❀ 5 Shar‘i Rulings on Shaving the Head: Hajj, Necessity, Innovation, and Mourning ❀
Derived from: Fatāwā ad-Dīn al-Khālis, Volume 1, Page 405
❖ Question:
Is shaving the head established from the Prophet ﷺ in any authentic ḥadīth?
✿ ① First Category: Shaving the Head During Ḥajj or ʿUmrah
Ruling:
This act is clearly legislated and obligatory in Islām by the command of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
Qur’anic Evidence:
﴿لَتَدخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِن شَاءَ اللّٰهُ آمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ﴾ (Surah al-Fatḥ: 27)
“Indeed, you will surely enter al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, if Allah wills, in safety—shaving your heads and shortening your hair—without fear…”
Ḥadīth Evidence:
The practice of shaving during Ḥajj and ʿUmrah is mutawātir from the Prophet ﷺ. Some Companions shaved while others trimmed, but shaving is more virtuous.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“O Allah, have mercy on those who shave (their heads).”
The Companions asked:
“And those who trim, O Messenger of Allah?”
He repeated the prayer for those who shaved three times, and included the ones who trim on the fourth.
✿ ② Second Category: Shaving the Head for Medical Necessity
Example:
Shaving due to treatment, such as lice infestation or skin conditions.
Shar‘ī Status:
This is permissible based on Qur’an, Sunnah, and Ijmāʿ of the Ummah.
Qur’anic Evidence:
﴿فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ بِهِ أَذًى مِّن رَّأْسِهِ فَفِدْيَةٌ﴾ (Surah al-Baqarah: 196)
“Whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head, must offer a ransom…”
Ḥadīth of Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Are your lice troubling you?”
He replied: “Yes.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Shave your head, and offer a sacrifice of a sheep, or fast for three days, or feed six poor people.”
✿ ③ Third Category: Shaving the Head for Worship, Asceticism, or Religious Display
Example:
Shaving to express repentance, piety, or asceticism.
Shar‘ī Ruling:
This is an innovation (bidʿah). Neither Allah nor His Messenger ﷺ commanded it.
Practice of the Companions and Tabiʿīn:
This act is not established from the Companions, Tābiʿīn, or early righteous scholars such as Fudayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Abū Sulaymān ad-Dārānī, or Maʿrūf al-Karkhī.
Position of the Imams:
No scholar from the Salaf regarded this practice as wājib or mustaḥabb.
✿ ④ Fourth Category: Shaving the Head Without Reason or Ritual Context
First Opinion:
It is disliked (makrūh). Reported from Imām Mālik and one narration from Imām Aḥmad.
Second Opinion:
It is permissible (mubāḥ). This is the position of the Ḥanafis and Shāfiʿīs.
Ḥadīth Evidence:
The Prophet ﷺ saw a boy whose head was partially shaved, and said:
“Either shave it all or leave it all.”
He used to have the children’s heads shaved three days after birth and prohibited “quzzaʿ” (patchy shaving).
Evidence for Makrūh View:
The Khawārij used to shave their heads and considered it a religious practice.
In Ṣaḥīḥayn, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Their distinguishing feature is shaved heads.”
On the day of Fatḥ, a man with a shaved head and thick beard was recognized by this trait.
(Summarized from Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā by Ibn Taymiyyah 21/115–119)
✿ ⑤ Fifth Category: Shaving the Head in Times of Mourning or Distress
Shar‘ī Ruling:
This is from the major sins (kabā’ir).
Ḥadīth Evidence:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“I am free from the one who shaves his head, strikes his cheeks, or tears his garments in mourning.”
(Mishkāt: 1/150)
Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله in al-Mughnī (1/103):
Two narrations from Imām Aḥmad:
One declares it makrūh—as it was a Khawārij trait.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه said to Ṣubaygh:
“If I ever find you shaved-headed again, I will strike you with a sword that will remove your eye.”
Ḥadīth:
“Do not shave the front part of the head except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah.”
(Dāraquṭnī al-Afrād, Kanz al-ʿUmmāl 12150–12151)
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه:
“Whoever shaves his head in the city is a devil.”
Imām Aḥmad رحمه الله:
Shaving is makrūh and leaving the hair is preferred.
ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī رحمه الله in al-Ghuniyah (1/15):
Outside of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, and without necessity, shaving the head is makrūh according to one narration from Imām Aḥmad.
He mentioned a narration of the Prophet ﷺ shaving his head, but it is without chain or authenticity, and cannot be relied upon.
✅ Final Summary:
◈ Shaving during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah is obligatory and virtuous
◈ Shaving for medical need is permitted
◈ Shaving as a sign of religiosity or repentance is a bidʿah
◈ Shaving without reason is either makrūh or mubāḥ depending on intent
◈ Shaving in grief or mourning is a major sin
ھذا ما عندي، واللہ أعلم بالصواب
