![]() ![]() Reservation 2: There is also a lot of misunderstanding around the idea that it is impermissible to cut hair in a way that resembles disbelieving women, the sentiment drawn from the Prophetic statement “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Abu Dawud)ġ. Yet cultural association in a multicultural society is far more complex than such a simplistic assertion, and to argue primacy of any one culture, especially as a moral value with God, is very much indefensible. If it is asserted that a woman should maintain that which is specific to her ethnic community in Britain, this assumes a sense of belonging to a particular culture that is held at the expense of others. Neither can they tenably argue a culture specific to Muslims, that there is a nebulous ‘Muslim culture’ in Britain that is muhakkam (authoritative). Additionally, living in a multicultural society raises questions around the notion of a homogenous custom that dictates shar’i values – one cannot argue the primacy of a custom when there are various customs in a single society. Whilst it may be argued that cultural customs have shar’i value, it is only in specific circumstances. Whilst the shari’a permits growing a woman’s hair long, there is no moral obligation on a woman to do so, and Allah will not judge a believing woman on the length of her hair – this is purely to do with cultural proclivities. Reservation 1: In some ethnic cultures it is highly disagreeable for women to cut their hair there is an expectation for the hair to grow the length of a woman’s back. How short may a woman cut her hair? I address this in the second reservation below (point three and four) but make the point that the Prophet forbade women from shaving their heads (al-Tirmidhi). This is because it is obligatory to prevent harm as the Prophet said “there should be no harm nor the reciprocation of harm.” (al-Bukhari)ĥ. It may be argued that it is obligatory (wajib) if the damage to the hair is so extensive that it might eventually lead to hairlessness or a damaged scalp. The hadith above was related in this context.Ĥ. ![]() Some women face difficulties in washing their hair after menstruation or sexual intimacy, or find the activity extremely time consuming (due to the length and strength of the hair) so find shorter hair far more conducive to their situation. It might be asserted that a woman cutting her hair is commendable (mustahab), that is if she so desires, if it helps her to take care of her hair or prevent hair damage. ![]() The hadith explicitly informs us that they cut it short (I acknowledge that the nature of what we deem to be ‘short’ is relative) which is why al-Nawawi made the obvious deduction in his commentary of the hadith in Sahih Muslim, ‘this indicates that it is permissible for women to cut their hair short.’ And if a woman cutting her hair short is permitted, merely trimming the hair or cutting it moderately holds an even stronger permissibility.ģ. The reference to the wives of the Prophet was meant to intimate its permissibility with the understanding that if it were impermissible the Prophet would have instructed them otherwise.Ģ. Abd al-Rahman: “The wives of the Prophet used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” (Muslim)ġ. It is perfectly legitimate for a Muslim woman to cut her hair in Islam. This is a complex topic with many tangential issues worthy of consideration, so I’ll stick to addressing the two reservations very briefly after positing a shar’i position. From a shar’i point of view, there’s confusion around the notion of ‘ imitating disbelievers’ which for some has meant avoiding any cultural norm shared with non-Muslims. From my own (albeit limited) experience, I’ve found that some of the reservations stem from ethno-cultural norms that dictate women shouldn’t cut their hair, or alternatively, that long hair is virtuous or laudable. I am frequently asked about the permissibility of a Muslim woman cutting her hair. The rest of this article summarily discusses some important points for consideration: Where the shar’i maxim goes that a thing is permitted unless there’s a prohibition that states otherwise, cutting one’s hair to varying lengths is fine as long as it is not shaved off. Abd al-Rahman narrates: “The wives of the Prophet used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” (Muslim) However, the Prophet forbade women from shaving their heads (al-Tirmidhi). It is perfectly legitimate for a Muslim woman to cut her hair short.
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