Combing the Hair (Kitab Al-Tarajjul)

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Hisham ibn Hassan, from al-Hasan, from Abd Allah ibn Mughaffal, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade combing the hair except every other day.

Al-Hasan ibn Ali narrated to us: Yazid al-Mazini narrated to us: al-Jurayri informed us, from Abd Allah ibn Buraydah: A man from among the Prophet ﷺ Companions traveled to Fudalah ibn Ubayd while he was in Egypt. When he arrived, he said, “I have not come to visit you. You and I heard a report from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I hope you know something about it.” Fudalah asked, “What is it?” He replied, “Such-and-such.” Then he said, “Why do I see you unkempt when you are the governor of this land?” Fudalah said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to forbid us from excessive indulgence in grooming and luxury.” The man asked, “Why do I see you without shoes?” He replied, “The Prophet ﷺ used to tell us to go barefoot sometimes.”

Al-Nufayli narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Abd Allah ibn Abi Umamah, from Abd Allah ibn Kab ibn Malik, from Abu Umamah, who said: One day, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned worldly life in his presence. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Listen, do you hear? Simplicity in appearance is part of faith. Simplicity in appearance is part of faith”—meaning modest, unadorned living. Abu Dawud said: He is Abu Umamah ibn Tha labah al-Ansari.

Nasr ibn Ali narrated to us: Abu Ahmad narrated to us, from Shayban ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abd Allah ibn al-Mukhtar, from Musa ibn Anas, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Prophet ﷺ had a sikkah from which he applied perfume.

Sulayman ibn Dawud al-Mahri narrated to us: Ibn Wahb informed us: Ibn Abi al-Zinad narrated to me, from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever has hair should take good care of it.”

Ubayd Allah ibn Umar narrated to us: Yahya ibn Said narrated to us, from Ali ibn al-Mubarak, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who said: Karima bint Hammam told me that a woman came to Aisha, may God be pleased with her, and asked her about dyeing with henna. She said, “There is no harm in it, but I dislike it; my beloved, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, disliked its smell.” Abu Dawud said: She meant dyeing the hair of the head.

Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Ghibtah bint Amr al-Mujashiyah told me: My aunt Umm al-Hasan told me, from her grandmother, from Aisha, may God be pleased with her: Hind bint Utbah said, “Prophet of God, accept my pledge of allegiance.” He said, “I will not accept your pledge until you change the color of your palms, so they no longer look like the paws of a predatory beast.”

Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Suri narrated to us: Khalid ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Muti ibn Maymun narrated to us, from Safiyyah bint Ismah, from Aisha, may God be pleased with her, who said: A woman gestured from behind a curtain with a letter for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ drew back his hand and said, “I cannot tell whether this is a man hand or a woman hand.” She said, “It is a woman.” He said, “If you were a woman, you would have changed your nails”—meaning with henna.

Abd Allah ibn Maslamah narrated to us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from Humayd ibn Abd al-Rahman, who heard Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan during the pilgrimage, while he was on the pulpit. He took a lock of hair from the hand of a guard and said, “People of Medina, where are your scholars? I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbid anything like this, and say: The Children of Israel perished when their women adopted this practice.”

Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Musaddad narrated to us; they said: Yahya narrated to us, from Ubayd Allah, who said: Nafi narrated to me, from Abd Allah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the woman who adds hair extensions and the woman who has them added, and the woman who tattoos and the woman who has herself tattooed.

Muhammad ibn Isa and Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us—meaning, their wordings differ; they said: Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from Alqamah, from Abd Allah, who said: God cursed women who tattoo and women who have themselves tattooed. Muhammad said: and women who add hair extensions. Uthman said: and women who pluck facial hair. They agreed on women who file gaps between their teeth for beauty, altering God creation, Mighty and Majestic. This reached a woman of Banu Asad called Umm Yaqub; Uthman added that she recited the Quran. They agreed that she came to Abd Allah and said, “I have heard that you cursed women who tattoo and women who have themselves tattooed”—Muhammad added, “and women who add hair extensions,” while Uthman added, “and women who pluck facial hair”—and they agreed on women who file gaps between their teeth. Uthman added, “for beauty, altering the creation of God, Exalted.” He said, “Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed and who are mentioned in the Book of God?” She said, “I have read everything between the covers of the Quran, and I did not find that.” He said, “By God, if you had read it, you would have found it.” Then he recited: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it.” She said, “I see some of this in your wife.” He said, “Go in and look.” She went in, then came out. He asked what she had seen. Uthman version says she replied, “I saw nothing.” He said, “Had that been so, she would not be with us.”

Ibn al-Sarh narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, from Usamah, from Aban ibn Salih, from Mujahid ibn Jabr, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The woman who adds hair extensions, the woman who has them added, the woman who plucks facial hair, the woman who has it plucked, the woman who tattoos, and the woman who has herself tattooed are cursed, when this is not due to an illness. Abu Dawud said: The wasilah is a woman who joins women hair to other hair; the mustawsilah is the woman on whom this is done. The namisah is a woman who plucks the eyebrow to make it thin; the mutanammisah is the woman on whom this is done. The washimah is a woman who makes marks on her face with kohl or ink; the mustawshimah is the woman on whom this is done.

Muhammad ibn Jafar ibn Ziyad narrated to us, saying: Sharik narrated to us, from Salim, from Said ibn Jubayr, who said: There is no harm in qaramil. Abu Dawud said: It seems that he considered the prohibited thing to be women hair added to other hair. Abu Dawud said: Ahmad used to say that there is no harm in qaramil.

Al-Hasan ibn Ali and Harun ibn Abd Allah narrated to us—meaning, they had the same wording—that Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Muqri related to them, from Said ibn Abi Ayyub, from Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Jafar, from al-Araj, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If someone offers you perfume, do not refuse it, for it has a pleasant fragrance and is light to carry.”

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: Thabit ibn Umara informed us: Ghunaym ibn Qays narrated to me, from Abu Musa, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “When a woman perfumes herself and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, she is such-and-such”—he used a stern expression.

Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Asim ibn Ubayd Allah, from Ubayd Allah, freedman of Abu Ruhm, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A woman met him, and he sensed a strong waft of perfume from her; a swirl of dust trailed her garment. He asked, “Servant of the Almighty, have you come from the mosque?” She said, “Yes.” He asked, “Did you perfume yourself for it?” She said, “Yes.” He said, “I heard my beloved Abu al-Qasim ﷺ say: A woman who perfumes herself for this mosque will have her prayer unaccepted until she returns and bathes as she bathes from major ritual impurity.” Abu Dawud said: The word i sar means dust.

Al-Nufayli and Said ibn Mansur narrated to us; they said: Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, Abu Alqamah, narrated to us: Yazid ibn Khusayfah narrated to me, from Busr ibn Said, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Any woman who has used incense must not attend the evening prayer with us.” Ibn al-Nufayl said: He meant the later evening prayer, Isha.

Musa ibn Ismail narrated to us: Hammad narrated to us: Ata al-Khurasani informed us, from Yahya ibn Yamar, from Ammar ibn Yasir, who said: I arrived home at night with my hands cracked, and my family applied saffron to them. In the morning I went to the Prophet ﷺ and greeted him, but he did not return my greeting or welcome me. He said, “Go and wash this off.” I went and washed it, then returned with some stain still remaining. I greeted him, but he did not return my greeting or welcome me. He said, “Go and wash this off.” I went and washed it, then returned and greeted him. He returned my greeting and welcomed me, saying, “Angels do not attend with any good a funeral of an unbeliever, a person stained with saffron, or a person in a state of major ritual impurity.” He added that permission was given to a person in major ritual impurity to perform ablution when sleeping, eating, or drinking.

N asr ibn Ali narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Bakr narrated to us: Ibn Jurayj informed us: Umar ibn Ata ibn Abi al-Khuwar informed me that he heard Yahya ibn Yamar relate from a man, who informed him from Ammar ibn Yasir. Umar claimed that Yahya had named the man, but Umar forgot his name. Ammar said, “I applied khaluq, the saffron-based perfume, in this incident.” The earlier version is much fuller and mentions bathing. Ibn Jurayj said: I asked Umar, “Were they in a state of pilgrimage consecration?” He replied, “No, they were residents.”