Islamic Fiqh > Marriage and family > Iddah (the waiting period) > The second section: adornment of clothing
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Updated on 25 September 2026 at 3:23 PM
This part belongs to the full section: All sections of this part.
The jurists agree that it is unlawful for the mourning woman to wear garments dyed for beautification, such as the garment dyed with usfur and saffron. Imam Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they are unanimously agreed that it is not permitted for her to wear dyed garments and those dyed with usfur, except what is dyed black: Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, Malik and al-Shafi'i permitted it (al-Ijma', 86, no. 458; Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 3/180-181). The proof is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "The woman must not mourn over a dead person for more than three nights... she must not wear a dyed garment other than a garment of 'asb..." (reported by Muslim, 938); and in another wording: "The one whose husband has died must not wear the saffron-dyed garment nor the garment dyed with marl, nor jewelry, must not dye herself and must not apply kohl" (reported by Abu Dawud 2304, al-Nasa'i 3535, Ahmad 26623 and Ibn Hibban 4306; an authentic hadith). The jurists of each school have a detailed exposition on this.
Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: she avoids the perfumed garment and that dyed with usfur and saffron; this in a situation of choice, but in case of necessity, if she owns only a dyed garment, there is no harm in wearing it without the intention of adornment, for the situations of necessity are excepted (Bada'i' al-Sana'i', 3/208; al-Mabsut, 6/59; al-Mukhtar, 3/217; al-Jawhara al-Nayyira, 5/29). Abu Yusuf said: there is no harm in wearing qasab (crimson silk) and red khazz; and he mentioned in "al-Asl": she must not wear qasab or khazz to adorn herself: khazz and qasab may be worn for adornment and may be worn for need and comfort; the intention is therefore decisive: if adornment is intended, it is not permitted; if it is not intended, it is permitted. As for wearing silk: if she intends adornment, it is not permitted; if she wears it for an excuse, such as an itch or the absence of anything else, it is permitted without the desire for adornment (al-Jawhara al-Nayyira, 5/29).
Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: as for ihdad among the scholars, it is abstaining from perfume and from the adornment of garments, jewelry and every adornment that invites husbands. The whole of Malik's madhhab in this regard: the mourning woman does not wear a dyed garment unless it is dyed black; she wears all white, fine and thick; she does not wear the fine garments of Yemen but wears the thick ones if she wishes; she wears all linen, fine and thick, so long as it is not dyed; likewise cotton; she wears neither khazz nor silk (al-Tamhid, 17/315).
Al-Amrani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: garments contain two kinds of adornment. The first: what is obtained by wearing them in covering the 'awra, without adornment added to the garment: it is permitted for the mourning woman to wear all garments to which no adornment has been added, even if the adornment is intrinsic to the weave, such as dibiqi, marwari and the like among what is made of silk, khazz and qazz: its adornment is intrinsic to its creation and she need not change it, just as the beautiful-faced woman need not change her face with black or anything else. As for dyed garments, they are examined: if they were dyed for adornment, such as red, yellow, pure blue and pure green, wearing them is forbidden for her. Abu Ishaq said: that whose yarn was dyed and then woven is permitted for her to wear, by the statement of the Prophet: "except a garment of 'asb"; 'asb is that whose yarn is dyed and then woven. The first view is the chosen madhhab: al-Shafi'i indeed explicitly stated that it is forbidden for her to wear the washiy, the 'asb of Yemen and the hibr, and these were dyed at the yarn stage and then woven; and by His statement: "The one whose husband has died must not wear the saffron-dyed garment nor the garment dyed with marl", without distinction; and because the noble garments are those whose yarn was dyed before weaving and the lesser ones those woven before dyeing. The report is then carried to what is dyed black; and the mushaqqaq is that dyed with marl.
As for what is dyed against filth, such as black, saturated blue and saturated green, wearing it is not forbidden for her: it is not a dye of adornment; it was dyed to repel filth or to signify grief.
As for the second kind: embroidered garments: the shaykh Abu Ishaq said: if the embroidery is large, wearing them is forbidden for her, for it is a visible adornment added; if it is small, there are two views: one, that it is forbidden for her, like the little jewelry and the much; the other, that wearing it is not forbidden for her because of its discreetness. Al-Saymari said: she must not wear patterned cloaks (burud), nor the qaruqiyy among headscarves and protectors, because of the engraving they contain (al-Bayan, 11/86-87; see also al-Hawi al-Kabir, 11/281; al-Najm al-Wahhaj, 8/159-160; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 5/106, 108).
Imam Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him) said: garments dyed for beautification are forbidden to her, such as those dyed with usfur, saffron and all red, and everything colored for beautification, such as pure blue, pure green and yellow: wearing them is thus not permitted, by His statement: "she must not wear a dyed garment" and His statement: "she must not wear the saffron-dyed garment nor the garment dyed with marl". As for that whose dyeing is not intended for her beautification, such as kuhli (bluish black), black and saturated green, she is not prevented from it: it is not an adornment.
That whose yarn was dyed and then woven admits two interpretations: one, wearing it is forbidden, for it is nobler and more beautiful, and dyed for beautification: it resembles what is dyed after weaving; the other, it is not forbidden, by the statement of the Messenger of Allah in the hadith of Umm Salama: "except a garment of 'asb", that is, that whose yarn was dyed before weaving, as al-Qadi said; and because it was not dyed as a garment: it resembles the beautiful undyed garments. The first view is the sounder. As for 'asb, the correct position is that it is a plant with which garments are dyed: the author of "al-Rawd al-Unuf" said: wars and 'asb are two plants of Yemen which grow nowhere else. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) thus permitted the mourning woman to wear that dyed with 'asb because it resembles what is dyed not for beautification; as for that whose yarn is dyed for beautification, such as red and yellow, there is no meaning in permitting its wearing when adornment is obtained by its dyeing just as by the dyeing of what is dyed after weaving.
She is not prevented from the beauty of undyed garments, even if fine, whether of cotton, linen or silk: its beauty is intrinsic to its creation and it need not be changed, just as the woman of beautiful complexion need not change her color and disfigure herself (al-Mughni, 8/126; Kashshaf al-Qina', 5/503; Manar al-Sabil, 3/169).
She is moreover permitted to beautify the bedding of her house, to sweep it and to adorn it with furnishings, for that does not invite to intercourse with her. She may sit while perfume is stirred near her, or while a man burns incense. And the white garment is not forbidden to her, however beautiful, nor the garment colored to repel filth, such as kuhli and the like: on this basis, everything not intended for adornment is not forbidden to her, and whatever is adornment is forbidden to her (al-Bayan, 11/84-85; al-Mughni, 8/126; al-Insaf, 9/305).
The ruling on namas: namas is the plucking of hair; it is said: the plucking of facial hair. The namisa is she who plucks the hair of her own face or of another's face. The mutanammisa is she who plucks the hair of her own face, or who shapes the eyebrow until she thins it, or she who orders another to do that. The minmas is the tweezers with which the thorn is extracted. "Tanammasat" (the woman plucked herself): she took the hair of her forehead with a thread to pluck it; "antamasat": she ordered the namisa to pluck the hair of her face, and she plucked the hair of her face herself. Namas also means the fineness and delicacy of hair until it looks like down (Taj al-Arus and Lisan al-Arab, entry namasa; Sunan Abi Dawud, 4/78; Ahkam al-Qur'an of Ibn al-Arabi, 1/631).
A prohibition of namas has come in several reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), among them what Alqama narrated from Abdallah (Ibn Mas'ud), who said:
Allah cursed the tattooers and the tattooed, the pluckers and the plucked, the teeth-gapmakers for beauty and those who change the creation of Allah. This reached a woman of Banu Asad called Umm Ya'qub, who used to recite the Quran; she came to him and said: I have been informed that you cursed the tattooers and the tattooed, the pluckers and the plucked, the teeth-gapmakers for beauty and those who change the creation of Allah? He said: Why should I not curse the one whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed, and it is in the Book of Allah? The woman said: I have read what is between the two covers of the Quran and I found nothing of it. He said: Had you truly read it, you would have found it. Allah says: "Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it." The woman said: Yet I see something of that upon your wife right now. He said: Go and look. She entered upon the wife of Abdallah and saw nothing, then returned and said: I saw nothing. He said: Had that been so, we would not have married her.Reported by Muslim (2125)
"Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it."
Surah al-Hashr, 7
Abu Dawud narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them): "Cursed were the hair-joiner and the one for whom it is done, the plucker and the plucked, the tattooer and the tattooed, without disease." A hasan authentic report narrated by Abu Dawud (4170). Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the wasila is she who joins hair to a woman's hair; the mustawsila is the one for whom it is done; the namisa is she who shapes the eyebrow until she thins it; the mutanammisa is the one for whom it is done; the washima is she who traces dark lines (khial) on her face with kohl or ink; the mustawshima is the one for whom it is done (Sunan Abi Dawud, 4/78).
The generality of the scholars ruled that namas for other than the husband is forbidden, and that it is disputed for the husband.
The Hanafis: Ibn Abidin (may Allah have mercy on him) said: in "al-Mughrib": namas is the plucking of hair, hence the minmas, the tweezers; it is forbidden if she does it to adorn herself for strangers. He added: otherwise, if there is hair on her face that repels her husband from her, the prohibition of removing it is far from evident, for adornment is sought by women for beautification, except what is carried to needlessness, due to the harm contained in plucking with the minmas. In "Tabyin al-Maharim": the removal of facial hair is forbidden, unless a beard or mustache grows on the woman: its removal is not forbidden, it is even recommended. And in "al-Tatarhaniyya", from "al-Mudmarat": there is no harm in taking the two eyebrows and the hair of the face so long as it does not resemble the hermaphrodite; likewise in "al-Mujtaba". Reflect upon it (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin, 6/373).
The Malikis: Imam al-Nafrawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: tanmis is the plucking of the hair of the eyebrow until it becomes fine and beautiful; but it was narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) the permission to remove the hair of the eyebrow and face, which agrees with what preceded: the established position is the permission to shave all of a woman's hair except the hair of her head. Accordingly, what is in the hadith is carried to the woman for whom the use of adornment is forbidden, such as the widow and the one whose husband is absent (al-Fawa'ih al-Dawani, 2/314; Hashiyat al-Adawi, 2/599).
The Shafi'is: the plucker and the plucked refer to she who takes the hair around the two eyebrows and the top of the forehead and thins her eyebrows, derived from the minmas, which is the tweezer. This comprises two types. The first: that she be a slave girl being sold intending to deceive the buyer, or a free woman seeking marriage intending to disguise herself from the suitors: this is forbidden, by the generality of the prohibition and His statement: "He is not one of us who deceives". It is said: it is disliked without being forbidden, for it is adornment with something pure. The second type: that she be a wife doing it for adornment before her husband, or a slave girl doing it for her master: this is not forbidden in the correct view, for the woman is commanded to take adornment for her husband: kohl and dye. A view of the Shafi'is holds: it is not permitted, by the generality of the report (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/257; al-Bayan, 2/95, 97).
The Hanbalis: they hold that namas is forbidden. The plucker is she who plucks the hair of the face, and the plucked is she whose hair is plucked at her order: it is therefore not permitted, by the report, the prohibition and the curse that have come regarding it.
Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) permitted namas and carried the prohibition to deception, or to it being the mark of the dissolute; in one view it is permitted for seeking a husband. What is forbidden to her is only the plucking of the hair of her face; as for shaving and cutting it, it is permitted and there is no harm, for the report came only regarding plucking. Ahmad explicitly stated this (al-Mughni, 1/68; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/95; al-Matla', p. 349). Imam Ibn al-Jawzi said: as for the remedies that remove the birthmark and beautify the face for the husband, I see no harm in them; likewise the removal of facial hair for beautifying oneself for the husband; and the hadith of the plucker is carried to one of the first two senses. Our shaykh Abd al-Wahhab ibn al-Mubarak al-Anmati said: when a woman removes the hair of her face for her husband after he has seen her, there is no harm in it; it is only criticized if she does it before he sees her, for that involves deception.
Umm Jalila reported that a woman asked Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): What do you say about peeling the face (qashr al-wajh)? She said: If it is something with which she was born, it is not permitted for her, and I neither command her nor forbid her; and if it is something that occurred, there is no harm: she addresses a membrane (di'baja) that Allah clothed her with and removes it from her face; I neither command her nor forbid her.
Muslim said: Tahiyya al-Rasibiyya narrated to us that Umm Nasra narrated to her that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "If there were hair on the faces of my brother's daughters, I would remove it, even with a razor." And Bakra bint Uqba entered upon Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), asked her about henna, and she said: "An excellent plant and pure water." She asked her about facial hair removal, and she said to her: "If you have a husband and you can pluck your two eyebrows to make them more beautiful than they are, then do it" (Ahkam al-Nisa', p. 160-161).
The ruling on hair extensions: a prohibition has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding hair extensions in several reports. Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the tattooer and the tattooed" (reported by Bukhari, 5596). And Hisham reported hearing Fatima bint al-Mundhir say: "I heard Asma say: a woman asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, my daughter was stricken with measles and her hair fell out; I have married her off: may I add extensions to it? He said: Allah cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is joined" (reported by Bukhari, 5597). And Abu Dawud narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them): "Cursed were the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the plucker and the plucked, the tattooer and the tattooed, without disease" (a hasan authentic report narrated by Abu Dawud, 4170). Abu Dawud explained the terms as we mentioned (Sunan Abi Dawud, 4/78).
The Hanafis: it is forbidden to extend the hair with human hair, her own or another's, by His statement: "Allah cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the tattooer and the tattooed, the tooth-filer and the one for whom it is done, the plucker and the plucked": the joiner is she who joins hair to another's hair, or who has her hair joined to other hair deceptively; the requester is she who has that done at her order. The concession concerns what is not human hair: the woman takes what adds to her braids, and this is narrated from Abu Yusuf; in "al-Khaniyya": there is no harm in a woman placing something of fur in her braids and locks (al-Mukhtar, 4/204; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, 6/88; al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 6/373).
The Malikis: extending the hair is forbidden, by His statement: "Allah cursed the joiner", that is, she who joins hair to other hair for herself or for another, whether the extended hair be her own or another's. Extension is thus forbidden with everything: hair, wool, rags or otherwise. As for tying with colored silk threads and the like that do not resemble hair, it is not prohibited: it is not an extension and it is not of the order of what is intended as extension; it is ornament and beautification (Hashiyat al-Adawi, 2/599).
Ibn Rushd (may Allah have mercy on him) said, citing the book "al-Jawab": I asked about the ghushsh (false hairpiece) that women place on their heads and then remove, in the manner of a coif (the baruka), but made of hair. Ibn al-Qasim said: there is no good in that, whether of hair or of fur: women place it, they claim, as camel fur; there is thus no good in it, whether of hair or of fur. Asbagh was asked: and this thing women do on their heads which they call the nunnah, do you see harm in it? He said: I see no harm in it so long as they do not make it something imposing, like the hump of a lean Bakhti camel: if it becomes large, it resembles that; what is moderate has no harm. It was the manner of women among us long ago, then they abandoned it; it appears to have been the manner of the Arab women of old. Muhammad ibn Rushd said: as for the ghushsh mentioned that women place, the disapproval of it is evident, for it is the qas'a (false plait) forbidden in the hadith of Mu'awiya: he addressed the people in Medina and took a qas'a of hair that was in the hand of his client Hursan and said: O people of Medina, where are your scholars? I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbid the like of this. And he said: "The Children of Israel perished when their women took this": it is a mass of hair or fur that the hairless woman or the fine-haired woman places on her head to give the appearance that it is her own; yet the Messenger of Allah cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done: this belongs to that meaning. As for the nunna for which Asbagh saw no harm so long as it is not enlarged until it resembles the camel's hump: it is a thing women used to do, placing on their heads beneath their headcovers a form among their fashions, without giving the appearance of being their hair: there is thus no ground for disapproval of it. Only what is enlarged from it is disliked, for it departs from the manner of the Arab women and resembles the manner of the Persian women: dressing in the manner of the non-Arabs is disliked for women as it is for men. Such is my understanding of his view, and Allah knows best (al-Bayan wa-l-Tahsil, 9/383-384).
The Shafi'is: it is not permitted for a woman to extend her hair with impure hair in any case, the prohibition being the same for human hair and for the hair of the animal whose flesh is not eaten or other impure hair, because of what the one praying must observe of avoiding impurities. Fatima bint al-Mundhir narrated from Asma bint Abi Bakr that a woman said: O Messenger of Allah, my daughter was stricken with measles and her hair tore; may I extend it? He said: "No; cursed were the joiner and the one joined." It has also been narrated by another route from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done. The joiner is she who extends her hair with impure hair; as for the one who extends it with pure hair, that comprises two types. The first: that she be a slave girl being sold intending to deceive the buyer, or a free woman seeking marriage intending to disguise herself from the suitors: this is forbidden, by the generality of the prohibition and His statement: "He is not one of us who deceives". The second: that she be a wife doing it for adornment before her husband, or a slave girl doing it for her master: this is not forbidden, for the woman is commanded to take adornment for her husband (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/256-257).
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the joiner is she who joins a woman's hair to other hair; the requester is she who asks for it to be done to her, and she is called "joined". These reports are explicit in forbidding extension and cursing the joiner and the requester absolutely: this is the apparent, and it is the chosen view. Our companions detailed it, saying: if she extends her hair with human hair, it is forbidden without disagreement, whether the hair of a man or a woman, the hair of a mahram, of the husband or of others, without disagreement: by the generality of the reports, and because benefiting from the hair of humans and the rest of their parts is forbidden, out of veneration for them: his hair, his nails and the rest of his parts are even buried. If she extends it with non-human hair: if it is impure, namely the hair of a carrion animal and the hair of that whose flesh is not eaten when it falls during its life, it is likewise forbidden: by the hadith, and because he carries an impurity in his prayer and elsewhere deliberately; and the two types are alike for the married woman and other women as well as for men. As for pure non-human hair: if she has neither husband nor master, it is likewise forbidden; if she has one, there are three views: the first, it is not permitted by the apparent of the reports; the second, it is not forbidden; and the soundest in their view: if she does it with the permission of the husband or the master, it is permitted; otherwise it is forbidden. They said: as for reddening the face, dyeing with black and pointing the fingertips (tarif), if she has neither husband nor master, or she has one and does it without his permission, it is forbidden; if he permits, it is permitted in the correct view. Such is the summary of our companions' words in this issue (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 14/103, 105).
Al-Qadi Iyad said: the scholars differed in this issue. Malik, al-Tabari and many, indeed most, said: extension is forbidden with everything, whether she extends it with hair, wool or rags; they argued by the hadith of Jabir that Muslim mentions after this: "the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade a woman to attach anything to her head". Al-Layth ibn Sa'd said: the prohibition is specific to extension with hair, and there is no harm in extending with wool, rags and the like. Some said: all of that is permitted; it is narrated from Aisha but is not authentic from her: the correct position from her is the view of the majority. The Qadi said: as for tying colored silk threads and the like that do not resemble hair, it is not prohibited: it is not an extension and it is not of the order of the aim of extension; it is ornament and beautification. He said: the hadith indicates that hair extension is among the major sins, by the cursing of its doer; and it indicates that the one who aids the unlawful shares in the sin of its doer, as the one who aids obedience shares in its reward; and Allah knows best (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 14/103, 105).
He also said: what we mentioned of the prohibition of extension in general is our madhhab and that of most of the scholars. Al-Qadi Iyad reported from a group the permission, and it is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) but is not authentic from her: the correct position from her is the view of the majority. He said: extension with wool and rags is like extension with hair according to the majority; al-Layth ibn Sa'd permitted it other than with hair; and the correct is the first, by the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "the Prophet forbade a woman to attach anything to her head", reported by Muslim, and this is general to everything. As for tying the hair with colored silk threads and the like that do not resemble hair, it is not prohibited: the Qadi indicated the transmission of consensus upon it, for it is not an extension and it is not of the order of the aim of extension; it is ornament and beautification. Related point: al-Qadi Iyad mentioned that hair extension is among the major sins, by the cursing of its doer (al-Majmu', 3/146-147).
The Hanbalis: hair extension is forbidden, because "the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done"; and the doer of a permitted act is never cursed, even if a woman were to extend her hair with animal hair or with her husband's permission: by the generality of the report. The joiner is she who joins her hair to something else or another's hair; the requester is she whose hair is extended at her order: it is therefore not permitted, by the report and by what Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: "a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: my daughter is a young bride and her hair has torn; may I extend it? The Prophet said: cursed were the joiner and the one for whom it is done". It is thus not permitted to extend a woman's hair with other hair, by these reports. And it is narrated from Mu'awiya that he brought a lock of hair and said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbid the like of this, and he said: the Children of Israel perished when their women took this."
As for extension with something other than hair: if it is within the measure of that with which she ties her head, there is no harm in it, for need calls to it and it cannot be avoided; if it is more than that, there are two transmissions: one, that it is disliked without being forbidden, by the hadith of Mu'awiya specifying the one who extends with hair, which allows interpreting the general wording by it, the disapproval remaining by the generality of the wording in the other reports. It is narrated from him: "the woman must not attach to her head hair, nor qaramil (twists), nor wool: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade extension"; and everything that joins is extension. And Jabir narrated: "the Prophet forbade a woman to attach anything to her head." Al-Marwudhi said: a woman of those who comb came to Abu Abdallah (Ahmad) and said: I extend women's heads with qaramil and comb them: can you render lawful for me what I earn? He said: No, and he disliked her earnings and said to her: there will be wealth purer than this.
Ibn Qudama (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the apparent is that the forbidden is only the extension of hair with hair, because of what it contains of deception and the use of that whose purity is disputed; the rest is not forbidden, by the absence of these meanings and the obtaining of the benefit of the woman beautifying for her husband without harm; and Allah knows best (al-Mughni, 1/67-68; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/94-95; Matalib Uli al-Nuha, 1/90).
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: as for the joiner and the requester, they concern hair, for she joins it to other hair; as for the tattooer and the tattooed, tattooing was on the hand: the woman pricked the back of her palm or her wrist with a needle or a spike until it bled, then filled it with kohl which turned green; this was done in circles. Abu Bakr said: it thus behooves the one who holds the apparent of the reports that the prohibition in this regard be upon the apparent; and every woman who extends her hair with the hair of humans or beasts while knowing the prohibition of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) incurs the sin, unless a proof from the Book or the Sunna indicates the permission of part of it: what the proof indicates is then excepted; and we know of no report requiring the exception of anything from the totality of what the Prophet's prohibition (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) contained (al-Awsat, 2/279).
Al-Nu'man (Abu Hanifa) used to say: there is no good in selling human hair; its sale is not permitted and no benefit is derived from it; Ya'qub said likewise. He said: there is no harm in a woman extending her hair with wool; and Allah knows best. Ibn Battal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: al-Tabari said: the scholars differed over the meaning of his prohibition (peace be upon him) regarding extension in the hair. Some said: there is no harm for her in extending her hair with wool, rags and the like; this is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet; the cause of this view is the statement of Mu'awiya when he brought the qas'a of hair and said: "the Messenger of Allah forbade the like of this"; they said: rags and wool are not part of his prohibition. Others said: all of that falls within his prohibition, by the generality of the report from him: "he cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done"; they said: with whatever she extends her hair, she is a joiner; this is narrated from Umm Atiyya. Others said: there is no harm for her in extending her hair with whatever she extends it with, whether hair or otherwise; this is narrated from Aisha. Ibn Ashwa' asked her: did the Messenger of Allah curse the joiner? She said: "O glory of Allah! What harm is there in a hairless woman (za'ra) taking wool and extending her hair to adorn herself for her husband? The Messenger of Allah only cursed the young woman who fornicates in her youth, until, when old, she extends it with the hair of the leaders (qiyyada)" (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/172-173). Imam Badr al-Din al-Ayni (may Allah have mercy on him) said in "Umdat al-Qari" (22/64): they said: this hadith is false and its narrators are unknown, and Ibn Ashwa' did not meet Aisha; the za'ra is the one who has no hair. 'Ata' was asked about people's hair: may benefit be derived from it? He said: there is no harm in that. Others said: extension is not permitted with anything, hair or otherwise; and there is no harm in her placing hair and other things on her head without extending them; this is narrated from Ibrahim; the cause of this view is that the report came from the Prophet (peace be upon him) only as a prohibition of extension: what is not extension therefore has no harm. Al-Tabari said: the correct position with us is that it is not permitted for her to extend anything to her hair to adorn herself with it, hair or otherwise, by the generality of the Prophet's prohibition of attaching anything to her head. As for the report of Ibn Ashwa' from Aisha, it is false, for its narrators are unknown and Ibn Ashwa' did not meet Aisha (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/172-173).
The ruling on tattooing: the tattooer (washima) is she who tattoos her hands: she pricks the back of her palm or another part of her body with a needle until blood flows, then fills it with kohl, making it like an engraving on her body with which she adorns herself (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/167; Ahkam al-Qur'an, 1/360; al-Mughni, 1/68). Ibn al-Arabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the men of Sicily and Ifriqiya used to do it so that each of them might show his valor in his youth (Ahkam al-Qur'an, 1/360).
The generality of the jurists explicitly stated the prohibition of tattooing, because of the prohibition that has come regarding it in several reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), among them the hadith of Alqama from Abdallah (Ibn Mas'ud) cited above regarding namas: "Allah cursed the tattooers and the tattooed... those who change the creation of Allah", together with the story of Umm Ya'qub (reported by Muslim, 2125). Ibn Omar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the tattooer and the tattooed" (reported by Bukhari, 5596). And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them): "Cursed were the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the plucker and the plucked, the tattooer and the tattooed, without disease" (reported by Abu Dawud, 4170).
Imam al-Manawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the tattooer and the tattooed, and all of this is gravely forbidden. Ibn al-Arabi said: by the consensus of the community; and this is because Allah created the forms and made them beautiful, then varied the beauty among them in degrees: whoever seeks to change the creation of Allah and nullify His wisdom deserves banishment and expulsion (Fayd al-Qadir, 5/273; Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya, 3/197; Aridat al-Ahwadhi, 7/263).
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the tattooer is she who performs tattooing: she pricks a needle or a spike or the like into the back of the palm, the wrist, the lip or another part of the woman's body until blood flows, then fills that place with kohl or nura and it turns green; it is sometimes done in circles and engravings, whether she increases or decreases their number. The one who does this is a tattooer; if she tattooed herself, she is tattooed; if she requests it upon herself, she is a requester: it is forbidden for the one who does it, the one upon whom it is done and the one who requests it. It may be done to a young girl: the one who does it sins, not the girl, for she is not accountable at that time. Our companions said: the tattooed place becomes impure: if it can be removed by treatment, its removal is obligatory; if it is only possible by a wound, and one fears thereby ruin, the loss of a limb or of the benefit of a limb, or something abominable in a visible limb, its removal is not obligatory; once the mark has vanished, no sin remains; and if he fears none of that, removal is incumbent upon him and he disobeys by delaying it. Man and woman are alike in all of this; and Allah knows best (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 14/106).
Al-Mawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the tattooer is she who engraves her body and tattoos it as the Arabs used to do, by the greening at the insertion of the needle whose color remains upon the needlepoint. As for tattooing with henna and dye, it is permitted and is not of what the prohibition covers (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/257). The Hanbalis hold that tattooing is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah cursed the tattooer and the tattooed": the tattooer is she who pricks her skin with a needle which she fills with kohl, and the tattooed is the one upon whom it is done (al-Mughni, 1/68; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/94).
The ruling on washr and taflil of the teeth: the filer (washira) is she who files her teeth with a file and the like in order to shape them, give them sharp outlines and beautify them; the requester (mustawshira) is the one upon whom it is done with her consent (al-Mughni, 1/68; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/257). As for the mutafliljat (with fa and jim), they are those who space their teeth by filing what lies between their two front teeth and their canines: this is of the falaj (with fa and lam opened), that is, the gap between the front teeth and the canines (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 14/106).
The prohibition of washr and taflil has come from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Abu Rayhana said: "It has reached us that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade washr" (reported by Abu Dawud 4049, al-Nasa'i 5111 and Ahmad 17247; a weak hadith). And Alqama narrates from Abdallah (Ibn Mas'ud), who said: "Allah cursed the tattooers and the tattooed, the pluckers and the plucked, the teeth-gapmakers for beauty and those who change the creation of Allah. Why should I not curse the one whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed, and it is in the Book of Allah: 'Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it'" (reported by Bukhari 5587 and Muslim 2125).
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the mutafliljat are those who space their teeth by filing what lies between their front teeth and their canines, of the falaj: the gap between the front teeth and the canines. This is done by the old woman and she who nears her age, to display youth and the beauty of the teeth: for this delicate gap between the teeth belongs to young girls; when a woman grows old and her teeth become forbidding, she files them to make them delicate and fine-looking, giving the illusion of youth. It is also called washr, hence "he cursed the filer and the requester". This act is forbidden for the one who does it and the one upon whom it is done, by these reports, and because it is a change of the creation of Allah, a falsification and a deception. As for His statement: "those who space their teeth for beauty", its meaning is that they do it seeking beauty: it indicates that the forbidden is what is done in pursuit of beautification; if she needs it for a treatment or a tooth defect and the like, there is no harm; and Allah knows best (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 14/106-107).
Imam Ibn Battal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: al-Tabari said: in this hadith lies the exposition from the Messenger of Allah that it is not permitted for a woman to change anything of her creation which Allah created for her, by addition or subtraction, in pursuit of beautification for a husband or otherwise: for that amounts to undoing her creation from its form. It is the same whether she gaps even teeth and files them, or has long teeth and cuts them seeking beauty, or has teeth in excess of the norm of the children of Adam and pulls out the excess without any cause other than seeking beautification and adornment: in all of that she anticipates what Allah forbade through the tongue of His prophet, if she knows of the prohibition (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 9/167-168).
Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the washirat, plural of washira, are those who file their teeth, that is, make washr in them: the gaps found in the teeth of young men. The old woman does it in imitation of the young. All these matters have been attested by the reports that curse their doer and establish that they are among the major sins. The scholars differed over the meaning for which it was forbidden: it is said: because it is of the order of deception; it is said: because it is of the order of changing the creation of Allah, as Ibn Mas'ud said: this is the sounder, and it encompasses the first meaning (Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 5/393). Imam al-Qarafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in "al-Muqaddimat": it is not permitted for a woman to extend her hair, tattoo her face or her hands, nor file her teeth, by his statement in the Sahih: "Allah cursed the joiner and the one for whom it is done, the filer and the requester, the tattooer and the tattooed, the pluckers and those who space their teeth for beauty and change the creation of Allah"; washr is the carving of the teeth until they gap and their edges are shaped (al-Dhakhira, 13/314).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the mutafliljat, plural of mutaflilja, are those who seek the falaj or perform it; the falaj, with fa and jim, is the opening of what lies between the two front teeth; tafluj is the spacing of what is contiguous by means of a file and the like: it is customarily specific to the front teeth and the canines, and it is considered a beauty in a woman. The woman whose teeth are joined may do it to make them spaced, and the old woman may do it to give the illusion of youth: for the young woman usually has recently spaced teeth, which disappears with age. The shaping of the teeth is called washr, with the letter ra; the prohibition regarding it is also established in some routes of the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud and in the hadith of others in the Sunan and elsewhere, and the indication will come at the end of the chapter of the joiner. The prohibition of it came because of what it contains of changing the original disposition (Fath al-Bari, 10/372).