Praise
be to Allah
Firstly:
What the
scholars have stated is prohibited with regard to a woman cutting her hair,
is the following:
1.
If she is going to flaunt it in front of non-mahram men.
2.
If by cutting her hair, her intention is to imitate
disbelieving women or immoral women.
3.
If she cuts her hair in a manner resembling men’s hairstyles.
4.
If her hair is cut by a non-mahram man, as happens in sinful
salons.
5.
If she does that without her husband’s permission.
The reason for
this prohibition in these instances is quite clear, and there is no cause
for confusion. The wisdom behind this prohibition is also quite clear.
Secondly:
If the woman’s
aim is to adorn herself for her husband and endear herself to him, or her
aim is to reduce the trouble of caring for long hair, or other reasonable,
permissible aims, then there is nothing wrong with her doing that, according
to the sound scholarly view, because the basic principle with regard to
matters of custom and tradition is that they are permissible unless there is
evidence that something is prohibited. There is nothing in Islamic teaching
to indicate that it is not allowed to cut a woman’s hair; rather there is a
report which indicates that it is permissible. This is the hadith of Abu
Salamah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan (may Allah have mercy on him) who said: The
wives of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to cut
their hair so that it came down no lower than their earlobes. Narrated by
Muslim (320).
It was also said
that the original Arabic of this report may be understood as referring to
hair that is slightly longer than shoulder length.
Imam an-Nawawi
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This indicates
that it is permissible for women to cut their hair. End quote.
Sharh Muslim
(4/5).
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
For a woman to
cut her hair was regarded as makrooh (disliked) by some scholars, and some
scholars said it is haraam (forbidden), and some scholars said it is
permissible.
So long as there
is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning the matter, then we should
refer to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Up until this moment I do not know of
anything which would indicate that it is forbidden for a woman to cut her
hair. Based on that, the basic principle concerning this matter is that it
is permissible, and that local custom may be followed in this regard. In the
past, women were keen to have long hair and would be proud of it, and they
would not cut it unless there was a shar‘i reason or health-related need to
do so. Now things have changed, so the view that it is forbidden is weak and
there is no proof for it. The view that it is disliked needs further
reflection and examination. The view that it is permissible is closer to the
basic principles of Islam. Muslim narrated in his Saheeh that the
wives of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to cut
their hair so that it came down no lower than their earlobes.
But if a woman
cuts her hair too short, so that it looks like a man’s hair, then this is
undoubtedly haraam, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) cursed women who resemble men.
Similarly, if
she cuts it in a style that resembles the hairstyles of disbelieving women
and immoral women, then whoever imitates a people is one of them.
But if she only
cuts it a little, so that it does not go to the extent of resembling men’s
hairstyles, and does not resemble the hairstyles of immoral women and
disbelieving women, then there is nothing wrong with that. End quote.
Fataawa Noor
‘ala ad-Darb (Fataawa az-Zeenah wa’l-Mar’ah/Qass ash-Sha‘r)
(Tape 336, side B).
See also the
answers to questions no. 1192,
13248 and 13744.
Thirdly:
What is said
about a woman’s hair covering her on the Day of Resurrection is something
for which there is no evidence in the Sunnah and reports, and we have not
found this in the words of the scholars. So we should beware of transmitting
and believing this idea before checking whether it is sound and proven in
the religious texts.
And Allah knows
best.