❀ Women Cutting Hair, Wearing High Heels, and Makeup in Islam ❀
Source:
This article is derived from the book 500 Questions and Answers for Women, based on the Fatwas of the scholars of the Haramain. The translation was done by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
(a) What is the ruling on a married or unmarried young woman cutting her hair up to the shoulders for beautification?
(b) What is the ruling on wearing low or high-heeled shoes?
(c) What is the ruling on wearing makeup for one’s husband?
If a woman cuts her hair in a manner that resembles men, then this is haram and a major sin, as the Prophet ﷺ cursed men and women who imitate one another.
If the haircut does not resemble men, scholars have expressed three opinions:
① Some consider it permissible with no harm.
② Others declare it haram.
③ A third group considers it makruh (disliked). This is the well-known opinion of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal رحمه الله.
The reality is that adopting the customs of non-Muslims is not befitting for us. In the past, Muslim women took pride in the abundance and length of their hair, but now they are rushing towards imported foreign practices. Not every new trend is objectionable, but those that seek to reshape our society according to external influences must be rejected.
Wearing heels that are excessively high, draw attention, or cause immodesty and public display, is not permissible. Allah ﷻ says:
وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ
[Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33]
"And do not display yourselves as was the display of the former times of ignorance."
Any item that causes a woman to stand out, expose herself, or artificially enhance her beauty in public in a way that distinguishes her from other women, is haram.
Applying makeup such as coloring the lips or cheeks, especially for married women, is not objectionable.
However, artificial beautification that involves:
✔ Plucking or thinning eyebrows is haram, as the Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who plucks and the one who gets it done.
✔ Filing or reshaping the teeth for beautification is also haram, and such a person is accursed.
[Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al-‘Uthaymeen رحمه الله]
Source:
This article is derived from the book 500 Questions and Answers for Women, based on the Fatwas of the scholars of the Haramain. The translation was done by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem.
❖ Question:
(a) What is the ruling on a married or unmarried young woman cutting her hair up to the shoulders for beautification?
(b) What is the ruling on wearing low or high-heeled shoes?
(c) What is the ruling on wearing makeup for one’s husband?
❖ Answer:
(a) Cutting Hair for Beautification:
If a woman cuts her hair in a manner that resembles men, then this is haram and a major sin, as the Prophet ﷺ cursed men and women who imitate one another.
If the haircut does not resemble men, scholars have expressed three opinions:
① Some consider it permissible with no harm.
② Others declare it haram.
③ A third group considers it makruh (disliked). This is the well-known opinion of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal رحمه الله.
The reality is that adopting the customs of non-Muslims is not befitting for us. In the past, Muslim women took pride in the abundance and length of their hair, but now they are rushing towards imported foreign practices. Not every new trend is objectionable, but those that seek to reshape our society according to external influences must be rejected.
(b) Wearing High-Heeled Shoes:
Wearing heels that are excessively high, draw attention, or cause immodesty and public display, is not permissible. Allah ﷻ says:
وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ
[Surah Al-Ahzab 33:33]
"And do not display yourselves as was the display of the former times of ignorance."
Any item that causes a woman to stand out, expose herself, or artificially enhance her beauty in public in a way that distinguishes her from other women, is haram.
(c) Wearing Makeup for the Husband:
Applying makeup such as coloring the lips or cheeks, especially for married women, is not objectionable.
However, artificial beautification that involves:
✔ Plucking or thinning eyebrows is haram, as the Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who plucks and the one who gets it done.
✔ Filing or reshaping the teeth for beautification is also haram, and such a person is accursed.
[Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al-‘Uthaymeen رحمه الله]
