I am doing a project on Muslim women and would like to know what is the ruling concerning a Muslim’s hair. Is she allowed to cut it as much as up to her shoulder or not/ what about facial hair? Is it harem to get rid of it or not. Please answer and pray my imam is strong.
Praise be to Allaah.
We ask Allaah Almighty to increase you in faith and to make you content with the truth.
Your question includes two issues:
1 – the ruling on cutting women’s hair. Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
We do not know anything (to disallow) cutting women’s hair. What is forbidden is shaving it. You should not shave your hair but you may cut it and reduce its length or volume; we know of nothing wrong with that. But that should be done in a proper manner which will please you and your husband. You should come to some agreement with him on a kind of haircut that does not resemble kaafir women, because if you leave it long, it will be a lot of trouble to wash it and comb it. So if the hair is very long or thick, and the woman cuts it to reduce its length or volume, that doesn’t matter. Cutting some of it will make it more beautiful, which will please both the woman and her husband. So we do not know of any reason to disallow that. But shaving it altogether is not permissible, except in the case of sickness. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
See Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, part 2, p. 515
It was narrated in Saheeh Muslim that Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said: “The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” (al-Hayd, 320)
Women cutting their hair
What is the ruling about the haircut favoured by some women, whereby they cut the hair across their foreheads (“bangs” or “fringe”) and allow some locks or strands of hair to hang forward?
Praise be to Allaah.
If the purpose of this haircut is to resemble kaafir and atheist women, then it is haraam, because imitation of non-Muslims is haraam, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” If the aim is not to imitate the non-Muslims, and it is only a modern trend among women that is considered attractive, then a woman can adorn herself in this way for her husband and appear like this in front of her close friends so that she may look and feel good among them. We do not see anything wrong with this.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/181
Ruling on cutting women’s hair
Ruling on cutting women’s hair
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