Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: If water reaches the roots of the hair on the head, then it is not necessary to untie braided hair; this is the position of the majority of jurists. According to Imam Nakha'i rahimahullah, in every situation the hair must be untied. According to Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah and Tawus rahimahullah, it is necessary to untie the hair for the ritual bath (ghusl) of menstruation (hayd), but it is not necessary for the ritual bath (ghusl) of major ritual impurity (janabah).

English Commentary:
1:
This is the view of the majority (jumhur) that whether a woman is performing the ritual bath (ghusl) due to major ritual impurity (janabah) or after purification from menstruation (hayd), in neither case is it necessary for her to untie her hair. However, Hasan al-Basri and Tawus have made a distinction between the two: they say that in the ritual bath for janabah it is not necessary, but in the ritual bath after menstruation it is necessary. As for the narration of Aisha (radi Allahu anha) in which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to her, ((Unqudi ra’saki wa imtasheti)) (“Undo your hair and comb it”), the majority have interpreted this as being recommended (mustahabb), not obligatory.

251. Commentary:
There is no difference between the ritual bath (ghusl) of a man and that of a woman. That is, first the lower part of the body should be washed, and if there is any impurity attached, it should be removed. After that, perform ablution (wudu) as for prayer, and then pour water over the rest of the body. Women are permitted, in the ritual bath of major impurity (ghusl janabah), to keep their hair tied and not to untie it. They may simply pour water over it three times, and each time they should thoroughly move and rub their hair so that water reaches the roots. In this way, one should be personally satisfied that the water has reached everywhere. However, in the ritual bath after menstruation (ghusl hayd), it is necessary to completely untie the hair, because in the narrations there is a command for menstruating women to untie their hair. [سنن ابن ماجة، حديث : 641]

(1)
Just as it is necessary for a man to ensure that the skin of his head is moistened just like the rest of the body, the same emphasis applies to a woman in the ritual bath (ghusl) of major impurity (janabah). However, if her hair is tightly braided, she does not need to undo it, because that would cause hardship. But if her hair is loosely plaited or left open, then she must wash the hair thoroughly.

242. Commentary:

➊ Women have long hair. Braiding is a necessity and compulsion for them. In ritual bath (ghusl), it becomes difficult to undo the braids. Undoing and re-braiding takes considerable time, so the Shari‘ah, taking into account the compulsion of women, has permitted not to undo the braids during the ritual bath of major impurity (ghusl janabah). What is necessary is to pour water over the head and run the fingers through the hair so that the scalp and the roots of the hair become wet—thus, the whole body becomes wet.

➋ Braids are, in any case, additional hanging hair; if they do not become wet, there is no harm, provided that they are washed from above.

➌ The ritual bath after menstruation (ghusl hayd) occurs only once a month; for this, there is no difficulty in undoing the braids, therefore, in the ritual bath after menstruation, it is necessary to undo the braids and wash the hair thoroughly. Allah the Exalted says: “Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” [البقرۃ 286 : 2]

Lexical Explanation:
«أَشُدُّ» is the first person singular form from «شَدَّ يَشُدُّ». Its meaning is: to tie firmly.
«تَحْثِي» means: to pour, to put. Due to the accusative case, the nūn of i‘rāb has been dropped. The "yā" in «تَحْثِي» will remain quiescent.
«حَثَيَاتٍ» is in the meaning of «حَفَنَاتٍ». Both hands cupped and filled with water.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ This hadith is evidence that for one who becomes junub (in a state of major ritual impurity), it is not necessary to untie the hair while performing the ritual bath (ghusl). However, in the narration of Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha, which Ibn Majah has narrated, she reported that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ordered the hair to be untied. [سنن ابن ماجه، الطهارة وسننها، باب فى الحائض كيف تغتسل، حديث : 641]
But these two narrations are not contradictory, because the command to untie the hair is for when a woman performs the ritual bath (ghusl) after menstruation (hayd), but in the case of the ritual bath for janabah, it is not obligatory for a woman to untie her hair. Rather, it is sufficient that the roots of the hair or the scalp become wet; it is not necessary for all the hair to become wet.

➋ In Sahih Muslim and Musnad Ahmad, it is mentioned that Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha was informed through some means that Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Amr radi Allahu anhu used to order women to untie their hair when performing the ritual bath (ghusl) for janabah and menstruation. Upon this, Sayyidah Aisha radi Allahu anha said: "I am astonished at Ibn Amr that he orders women to untie their hair at the time of ghusl; why does he not order them to shave their heads as well? (It would be better if he just ordered them to shave their heads!) I and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to perform ghusl from a single tub-like vessel, and I would pour water over my head only three times, and (in the ritual bath for janabah) I did not consider it necessary to untie my hair." [صحيح مسلم، الحيض، باب حكم ضفائز المغتسلة، حديث : 331]

➌ The words of «وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ : وَلِلْحَيْضَةِ ؟» are irregular (shadh), as Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has clarified in [الصحيحة 366/1].