Sharʿī Ruling on Cutting the Hair of Minor Girls with Evidence
Source: Qur’an and Hadith Based Rulings and Issues, Vol. 01, p. 526
Question
What is the evidence regarding cutting the hair of minor girls?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
A ḥadīth is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ سوال اَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اﷲِ صلی الله علیہ وسلم نَہٰی عَنِ الْقَزَعِ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِنَافِعٍ وَمَا الْقَزَعُ قَالَ یُحْلَقُ بَعْضُ رَأْسِ الصَّبِیِّ وَیُتْرَکَ بَعْضٌ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade al-qazaʿ. Ibn ʿUmar (RA) said: I asked Nāfiʿ, ‘What is al-qazaʿ?’ He replied: Shaving part of a child’s head while leaving part of it.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Libās wa ʾz-Zīnah, Bāb Karāhat al-Qazaʿ)
Derivation of Ruling
✔ From this Hadith it is established that shaving the head of minor children is permissible—whether they are boys or girls.
✔ This is based on the principle:
"العبرۃ بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب"
Consideration is by the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the cause.
Therefore, when shaving the head of minor children is permissible, then cutting their hair is permissible a fortiori.
Additional Evidences
✿ The Qur’anic verses and Aḥādīth regarding ḥalq (complete shaving) and taqṣīr (cutting some hair) at the time of releasing from ihrām also indicate the permissibility of taqṣīr and ḥalq.
Important Notes
① For adult women, shaving the head is prohibited under all circumstances.
② At the time of releasing from ihrām, a woman may perform taqṣīr (cutting some hair), but it is not permissible to cut from the front or back of the head in a manner resembling al-wāṣilah or al-mustawṣilah (the one who joins hair or seeks to have hair joined), as the Aḥādīth have cursed such practices.
③ In matters of haircutting, Muslim men and women must avoid imitating non-Muslim styles of cutting and shortening hair.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
