Source: Urdu Commentary on ‘Umdat al-Aḥkām min Kalām Khayr al-Anām
Translation: Ḥāfiẓ Faizullah Nāṣir
Book of Ḥajj – Kitāb al-Ḥajj
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا:
{ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ الْمُحَلِّقِينَ . قَالُوا: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ الْمُحَلِّقِينَ . قَالُوا: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ }
Translation:
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"O Allah! Have mercy on those who shave their heads."
The companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah! And (what about) those who trim their hair?"
He ﷺ repeated: "O Allah! Have mercy on those who shave their heads."
They again asked: "And those who trim their hair, O Messenger of Allah?"
He finally said: "And (have mercy on) those who trim their hair."
Two main reasons are mentioned by the scholars:
① Qur’anic Precedence: Allah ﷻ gives precedence to those who shave their heads in the verse:
﴿مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ﴾ [الفتح: 27]
“…with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened…”
② Cultural Practice of Excellence: Among the Arabs, when initiating a noble act, they would begin with its most virtuous form, and shaving is seen as more complete and conclusive than trimming.
[Irshād al-Sārī li al-Qasṭallānī: 3/234]
"When you shave your head, your sins fall away just as hair falls. For every hair, a sin is removed."
[Muthīr al-ʿAzm al-Sākin by Ibn al-Jawzī, p. 127]
This signifies both physical and spiritual purification associated with the act of shaving during ḥajj.
References:
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ḥajj, Ḥadīth: 1626
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ḥajj, Ḥadīth: 1301
Translation: Ḥāfiẓ Faizullah Nāṣir
Book of Ḥajj – Kitāb al-Ḥajj
✿ Ḥadīth 246: Virtue of Those Who Shave Their Heads
Arabic Text:عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا:
{ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ الْمُحَلِّقِينَ . قَالُوا: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْ الْمُحَلِّقِينَ . قَالُوا: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ . قَالَ: وَالْمُقَصِّرِينَ }
Translation:
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"O Allah! Have mercy on those who shave their heads."
The companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah! And (what about) those who trim their hair?"
He ﷺ repeated: "O Allah! Have mercy on those who shave their heads."
They again asked: "And those who trim their hair, O Messenger of Allah?"
He finally said: "And (have mercy on) those who trim their hair."
✦ Explanation of Terms:
- Muḥalliqīn: Those who shave their heads. (Plural masculine active participle, form II – Tafʿīl)
- Muqaṣṣirīn: Those who trim their hair. (Also plural masculine active participle, form II – Tafʿīl)
✿ Explanation and Reason for Superiority:
The Noble Prophet ﷺ made duʿāʾ for those who shaved their heads three times, whereas he made it for those who trimmed only once. This clearly establishes the superiority of ḥalq (shaving) over qaṣr (trimming).Two main reasons are mentioned by the scholars:
① Qur’anic Precedence: Allah ﷻ gives precedence to those who shave their heads in the verse:
﴿مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ﴾ [الفتح: 27]
“…with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened…”
② Cultural Practice of Excellence: Among the Arabs, when initiating a noble act, they would begin with its most virtuous form, and shaving is seen as more complete and conclusive than trimming.
[Irshād al-Sārī li al-Qasṭallānī: 3/234]
✿ Additional Merit of Shaving:
The Prophet ﷺ also said regarding its spiritual benefit:"When you shave your head, your sins fall away just as hair falls. For every hair, a sin is removed."
[Muthīr al-ʿAzm al-Sākin by Ibn al-Jawzī, p. 127]
This signifies both physical and spiritual purification associated with the act of shaving during ḥajj.
References:
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ḥajj, Ḥadīth: 1626
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Ḥajj, Ḥadīth: 1301
