𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 (446)

Ruling on a Woman Shortening or Trimming Her Hair Question: Is it permissible for a woman to shorten her hair? Sheikh Rashād Adh-Dhali'ee ḥafidhahullāh: Firstly, regarding textual evidence, a narration from Ibn ‘Abbās in the Sunan reports that the Prophet ﷺ prohibited a woman from shaving or shortening her hair, although this hadith is weak. It is, however, established in Sahih Muslim that the wives of the Prophet ﷺ would cut their hair so that it came down no lower than their earlobes. This occurred after the Prophet’s ﷺ death. Some scholars stated that this practice was specific to them because marriage was prohibited for them after the Prophet ﷺ, and hair is a means of adornment. Since they did not need adornment and maintaining long hair involved time and effort—especially in early times without modern cleansers and oils—they would trim it. According to these scholars, this ruling was specific to them. Other scholars, however, consider this ruling general and use it as evidence that it is permissible for a woman to shorten her hair, which is the foundational view. In terms of ruling, it is generally allowed for a woman to shorten her hair, except if she does so in imitation of disbelieving or immoral women. In that case, it is prohibited due to the evidence forbidding imitation of such women. There is no evidence that completely forbids a woman from trimming her hair, unless her hairstyle imitates that of disbelieving or immoral women. Hair is considered part of a woman’s adornment and beauty, and historically, women competed in the length of their hair even up to recent times. The issue arises only with some women who have imitated Western hairstyles, adopting cuts resembling those of Western women. Apart from that, hair remains a source of beauty and adornment, and maintaining it is the default ruling. The original ruling is to leave the hair intact. Evidence for this includes the rules regarding ihram: for men, shaving or shortening is prescribed, while for women, only a small amount (about a fingertip) is taken from the ends. This indicates that the default ruling is to maintain a woman’s hair because it is part of her adornment. However, if the hair becomes excessively long and causes hardship, or if trimming it is necessary for some reason, there is no evidence preventing a woman from doing so. And Allāh knows best. --------- Related benefit ⤵️ https://t.me/womensbenefits/429