باسم الله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ﷺ

أما بعد: For anyone to be able to braid their hair, they have to grow their hair long enough, obviously! So let's begin this discussion with the following question: What is the ruling on growing hair in the case of men? Answer: Generally speaking, it is allowed (Mubaah) for men to grow their hair. The evidence for this is the hadeeth of ibn 'Umar, that the Prophet ﷺ saw an infant with his head partly shaven, so he ﷺ forbade that and said: ((اِحْلِقُوهُ كُلَّهُ، أَوِ اتْرُكُوهُ كُلَّه)) “Shave it all, or leave it all (to grow).” [Reported by An-Nasa'i; graded 'Saheeh' by Sheikh Albani in "Saheeh An-nasa'i"] This hadeeth clearly shows the permissibility of trimming the hair all at equal length as well as leaving the hair to grow equally. However, if someone plans to grow his hair, he may do so as long as he cleans, combs and looks after it regularly - without going to extreme. The evidence for this is the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: ((مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ شَعْرٌ فَلْيُكْرِمْهُ)) “Whoever has hair, let them honour it.” [Reported by Abu Dawud on the authority of Abu Hurairah; graded 'Saheeh' by Sheikh Albani in "Saheeh Abi Dawud"] What does it mean to honour it? Answer: Al-'Adheem Al-Abaadi (D. 1329H) said: ((فَلْيُزَيِّنْهُ وَلْيُنَظِّفْهُ بِالْغَسْلِ وَالتَّدْهِين وَالتَّرْجِيل وَلَا يَتْرُكهُ مُتَفَرِّقًا)) “He has to beautify it, and clean it by washing, oiling and combining, and he should not leave it messy/unkempt.” ['Awn Al-Ma'bood] You could even get someone to assist you with that. A'isha radhiyallahu anha said: ((كُنْتُ أُرَجِّلُ رَأْسَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَنَا حَائِضٌ)) “I used to comb the head of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while I was menstruating.” [Bukhari] Can we take from the above-quoted hadeeth that the Prophet ﷺ had long hair? Answer: Yes, the Prophet ﷺ used to grow his hair long. Qataadah said: I asked Anas ibn Malik radhiyallahu anhu: 'How was the hair of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)? Thereupon he said: ((كَانَ شَعَرًا رَجِلاً لَيْسَ بِالْجَعْدِ وَلاَ السَّبِطِ بَيْنَ أُذُنَيْهِ وَعَاتِقِهِ)) “His hair was neither very curly nor very straight, and (it hung down) between his ears and his shoulders.” [Bukhari & Muslim] Does this mean it's Sunnah for a man to grow his hair? Answer: Yes it's Sunnah, However, Sunnah is two types: 1. Sunnah Ibaadah (which is an act of worship) 2. Sunnah 'Aadah عادة (which is not an act of worship - but a practice within people's customs) As mentioned by Sheikh Albani in the following link: https://youtu.be/NKSmFSzzcgY [Note: In this clip, Sheikh Albani clearly states that braids falls into the category of customs - not worship] Moreover, Sheikh 'Uthaymeen rahimahullah explained that: “There's nothing wrong with growing the hair on the head, as the Prophet ﷺ had long hair which sometimes came close to his shoulders. So according to the Asl (origin), there's nothing wrong with it. But with that said, this returns back to the habit and customs of the people; if it is established that this affair is only used by a certain group and is looked down upon within the customs of the people, then it's not appropriate for the noble to grow their hair; because according to the customs of the people, this is only done by the lowly ones. Therefore, the issue of growing the hair on the head in the case of men is from the mubaah (allowable) affairs which are governed by the habits and customs of the people; if it is a common practice within the customs of the people, such that everyone shares in that; the honorable as well as the lowly, then there is nothing wrong with it, but if it is only practiced by the lowly ones, then the people of honor and status should not practice it, and the Prophet's habit ﷺ of growing the hair - and he is the most honorable of people and the greatest of them in prestige - cannot be used as an argument; because we don't see this issue (of growing the hair) to be an act of Sunnah & worship, rather it is merely a matter of following the habit and customs.” [Fatwas from Noor ‘ala Ad-Darb]