Is coloring of hair permissible in Islam
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalaam-u-Alaikum,
brother, I have been puzzled about this question for a long time.... the
question is is it halal for girls and guys to color their hair is islam? I know
girls are the ones that do it more often...but nowadays...you`re starting to
see a lot of blondish streaks in guys hair as well... I know if you put mendhi
in your hair....it`s totally halal! but what about other ways of coloring? If
someone can provide specific ayas or evidence for the Hadith or quran...that
would be wonderful...becaue I know if you doubt something to be haram....then u
just shouldn`t do it..but unfortunatly I have friends who have to be given
evidence...to follow the right path! jazakallah Wassalam... Your sis fi
Islaam...
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can
misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We
bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Abu Hurairah
reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "The Jews and Christians do not
dye, so differ from them."
Abu Dharr reported
that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "The best thing that one can use
to change the color of grey hairs is henna and katm (a reddish dye)."
It is related from
some of the companions that some of them used a yellow dye, while others used
henna or katm. Others used saffron,
and a group of them used a black dye.
Ibn Hajr mentioned
in Fath al-Bari that az-Zuhri said, "We used black dye if our face was
youthful, but if wrinkles were present and the teeth were gone we would not use
it."
Said Jabir,
"Abu Quhafah (Abu Bakr's father) was brought to the Prophet (saws) during
the conquest of Makkah while his head was "white." The Prophet (saws) said, "Take him to
one of his wives and let her change the color of his hair with something, but
she should avoid (making his hair) black."
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Hadith 5.257 Narrated by Anas (the
servant of the Prophet)
When the Prophet arrived (at
Medina), there was not a single companion of the Prophet who had grey and black
hair except Abu Bakr, and he dyed his hair with Hinna and Katam (i.e. plants
used for dying hair). Through another group of narrators, Anas bin Malik said,.
"When the Prophet arrived at Medina, the eldest amongst his companions was
Abu Bakr. He dyed his hair with Hinna
and Katam till it became of dark red color."
There is absolutely no harm if
one colors their hair; be they male or female. If one is young and his/her hair has become white, then it is
permissible for them to even use black color if he/she so wishes. But from the narration of Hadrat Jabir and
the incident of Hadrat Abu Bakr’s father Abu Quhafah, the scholars have opined
that if a person is very old, then one should avoid using black color to dye
the hair.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
