❖ Why Should the One Intending to Offer Qurbani Refrain from Cutting Hair and Nails?
An Islamic Guideline
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 665
❖ Question:
Should a person intending to offer Qurbani refrain from cutting hair or trimming nails?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
❖ Prophetic Hadith
عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:
“إِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ هِلَالَ ذِي الْحِجَّةِ، وَأَرَادَ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يُضَحِّيَ، فَلْيُمْسِكْ عَنْ شَعْرِهِ وَأَظْفَارِهِ.”
Translation:
Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When you see the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah and any one of you intends to offer a sacrifice, let him refrain from cutting his hair and nails.”
❖ References:
➊ Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī — who declared it a Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) ḥadīth
➋ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 2, p. 160, Book of Udhiyyah (Kitāb al-Aḍāḥī)
➌ Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ, Vol. 2, p. 311, Chapter: ʿAqīqah
❖ Clarification
This narration makes it clear that:
◈ Once the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah is sighted, and a person intends to perform Qurbani,
◈ They should abstain from cutting hair or trimming nails
— until the animal is sacrificed.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
