What is the evidence that cutting the nails is among the prohibitions of ihram? And does sexual intercourse invalidate the Hajj?

The questioner : I just remembered, my Shaykh, may Allah bless you, that two or three hours ago one of the brothers came to me and asked a question, which is—la ilaha illa Allah—cutting the nails in Hajj is among the prohibitions of Hajj.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : So, is there evidence for this? The truth is, I recall that I did not tell him that it is known that cutting the nails in Hajj is a matter of luxury, and this is, of course, among the prohibitions, or rather, it does not fulfill the wisdom, or some of the wisdom, of Hajj. Then, there is perhaps another evidence, or rather a general textual evidence in this specific issue, which is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and this is, of course, intended so that one appears as if he is in the state of sacrifice, as came in the hadith, that the ruling intends that one should resemble or imitate those pilgrims who perform their Hajj and its rites in the rituals of Hajj. So I mentioned this, and I would like here—also—to ask whether this serves as evidence or not.

The Shaykh : By Allah, I was also asked this question, and my answer was very brief: that the answer does not come to mind, yes, and that the matter is delicate and requires review. As for what you mentioned regarding cutting the nails being a matter of luxury, and the pilgrim not being in that state, this does not, in my opinion, stand as evidence for the prohibition of cutting the nails for the pilgrim. That is because we have in the authentic Sunnah what permits the one in ihram to take a bath, as it is said today, and there is no doubt that in this bathing there is something of luxury, especially if the weather is hot and the water is cold, so he undoubtedly finds some comfort. Therefore, comfort does not contradict Hajj; rather, we worship by what Allah has commanded us, or we draw near to Him by abstaining from what Allah has forbidden. And as you know, expanding the scope of restriction and prohibition on people through analogical reasoning is a matter that contains some roughness and difficulty. Therefore, I was also asked on this occasion: Does a pilgrim’s sexual intercourse with his wife invalidate his Hajj, or is it merely forbidden for him? And there is a great difference between it being forbidden for him while the Hajj remains valid, and his Hajj being invalidated merely by committing a forbidden act like this one. I answered that the truth is there is disagreement among the jurists on this issue. The well-known position among them is that intercourse invalidates the Hajj, but there is a view that there is no evidence for the invalidation of the Hajj, while acknowledging that it is among the prohibitions of Hajj. I also answered him that I do not have a specific study of this issue, and I hope that I will be given the opportunity to devote myself to studying it as it should be, so that we are assured of the majority’s statement that the Hajj is invalidated, or that it is not invalidated, and we stop only at the prohibition. Likewise, this exact issue requires a specific study: whether cutting the nails was ruled by analogy to cutting hair, for example, or if there is a specific text for it? This is what we do not know, and it requires a specific study.