Cutting and Shortening Girls' Hair

Question:
The sister questioner who used the initials S-M-S for her name has a set of questions. She says: I have daughters who are thirteen and fourteen years old, and some women find it difficult to take care of their long hair, and among them are my daughters. So we cut their hair down to the ears or like males. Is it permissible to cut their hair like this?

Answer:
The kind of cutting that is like that of males is forbidden, because this is imitating men. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “May Allah curse and may Allah curse the men who imitate women.” As for the kind of cutting that is less than that and does not involve imitating men, if it is for a need—such as if the hair is long and heavy, and she is poor and has nothing to fix it with, and it is difficult for her—then there is no harm in cutting it. Or if it is for a need, not for adornment, because the adornment lies in keeping it. Likewise, if she is an old woman who does not hope to get married and has no desire for marriage, and she has thick hair that is difficult for her, there is no objection to her lightening it. Yes.