Ruling on Women Cutting Hair and the Report of ʿĀʾishah (RA)
Source: Qur’an and Hadith Based Rulings and Issues, Vol. 01, p. 526
Question
Can women cut their hair? In a Hadith of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is mentioned that Ḥaḍrat ʿĀʾishah (RA) had hair that reached her shoulders.
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
✿ The Aḥādīth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in which al-wāṣilah (the one who joins hair) and al-mustawṣilah (the one who seeks to have hair joined) are cursed indicate that in that era, women ordinarily did not cut their hair.
✿ Women would only cut their hair at the time of Ḥajj or ʿUmrah, when releasing themselves from the state of ihrām.
✿ The narration you mentioned regarding Ḥaḍrat ʿĀʾishah (RA) is not marfūʿ (i.e., not directly attributed to the Prophet ﷺ), because it contains no mention—explicit or implicit—relating to the period before the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
