The hair on the head is among the great blessings of Allah Almighty, comprising both dignity and beauty. Keeping hair in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ not only earns the pleasure of Allah but is also an effort towards the establishment of the religion and the promotion of Islam.
The Current Practice of Muslims
In today’s age, Muslims appear influenced by the lifestyle and culture of the disbelievers. When they abandoned their practical distinctive characteristics, they fell victim to helplessness and lost their religious identity and Islamic symbols. As a result, the outward distinction between Muslims and those who rebel against Allah has disappeared.
Due to this negligence and poor practice of Muslims, people who love the natural disposition find no attraction in them. In imitation of the disbelievers, some Muslims have turned away from keeping hair as a Sunnah, although the disbelievers themselves hate hair and also remain fearful of it.
Keeping Hair: A Recommended Act
Keeping hair is not a matter of worship but is a matter of custom; however, adopting the way of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is recommended. Despite this, keeping uneven and haphazard hair in imitation of the disbelievers is in no way correct. It is regrettable that some people with religious inclinations also compel religiously committed youth to cut their hair, whereas encouragement is better in matters that are recommended.
Hair Care and the Islamic Way of Life
Some people complain that long hair is difficult to look after and that students’ time is wasted. However, this is a misconception, because the religion is easy and in accordance with the natural disposition. In fact, keeping short hair neatly proves to be more difficult and expensive, and it also involves greater waste of time.
Islamic Upbringing of Children
In Muslim households, training in Islamic etiquette of social conduct should be given from childhood, so that when they grow up they can adopt the Islamic way of life and Islamic symbols. In this way they can present the best example of Islamic civilisation before the whole world.
The Matter of the Sunnah in Madrasas
With apologies, it must be said that in our society this Sunnah had not only become abandoned but was forcibly removed from religious madrasas. Where the Sunnah should have been revived, the Sunnah is ridiculed. Along with preventing students from keeping locks of hair, if anyone does keep hair, there is a fear that he will be punished. By cutting the hair of young children, their natural disposition is tampered with. Whereas it was the duty of madrasas to introduce students to the Sunnah with affection.
The Responsibility of Madrasas
The administrators of madrasas should remember that grooming hair is a psychological matter specific to a certain age. Whether you cut the hair or not, the child will continue to fulfil his desire. Therefore, it is better that instead of crushing their natural disposition, they be guided in the right direction. They should be encouraged to keep hair in accordance with the Sunnah so that they may become a practical example of the Sunnah among the public. Keeping hair neither weakens faith nor causes any defect in Islam.
The Mistaken Idea of Equal Hair
There is another mistaken notion prevalent among us, that hair should be kept even, whether short or long. This is claimed to be an Islamic command, whereas the Prophet ﷺ gave no guidance on this matter. Only three kinds of hair kept by the Prophet ﷺ are established, which are mentioned below. If the idea of equal hair were part of Islam, then the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ, and the early Imams would certainly have explicitly stated it.
Types of the Hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had three kinds of hair:
- جُمَّہ: These hairs hung down on the shoulders.
- لِمَّہ: These hairs were growing below the lobes of the ears.
- وَفْرَہ: These hairs reached the lobes of the ears.
Linguistic Clarification
The renowned linguist, Hafiz Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 676 AH), writes:
“The people of linguistics say that جُمَّہ hair is larger than وَفرہ. جُمَّہ refers to hair hanging on the shoulders. وَفرہ is hair that reaches the lobes of the ears, and لِمَّہ is hair that reaches the shoulders.”
Details of the Hair of the Prophet ﷺ
Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
“The hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ touched his shoulders.”
Sayyiduna Bara’ ibn Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) says:
“The جُمَّہ hair of the Prophet ﷺ reached near his shoulders.”
In a narration of Sunan al-Nasa’i it is stated:
“I saw the لِمَّہ hair of the Prophet ﷺ, which was near his shoulders.”
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him):
“The hair of the Prophet ﷺ was longer than his ears.”
Sayyiduna Bara’ ibn Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
“The hair of the Prophet ﷺ reached the lobes of his ears.”
Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates:
“The hair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was more than وفرہ and less than جُمَّہ.”
Caution 1:
Some Sufis and wandering dervishes keep very long hair, to the extent that their hair reaches the waist. This practice is not correct. In the Shariah such hair is not regarded as commendable. In this regard, an incident is recorded:
Sayyidina Wa’il ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
“The Prophet ﷺ saw me and my hair was long. He said: ‘Dhubab, dhubab’ (meaning, a calamity, a calamity). I went and cut some of my hair. When the Prophet ﷺ saw me again, he said: ‘That was not what I intended; nevertheless, this is better.'”
Similarly, Sayyidina Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyidina Sahl ibn Handhaliyyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he should give some advice:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to us: ‘How excellent is Kharim al-Asadi, if only his hair were not so long and his waist-wrapper were not below his ankles.’ When this reached Kharim al-Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him), he immediately took a pair of scissors and cut his hair up to his ears, and raised his waist-wrapper to half his shin.”
Imam al-Hakim declared this hadith “sahih al-isnad”, and Hafiz al-Dhahabi also called it “sahih”. The narrator Hisham ibn Sa’d is, according to the majority, “trustworthy, hasan al-hadith”. Keeping hair down to the shoulders is established from the Prophet ﷺ, so the disliked length here refers to hair below the shoulders.
From this it is concluded that keeping hair down to the shoulders is permissible and recommended, but longer hair is disliked in the Shariah.
Caution 2:
The Prophet ﷺ saw Sayyidina ‘Isa (peace be upon him) in a dream, and described the condition of his hair thus:
“His hair was hanging between his shoulders.”
Caution 3:
It is attributed to Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Makkah:
“The Prophet ﷺ had four braids in his hair.”
However, the chain of this narration is “da’if”. Ibn Abi Najih is a “mudallis” and narrates with the wording “‘an”. In the chain of al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani (24/429), the chain is “da’if” due to Muslim ibn Khalid al-Zanji, while in the chain of al-Mu’jam al-Saghir of al-Tabarani (2/87), Muhammad ibn Idris al-Halabi is “majhul” and Qatadah is a “mudallis”.
The condition of the hair of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all)
At various times the condition of the blessed hair of the Prophet ﷺ has been made clear. Apart from these, no other way of keeping hair has been regarded as preferable. The hair of the Companions and the leading scholars was in accordance with the Sunnah, as established by the following narrations:
Sayyidina Ka’b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) had hair reaching to the lobes of his ears.
‘Abd Allah ibn Busr al-Mazini (may Allah be pleased with him) had hair reaching to the lobes of his ears.
Likewise, from Sayyidina ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas, Sayyidina ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, Sayyidina Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah, Sayyidina ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with them), there is evidence of keeping hair down to the shoulders.
The practice of the Tabi’un and Tabi’ al-Tabi’in
Among the Tabi’un, there are narrations of keeping hair down to the shoulders from Qasim ibn Muhammad, ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, Ibn al-Hanafiyyah, and Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on them).
The Tabi’ al-Tabi’i Mu’tamir ibn Sulayman (may Allah have mercy on him) also had hair reaching to his shoulders.
The Allamah Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him) (541-620 AH) writes:
“It is recommended to keep hair as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept it. If it is long, down to the shoulders, and if it is short, down to the ears.”
Summary:
The hair of the head is a great blessing bestowed by Allah the Exalted, and in its care and upkeep, following the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is a commendable act. The Prophet ﷺ kept three different styles of hair at various times: جُمَّہ (hair hanging down to the shoulders), لِمَّہ (hair exceeding the lobes of the ears), and وَفْرَہ (hair up to the lobes of the ears), which the pious predecessors adopted. Keeping hair in accordance with the Sunnah neither diminishes faith nor contradicts the principles of Islam.
However, in Islamic teachings, keeping very long hair (down below the shoulders) is regarded as disliked, as established by the instructions of the Prophet ﷺ and the practice of the Companions. This disapproval applies especially to hair that exceeds the bounds of the Shariah, such as the very long hair of Sufis and Malangs. Likewise, arranging hair in an unbalanced manner or in imitation of disbelievers is also unsuitable.
Today’s Muslims should return to the Islamic way of life, where adherence to the symbols of the religion is given importance. Following the Sunnah of the Messenger, keeping hair within Islamic limits and avoiding resemblance to disbelievers reflects the true spirit of the religion. It is the duty of parents and educational institutions to raise children in accordance with Islamic teachings, so that when they grow up they adopt the Islamic way of life and can present the best example of Islamic civilisation to the world.
Thus, by acting upon the Islamic principles of keeping hair, Muslims can become seekers of Allah’s pleasure, and, preserving their natural beauty in the light of the Sunnah, can promote Islamic culture.
