The Ruling on Applying Henna to the Beard
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Applying henna or similar substances to dye the beard is permissible, provided one avoids using black color.
① Hadith of Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
غيروا الشيب ولا تشبهوا باليهود
“Change the whiteness of old age and do not resemble the Jews (for they keep their hair white).”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 836, Tirmidhi: 1752, Kitāb al-Libās: Bāb mā jāʾa fī al-khiḍāb]
② Hadith of Abu Dharr (رضي الله عنه)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن أحسن ما غير به الشيب الحناء والكتم
“Indeed, the best thing with which one can change the whiteness of old age is henna and katam (a plant used for dyeing).”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Tirmidhi, Tirmidhi: 1753, Kitāb al-Libās: Bāb mā jāʾa fī al-khiḍāb]
