reports in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which indicate that the pubic hairs should be removed, as it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The fitrah consists of five things, one of which is removing the pubic hairs.” (Reported by al-Bukhari)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also set a time limit of forty days, and the hair should be left any longer than that, because of the hadeeth of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “He set us a time limit of no more than forty days for trimming the moustache, clipping the nails, plucking the armpit hairs and shaving the pubic hair.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, 10/284 and Muslim, 1/222).
The Muslim scholars discussed the proper etiquette of removing the pubic hair and said that it is mustahabb (preferable) to start shaving the pubic hair from beneath the navel, and to start on the right hand side, and one should also be concealed from the sight of others when doing this.
The reasons behind removing this dirty hair could also be applied to the hair on the testicles and around the anus, if impurity gets attached to it, because the purpose it to be completely clean and pure. In this case, removing this hair is a good thing. With regard to women, the rulings on removing the pubic hair are the same as the rulings for men.”