Stepcuts (القزع) - Qaza'

A brother asks: What is the ruling on shaving parts of the head and leaving other parts unshaven? Sheikh Rashad Adh-Dali'ee, may Allāh preserve him, responds: "Shaving parts of the head is forbidden. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw a boy who had that done, so he said, "Either shave it all or leave it all." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited partial shaving (قزع). There are different types of partial shaving; among them is shaving the sides while leaving the top untouched, or shaving the back while leaving the front unshaven, or shaving the top while leaving the sides untouched, or shaving the front while leaving the back unshaven. All of these are considered partial shaving, and Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allāh have mercy on him, mentioned them in his book "Tuhfat Al-Mawdud fi Ahkam Al-Mawlud." He mentioned that from the types of partial shaving is what the immoral or lowly people do, such as shaving the sides and leaving the top intact. He said that the immoral or lowly people do this among us or in our time. Therefore, partial shaving is forbidden. Many Muslims today imitate disbelievers in this regard, such as some athletes, to the extent that some of them shave all their hair except for a part at the front of their heads, imitating some disbelievers."