Ḥadīth: “Whoever applies black dye, Allah will blacken his face on the Day of Judgment” — Its Authenticity
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
What is the authenticity of the ḥadīth:
“Whoever applies black dye, Allah will blacken his face on the Day of Judgment”?
The Answer
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من خضب بالسواد، سود الله وجهه يوم القيامة
“Whoever applies black dye, Allah will blacken his face on the Day of Judgment.”
(Musnad al-Shāmiyyīn by al-Ṭabarānī: 652; al-Kāmil by Ibn ʿAdī: 3/222; al-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh by Ibn Shāhīn: p. 462, ḥadīth 614; al-Amālī by al-Shajri: 2/249–250)
Chain Analysis
- The isnād is weak.
- Zuhayr ibn Muḥammad al-Khurāsānī is reliable according to the majority, but his narrations from the people of Shām are considered weak.
(Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: no. 2049) - This narration is from the people of Shām, thus falls under this criticism and is therefore ḍaʿīf.
Scholars’ Verdicts
❀ Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله explicitly declared this narration fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
(ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 2/299)
Conclusion
- The narration about black dyeing leading to a blackened face on the Day of Judgment is weak due to its isnād.
- Some scholars, like Abū Ḥātim, even ruled it fabricated.
- Hence, it cannot be used as a valid proof in Sharīʿah.
