Use of henna (mehndi)
The Shariah (Islamic law) allows women to use henna. Hindh-Binte-'Ukbah (may
Allah be pleased with her) said to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace), 'I want to take oath to you,' to which the
Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, 'First
go and colour your hands.'
Male or a Female'
A woman wished to give the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) a book (from behind a curtain), the Messenger of Allah (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) withdrew his hands and said, 'I cannot tell
whether this is a male or a female's hand.' The woman replied, 'It is a
woman's hand.' The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) replied, 'If it is a woman's hand then the fingers should be coloured
with henna.'
It is important to learn from the previous two hadiths that a woman can
colour her hands and feet with henna. If a woman does not wish to colour her
hands and feet then she should at least colour her fingernails, so that one
can distinguish between a man's hand and a woman's hand. Therefore if a
woman is interested in colouring her hands then she should not use nail
polish, but should resort to henna as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) agreed with it.
Men & Henna
It is forbidden for men to apply Henna (Mehndi) on their hands or feet. If
applied on a young boy then the person putting the henna on him is
responsible for the sin.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a person was
bought to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
whose hands and feet where coloured with henna. The Messenger of Allah (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked, 'Why did he do this'' people
replied that he imitates women. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) said, 'Send him out of Madinah.'
Allahu Akbar! We find that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) was displeased with men wearing henna on their hands or
feet. It is permissible and Sunnah to apply henna on the hair and beard.
Abu Dhar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the Messenger of Allah
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'The best thing that
changes white hair is Mehndi or Khatam .' Meaning apply either of these.
To dye the beard
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Abu Qahafa father of
'Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was presented to the Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) on the day of the conquest
of Makkah and his head and his beard were just like snow. The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'Change it with
something and avoid black.' Meaning dye it with a colour and do not use
black.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'The
best youth is he who follows the elderly and the worst of the elders is he
who follow the youth.'
To dye the hair or beard black is forbidden as the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'Black dye is the sign of the
inmates of hell.'
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that, 'The first to dye the hair
with Mehndi and Khatam was Prophet Ibrahim and the first man to dye his hair
black was Pharaoh.'
Mehndi and Khatam are the Sunnah of the friends of Allah (The Exalted) and
enemies of Allah (The Exalted) use black dye.
We find that the only time one can dye their hair or beard is when in
jihad and that is to deceive the enemy. To apply dye to cover white hair is
to deceive Muslims and to look young. To deceive Muslims is forbidden
anyway.
Dying the hair
'Abd-Allah Ibn 'Abbas, (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, the
Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, 'At the
end of time there will be people who will use this black dye like the crops
of doves, these will not experience the fragrance of Paradise.'
Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah's Mercy be upon him) narrates that, 'I
asked Anas, (may Allah be pleased with him) 'Did the Messenger of Allah (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) dye his hair'' Anas replied, 'The
Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not have
but a few Grey hairs.'' Meaning he had no need to dye them.
Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, 'Anas (may Allah be
pleased with him) was asked whether the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) used a hair dye or not.' Anas (may Allah be pleased
with him) replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) had not enough grey hair to dye. I could even count the white
hairs on his beard.''
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has said
that towards the last era there will be some people who will use dye to
colour their hair and these people will not even smell the scent of paradise
(the scent of paradise can be smelt from a distance of 500 years). Allahu
Akbar!
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the Messenger of Allah
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'A true believer's dye
is yellow, a Muslim's dye is red and a non-believer's dye is black.'
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, 'Everyone from my Ummah will
enter Jannah except those who reject.' The companions asked: 'Who are those
who reject'' The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied:
'The person who follows me will enter Jannah and the person who disobeys me
has rejected.'
Rules of Beauty
1. To have extensions using someone else's or even your own once taken out
is forbidden.
2. It is allowed for women to wear artificial hair (not someone else's) to
extend their plats.
3. It is permissible for women to apply henna on their hands and feet as
this is for beauty. It is better not to, without any reason colour the hands
and feet of young children.
4. It is permissible to use henna on young girls as it is permissible for
them to wear jewellery.
5. It is preferable for females to be content with silver jewellery and not
insist on gold.
6. It is permissible for women to place beads in their hair made from gold
or silver.
7. Whosoever wears gold jewellery due to pride shall be punished in the
hereafter.
8. Females should not wear such jewellery that creates a jingling noise with
movement especially on the feet as the curse of Allah (The Exalted) is on
them.
9. Females can color their nails with henna.
10. When the women are feeding their children, they should use a veil to
cover up even in their own homes.
11. If the eyebrows are too long then they may be trimmed, only if they have
over grown.
12. It is permissible to remove the hair of the arms and the legs.
13. To take off the hair from the chest and back is not recommended.
14. You can remove the hair from the arms, feet and stomach.
15. To have a young girl's ears pierced is permissible. Some even get the
boys done too, this is not permissible. Boys are not allowed to wear
jewellery.
16. For women to wear glass bangles is permissible.
17. To use black dye is forbidden and to use henna is permissible.
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