Question Summary:
Is it permissible for a woman to cut her hair shorter if it falls below her hips. Question Detail:
I would like to ask whether it is permissable for women to cut their hair shorter if it falls below her hips? In other words what is the actual length that the hair of a woman must be kept?
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In principle, it is prohibited for a woman to cut or trim her hair.[1] The scholars have only granted leniency in this matter in cases of genuine medical need where the woman either suffers from an illness or has a condition which cannot be treated without cutting her hair.[2] However, some senior `Ulamā' have permitted a woman to cut her hair up to the length of the hipbone in situations where keeping very lengthy hair becomes unsightly in front of others.[3]
As such, there is no length that “must be kept”; rather, women should continue to lengthen their hair without cutting any portion of it except where Sharī`ah has specifically commanded them to do so such as the case of `Umrah and Hajj or when there is a genuine need.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Bilal Mohammad
Student Darul Iftaa
New Jersey, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
[1] Imdādul Ahkām, v. 4 p. 227, Maktabah Dārul `Ulūm Karāchī
[قال الحصكفي] وَفِيهِ: قَطَعَتْ شَعْرَ رَأْسِهَا أَثِمَتْ وَلُعِنَتْ زَادَ فِي الْبَزَّازِيَّةِ وَإِنْ بِإِذْنِ الزَّوْجِ لِأَنَّهُ لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ الْخَالِقِ، وَلِذَا يَحْرُمُ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ قَطْعُ لِحْيَتِهِ، وَالْمَعْنَى الْمُؤَثِّرُ التَّشَبُّهُ بِالرِّجَالِ اهـ.
[قال ابن عابدين] (قَوْلُهُ وَالْمَعْنَى الْمُؤَثِّرُ) أَيْ الْعِلَّةُ الْمُؤَثِّرَةُ فِي إثْمِهَا التَّشَبُّهُ بِالرِّجَالِ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَجُوزُ كَالتَّشَبُّهِ بِالنِّسَاءِ حَتَّى قَالَ فِي الْمُجْتَبَى رَامِزًا: يُكْرَهُ غَزْلُ الرَّجُلِ عَلَى هَيْئَةِ غَزْلِ النِّسَاءِ
(رد المحتار علي الدر المختار، ج ٦، ص ٤٠٧، ايج ايم سعيد كمبني)
[2] Ibid., p. 104;
Fatāwā Haqqāniyyah, v. 2 p. 462, Jāmi`ah Dārul `Uloom Haqqāniyyah;
Jāmi`ul Fatāwā, v. 3 p. 181, Ta'leefāt-e-Ashrafiyyah;
وَإِذَا حَلَقَتْ الْمَرْأَةُ شَعْرَ رَأْسِهَا فَإِنْ كَانَ لِوَجَعٍ أَصَابَهَا فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ وَإِنْ حَلَقَتْ تُشْبِهُ الرِّجَالَ فَهُوَ مَكْرُو
(البحر الرائق، ج ٨، ص ٢٠٥، ايج ايم سعيد كمبني)
وَلَوْ حَلَقَتْ الْمَرْأَةُ رَأْسَهَا فَإِنْ فَعَلَتْ لِوَجَعٍ أَصَابَهَا لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ وَإِنْ فَعَلَتْ ذلك تَشَبُّهًا بِالرَّجُلِ فَهُوَ مَكْرُوهٌ كَذَا في الْكُبْرَى مَجْنُونَةٌ أَصَابَهَا الْأَذَى في رَأْسِهَا وَلَا وَلِيَّ لها فَمَنْ حَلَقَ شَعْرَهَا فَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ بَعْدَ أَنْ يَتْرُكَ عَلَامَةً فَاصِلَةً لِلنِّسَاءِ كَذَا في الْمُلْتَقَطِ
(الفتاوي الهندية، ج ٥، ص ٣٥٨، مكتبة رشيدية)
المرأة إذا حلقت رأسها إن كان لوجع أصابها لا بأس به، وإن كان لتشبه بالرجال يكره
(خلاصه الفتاوي، ج ٤، ص ٣٧٧، مكتبة رشيدية)
[3] Fatāwā Rahīmiyyah, v. 10 p. 119-120, Dārul Ishā`at
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