Applying Henna to Hair

Author: Sheikh Muhammad Malik Bhindar

عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : إِنَّ اليهود والنصارى لا يصبغون، فخالفوهم.

Translation:

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, the Jews and Christians do not dye their hair, so be different from them." (Bukhari: 5899, Muslim: 2103)

The ruling on dyeing hair is considered recommended (mustahabb) because of the narration by Abu Juhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

"I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the hair between his lower lip and chin had turned white." (Bukhari: 3545, Muslim: 3242)

Similarly, in another Hadith, it is narrated by Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

"The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not use dye, and further stated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not turned white, except for seventeen or twenty hairs in the front part of his beard." (Ibn Majah: 3629)

Likewise, Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

"The number of white hairs on the head of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was about twenty." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi in Ash-Shama'il)

These Ahadith indicate that dyeing hair is not obligatory but rather recommended (mustahabb). However, it is prohibited to dye hair black, as narrated by Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

"On the day of the conquest of Makkah, Abu Quhafah (may Allah be pleased with him) was brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with his head as white as ‘thaghamah’ (white grass). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Take him to one of his womenfolk to change the color of his hair but avoid black.'" (Muslim)

If a mixture of colors is applied, black should not dominate but should be subdued. Today, the trend of dyeing hair black is widespread among both religious and irreligious people. Some say they have applied "dark brown," while others claim to have mixed it, but these are all interpretations. The fundamental truth is that avoiding black dye is obligatory.

May Allah grant us all the understanding of the Quran and Sunnah and enable us to act upon it. Ameen.

Allahumma Ameen.
 
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