Is it forbidden to cut hair from the front and the back, and is there any evidence supporting that?
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The questioner : This is a letter we received from the listener, M.A.J., from Riyadh, in which she asks: Is it forbidden to cut hair from the front and the back, and is there any evidence supporting that?
The Shaykh : We say that it is prescribed for a woman to keep her head as it is and not to depart from the custom of the people of her land. The Hanbali jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that it is disliked for a woman to cut her head except in Hajj or 'Umrah, and some Hanbali jurists forbade it, forbidding a woman to cut the hair of her head.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, there is nothing in the issue indicating dislike or prohibition; rather, the original ruling is permissibility. It is permissible for a woman to take from the hair of her head from the front or the back in a way that does not lead to imitating the head of a man, because the original ruling is permissibility.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Nevertheless, I dislike for a woman to do this, because a woman’s looking and seeking out what she finds of customs adopted from other lands opens for her the door to looking at imported customs, and she may fall into forbidden customs without realizing it. All customs that come to our lands in appearance, clothing, and housing, if they are not among the praiseworthy matters that the Shari'ah indicates should be sought, it is better to stay away from them and avoid them, considering that souls tend to seek more imitation of others, especially if a person feels a deficiency in himself and the perfection of others.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, he imitates others and may fall into the sinful imitation that his Shari'ah does not permit. Let us leave aside customs; in reality, we have things we hold onto that some of us call customs and traditions. We deny them this naming and say: You have gone astray, and you are not among the guided. For among our customs are matters that are prescribed, over which customs and traditions have no authority.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, hijab. It is not correct to call a woman’s covering a custom or a tradition. If we call that a custom or a tradition, it is an injustice to the Shari'ah, because we have turned the Shari'ah into customs and traditions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, it is among the matters of the Shari'ah over which customs, habits, and traditions have no authority.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is what the Muslim, whoever he is and wherever he is, is obligated to adhere to: obligatory in what is obligatory, and recommended in what is recommended.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : We say that it is prescribed for a woman to keep her head as it is and not to depart from the custom of the people of her land. The Hanbali jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that it is disliked for a woman to cut her head except in Hajj or 'Umrah, and some Hanbali jurists forbade it, forbidding a woman to cut the hair of her head.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, there is nothing in the issue indicating dislike or prohibition; rather, the original ruling is permissibility. It is permissible for a woman to take from the hair of her head from the front or the back in a way that does not lead to imitating the head of a man, because the original ruling is permissibility.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Nevertheless, I dislike for a woman to do this, because a woman’s looking and seeking out what she finds of customs adopted from other lands opens for her the door to looking at imported customs, and she may fall into forbidden customs without realizing it. All customs that come to our lands in appearance, clothing, and housing, if they are not among the praiseworthy matters that the Shari'ah indicates should be sought, it is better to stay away from them and avoid them, considering that souls tend to seek more imitation of others, especially if a person feels a deficiency in himself and the perfection of others.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, he imitates others and may fall into the sinful imitation that his Shari'ah does not permit. Let us leave aside customs; in reality, we have things we hold onto that some of us call customs and traditions. We deny them this naming and say: You have gone astray, and you are not among the guided. For among our customs are matters that are prescribed, over which customs and traditions have no authority.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For example, hijab. It is not correct to call a woman’s covering a custom or a tradition. If we call that a custom or a tradition, it is an injustice to the Shari'ah, because we have turned the Shari'ah into customs and traditions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Rather, it is among the matters of the Shari'ah over which customs, habits, and traditions have no authority.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it is what the Muslim, whoever he is and wherever he is, is obligated to adhere to: obligatory in what is obligatory, and recommended in what is recommended.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.