#1027: On Locking The Hairs Due To Inability To Access Salons
“Assalamu alaykum respected teachers I live in a place whereby I find it difficult to plait my hair. I’d like to know if it is permissible to temporarily lock my hair (a form of twisting the hair such that it can stay for even years without loosing it). It will only require washing and creaming. This is pressing especially as I am in a country affected with the pandemic with limited access to those that plait hair. Jazakumullahu khayran”
ANSWER:
Wa Alaykum Salam Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuh.
Alhamdulillah.
As for your question, know that the Din of Islam and the Sunnah upon which the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam left his Ummah is the cleaning of the hair, the washing of it, the combing of it and the beautification of it.
In the Hadith that was recorded by Imam Abu Daawud As-Sijistaani rahimahullah from Abu Hurayrah radiyallahu anhu, the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam said:
مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ شَعْرٌ فَلْيُكْرِمْهُ
“Whomsoever has hairs, let him honor it”
By honoring is meant oiling, washing, combing and beautifying as mentioned in Awnu Al-Ma’abud.
Likewise in the Hadith that was recorded by Imam Ahmad, Abu Daawud As-Sijistaani and An-Nasa’i from Jaabir bn Abdillah, he narrated that once the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam saw a man with an unkempt hair upon which he said:
أَمَا يَجِدُ هَذَا مَا يُسَكِّنُ بِهِ شَعْرَهُ
“Cannot this one find something with which he makes kempt his hair? ”
For this reason, the Fuqahaa of Islam are in agreement that it is of the encouraged and recommended actions to take care of the hairs and to prevent them from looking unkempt, haggard and tangled.
And in the recording of Imaam Maalik bn Anas from ‘Ataa bn Yasaar that the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam said with respect to a man who looked unkempt from his hairs and beards:
أَلَيْسَ هَذَا خَيْرًا مِنْ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ أَحَدُكُمْ ثَائِرَ الرَّأْسِ كَأَنَّهُ شَيْطَا
“Is this not better than that one of you comes with a very haggard head like a Shaytaan?”
As for the dread locks, then there is no doubt that it goes in opposition with this Sunnah as it is a styling of the hairs in such a way that it tangles and rolls up.
Matt Sailor, talking about the Anatomy of the Dreadlock said:
To understand how a head full hair develops in to a head full dreads, you first need to understand what a single lock looks like at its basic level. At the root of the dreadlock phenomenon is the idea that when hair is left alone, over time it will tangle and become matted in sections. So, essentially dreadlocks are individual masses of knots that the wearer encourages to continue growing into a tangled coil or spiral that eventually resembles an irregular piece of rope or yarn. Up close, a dreadlock looks similar to steel wool — a tangled mass of fibers woven together so thoroughly that they form one solid mass.”
There is no doubt that leaving the hairs to tangle like this or by getting some hair stylist to make this happen is against the Sunnah of the Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam.
Likewise, it is known that the Dreads became symbolic and was advocated for by the rastafari movement in Jamaica in the 1960s and made popular by the music and philosophy of Bob Marley. For Muslims to take to it comes as a form of emulating the Kuffaar and their actions. Something which is not permissible.
The Precepts of the Shariah allow only the involvement in that which is forbidden in order to protect some legitimate difficulty only if there are no alternate means and there is a certainty that the difficulty is ward off by so doing. This is not the case in the scenerio you have depicted.
There is nothing that prevents you from combing and taking care of the hair to the best of your ability while you stay in the lockdown. It may be stressful some times, but the stress is worth it.
And Allah knows best.
Barakallahu Fikum
Jazakumullahu Khayran.
Abū Asim
12th Shawwāl, 1441AH
📚 IslāmNode
