Black Dye and Allah’s Gaze of Mercy on the Day of Judgment
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
What is the status of the ḥadīth:
“Whoever applies black dye, Allah will not look at him with mercy on the Day of Judgment”?
The Answer
ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī narrated the statement attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
إن الله لا ينظر إلى من يخضب بالسواد، يوم القيامة
“Allah will not look at the one who applies black dye on the Day of Judgment.”
(al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā by Ibn Saʿd: 1/340)
Analysis of the Chain
This narration is severely weak due to several reasons:
① It is mursal — ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī was a tābiʿī and narrates directly from the Prophet ﷺ without mentioning a Companion.
② Layth ibn Abī Sulaym — considered weak by the majority; he was also mukhtaṭil (confused in later life) and mudallis (prone to ambiguous narrations).
③ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī — a mudallis, and in this narration he did not clarify hearing (samāʿ).
Conclusion
- The narration is not authentic; it is mursal and contains weak and unreliable narrators.
- Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence to prohibit black dye.
