Long Hair

dont ever cut your long curly hairs. long hair is pretty you know

Don't cut it as cat eyes said long hair suits a woman better. I don't know if there's anything islamically stopping you.

There are two different opinions on the matter of women cutting their hair. One opinion states that there is no harm in it because nothing can be found expressly prohibiting it. The other opinion from a number of scholars is that it is disallowed, because when Rasoolullah was asked a number of questions where the possible answer could have been "cut your hair", he never gave that answer, and also there is no proof that he allowed his wives (radhiallahu 'anhunna ajma'een) to cut their hair.

Assuming it is permissible for women to cut their hair not imitating men, then where do we draw the line? To what extent will this permissibility be effective? Every woman will now use her own discretion as to how long or how short her hair be in order to prevent tashbeeh (similarity to males or kaafir women). Which males hair do we use as criteria to say that up till this length is tashbeeh? And who can say what imitates kuffaar women and what doesn't?

Abu Salma ibn Abdurrahmaan says that, 'the foster brother of Aaisha (radhiallaahu anha) and the narrator himself (Abu Salma), both went to Aaisha. The foster brother asked Aaisha about how Rasoolullah used to take Ghusl after janaabah. Aaisha (radhiallaahu anha) asked for a large container which was approximately one Saa'. She then arranged for a curtain and thereafter performed Ghusl. She poured water three times over her head and thereafter said the wives of Rasoolullah used to "akhth" their hair until it reached till just above the shoulders.' (Muslim, Book 003, Number 0626)

The Arabic text of the hadeeth is:

‏و حدثني ‏ ‏عبيد الله بن معاذ العنبري ‏ ‏قال حدثنا ‏ ‏أبي ‏ ‏قال حدثنا ‏ ‏شعبة ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏أبي بكر بن حفص ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏أبي سلمة بن عبد الرحمن ‏ ‏قال ‏
‏دخلت على ‏ ‏عائشة ‏ ‏أنا وأخوها من الرضاعة فسألها عن غسل النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏من الجنابة ‏ ‏فدعت بإناء قدر الصاع فاغتسلت وبيننا وبينها ستر وأفرغت على رأسها ثلاثا قال وكان أزواج النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏يأخذن من رءوسهن حتى تكون ‏ ‏كالوفرة ‏

The word in the Hadith is ya'khuthna from the origin or masdar 'akhth' which actually means "to take, to take hold of, to get" but is incorrectly translated in many places as 'cutting' or 'lopping'.

After all, why would Aa'isha (radiallahu 'anha) have needed to tell someone enquiring about ghusl, about her hairstyle?

Imam Muslim quoted this Hadith together with other Ahaadith of Ghusl under the book of haydh (menstruation). This indicates that this Hadith has nothing to do with the cutting of hair. The word akhth, actually means, to take, to take hold of, to get. : Instead of allowing their long hair to hang down whilst performing Ghusl, the wives of Rasoolullah used to take their hair and put it up in order to reach just above their shoulders, perhaps made into a bun to sit on top of the neck, so that it becomes easy for them to wash their back whilst performing Ghusl. Whilst the hair is hanging down, it was difficult for water to reach all parts of the back thoroughly , therefore, this method was adopted. This is the meaning of 'akhth' in the Hadith.

The last word of the hadeeth is wafrah (translated above as being just above the shoulders). Wafrah has different meanings: It may be hair collected upon the head or hair hanging down upon the ears or hair extending to the lobes of the ears only. (Lanes Arabic - English Lexicon). In other words, the wives of the prophet used to take their hair and put it up to that level, to keep the back clear.

This tells us that our mothers (radiallaahu anhunna), the wives of the prophet , themselves, had long hair.

Due to the mistranslation, some people believe that the wives of the Prophet or Aaisha in particular (may Allah be pleased with them), had cut hair, or used to cut their hair in a style called wafrah i.e. near the shoulders/ears, whereas this was not the case.

When Aaisha (radhiallaahu anha) was performing Hajj, her menses began on the day of Arafaat. Being the narrator of this Hadith, she says, 'I found myself to be in my menses on the day of Arafaat so I explained my condition to Rasoolullah Thereupon, he replied, 'Leave out your Umra, undo your head and comb your hair.' (Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 6, Number 313). Ibn Hajar has mentioned that the meaning of 'undo your head' is 'open up the plaits of your hair.' (Fathul Baari vol.1 pg.331). The fact that Rasoolullah commanded her to do this indicates that Aaisha (radiallaahu 'anha) had long hair.

Umm Salama (radiallaahu 'anha) reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, I am a woman who has thickly plaited hair on my head; should I undo it for taking a bath, because of sexual intercourse? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, it is enough for you to throw three handfuls of water on your head and then pour water over yourself, and you shall be purified. (Muslim, Book 003, Number 0643)

These traditions clearly indicate that women are allowed, in exceptional cases, to throw water over their heads - which is not the real matter of discussion here - but that:

a) The wives of Rasulullah , (i.e. our mothers) Umme Salamah and Aaisha (radhiyallaahu anhumaa) themsleves had long hair;

b) No directive was given to cut, trim, clip, or shave the hair in order to solve the problem; and ,

c) In many such questions a similar answer was given.

The scholars who say cutting of hair for women is disallowed, say that had Rasoolullah considered it permissible for the hair to be cut, then he could have suggested that, or at least trimming, as an easy solution to the problem, but he didn't.

If no ruling was given to cut the hair when the cutting could actually have solved a problem, then how can a ruling be given to allow cutting of the hair for mere decoration?

The major classical Hanafi Fiqh books prohibit the cutting of hair for women (Radd al-Muhtar with the Durr of al-Haskafi, kitab al-hazr wal-ibaha, 5/261) . Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen also stated it is Makrooh Tahreemi in general, and haraam if done in emulation, and quotes Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal's position as the same. (Fataawal Mar'ah, page 232) and (Fataawal Mar'ah, pages 235, 236). May Allah be pleased with them.

There is a widely quoted hadeeth on the net quoted by those who consider it permissible. It seems to be an extracted part of the above hadeeth (or may be a separate one) and has the same mistranslation applied to it. The hadeeth in question is: "It was narrated in Saheeh Muslim that Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said: “The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” (al-Hayd, 320)

Arabic text: وثبت في صحيح مسلم عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ ...قَالَ : ( وَكَانَ أَزْوَاجُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَأْخُذْنَ مِنْ رُءُوسِهِنَّ حَتَّى تَكُونَ كَالْوَفْرَةِ ) - الحيض/320

Allah knows best.

format_quote Originally Posted by Life_Is_Short

I have long hair and they're such a hastle to wash and comb. My hair are naturally curly and this makes things even more difficult. I want to cut my hair short and therefore manageble for my own sake but my mum does not approve.

I've researched in Islamic books (at home) and found nothing regarding this action being forbidden in Islam.

Unless i am missing something, I know my mum is being unreasonable. She used to have long hair back in her days so this is merely an issue to do with culture.

Of course, I do not intend to style my hair or cut them really short. I just want to make them manageable. How can i convince my mum?

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

In general, the major classical Hanafi Fiqh books prohibit the cutting of hair for women. This is also affirmed by many Indian Subcontinent scholars. However, some scholars of the Arab world have permitted it conditionally.

In a Hadith, “the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) forbade women from shaving their hair.” (Sunan Tirmidhi, 2/246 & Sunan Nasa’i, 5/407)

Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) mentions in his famous book in Hanafi Fiqh:

“If a woman cuts her hair, she will be sinful and cursed. In al-Bazzaziyya it is added: “Even with the permission of the husband, as there is no obedience to the creation in disobeying the Creator.” (See: Radd al-Muhtar with the Durr of al-Haskafi, kitab al-hazr wal-ibaha, 5/261)


The main two reasons given by scholars for the impermissibility of women cutting their hair are:

a) Imitation of the Kuffar (non-Muslims),

b) Imitation of men,

Both of which have been clearly prohibited in Shariah.

In the Hadith recorded by Imam Abu Dawud in his ‘Sunan’ and others, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Whosoever imitates a group is amongst them.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, no. 4031)

Regarding the imitation of men, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) cursed those men who imitate women and those women who imitate men.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 7/205)

For the above two reasons, the jurists (fuqaha) have generally prohibited the cutting of hair for women. It is for the reason of imitating men; they considered such women to be cursed, as in the Hadith women who imitate men are cursed by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace)

In view of the above, it would generally not be permitted for women to cut their hair. To imitate the styles of the Kuffar and non-Muslim women is not permissible. The hair cuts prevalent among many modern women have a clear resemblance with the styles of non-Muslim women, thus it will be unlawful.

Similarly, to shorten the hair in a way that it resembles the hair of men is also prohibited. If a woman does so, she will earn the curse of the blessed Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace)

However, if a woman trims her hair slightly in a way that she did not contravene any of the above two reasons, then this would be (and Allah knows best) permitted. In other words, there are two conditions for this permissibility, and they both should be understood properly, and not misused or taken out of context:

1) There should be no imitation of non-Muslim Women,

The hairstyles adopted by kuffar and non-Muslim women, such as flicks, perms, fringes, etc… will not be allowed. Cutting the hair from the front will also be impermissible.

2) There should be no imitation of men

Cutting the hair in any way that resembles the hair of men is unlawful (haram), as mentioned previously. Therefore, if a woman cuts her hair from the lower end slightly in order to equate the level of the hairs, then this will be permissible.

It should be noted that, if the hair is cut, then it should be well below the shoulders, and this permissibility is only to cut it slightly. If the woman is married, then this should be done with the consent of her husband.

Finally, it should be remembered that it is better for a woman to not cut her hair altogether, unless there is some genuine reason. In the early times, a woman’s beauty was considered in the length of her hair, and not in looking like a man.

In conclusion, generally it is not permissible for a woman to cut her hair. However, if the hair is cut in the manner outlined above, it would be permissible, although better to avoid.

And Allah knows best


Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester, UK

i think this thread should be moved to the sisters section or at the very least descriptions should be edited out/modified.

sister, if you wear a hijab (or even if you dont) you must try your best to protect yourself if you need to ask a question about something personal, try to be as vague as possible...men have visual minds and just cos they cant see something, doesn't mean they dont think it

^oh i see =)
sorry if i came across the wrong way btw

format_quote Originally Posted by Life_Is_Short

Sorry, I didn't realise. It was a general question though.

My sister don't ever hesitate to ask any questions that you may have at all even though it may be sensative or embaressing because how else can one gain clarity in any matter and do things in the right manner?

Jazakallah for asking and hope your question was answered satisfactorily inshallah.