Mu'jam al-Saghir

1. The purpose is that when a person keeps long hair and locks, he should honor them, meaning he should keep them well-groomed, apply oil, and comb them, and also protect them from becoming disheveled. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: [مَن كان له شَعَرٌ، فَلْيُكرِمْهُ] “Whoever has hair should honor it, that is, he should keep it well-groomed.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Tarajjul, Chapter: On Maintaining the Hair, Hadith: 4163, and al-Albani graded it Hasan Sahih) The meaning of honoring the hair, i.e., grooming it, does not at all mean that a mirror and comb should always be an adornment of one’s pocket. Some narrations have been transmitted in this regard, but they have not reached the level of authenticity. Yes, when needed, one should take care of them, and the limit for this is to comb the hair every other day; constant, uninterrupted grooming is prohibited. Abdullah ibn Mughaffal (radi Allahu anhu) said: [أن رسولُ اللهِ ﷺ نهى عن الترجُّلِ إلّا غِبًّا] (Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Tarajjul, Chapter: Prohibition of Excessive Grooming, Hadith: 4159) “The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade us from combing our hair every day.”

2. Remaining dirty and not grooming the hair is neither asceticism nor simplicity; rather, it is foolishness and ignorance, which in no way befits a dignified and respectable Muslim. Islam is an extremely clean and pure religion and demands purity and cleanliness from its followers as well. Furthermore, the noble Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: [إنَّ اللهَ جميلٌ يُحِبُّ الجمالَ] “Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, is beautiful and loves beauty.” (Musnad Ahmad: 4/133, 134)