Step 9 of 10
Shaving or Shortening the Hair
After the sa'i, a man either shaves his head or shortens his hair; shaving is better. The Prophet ﷺ prayed again and again for Allah's mercy on those who shave, and then on those who shorten as well. Allah describes the believers entering al-Masjid al-Haram ﴿مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ﴾ (“with heads shaved and hair shortened”).
Women do not shave. The Prophet ﷺ said that shaving is not for women; for them there is only shortening. A woman gathers her hair and cuts about a fingertip's length from the ends.
With this the 'Umrah is complete, and everything that ihram forbade becomes permitted again. This is what the Companions did in the Farewell Pilgrimage: those who had no sacrificial animal with them circled the Ka'bah, went between al-Safa and al-Marwah, shortened their hair and left ihram.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Is shaving or shortening a pillar of 'Umrah?
3 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Shafi'i.
Show each school
- Obligatory (wajib)Hanafi · Maliki · Hanbali
- Pillar (rukn)Shafi'i
- Hanafi
- Shaving or shortening is obligatory, and it is how the pilgrim leaves ihram; one who leaves it owes a sacrifice (dam).
- Maliki
- Shaving or shortening is obligatory but not a pillar; leaving it is made up with a sacrifice (dam).
- Shafi'i
- In the more correct view shaving or shortening is a rite in itself and a pillar of 'Umrah, which is not complete without it.
- Hanbali
- Shaving or shortening is one of the obligations of 'Umrah; leaving it is made up with a sacrifice (dam).
How much of the hair must be shaved or shortened?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Hanafi, Shafi'i.
Show each school
- At least a quarter of the headHanafi
- All of the hairMaliki · Hanbali
- At least three hairsShafi'i
- Hanafi
- The obligation is met by shaving or shortening at least a quarter of the head, shortening by about a fingertip's length; doing the whole head is the sunnah.
- Maliki
- The hair must be shaved, or shortened, from all over the head; shortening only part of it is not enough.
- Shafi'i
- Removing at least three hairs of the head, by shaving, cutting or otherwise, fulfils the obligation; doing the whole head is the sunnah.
- Hanbali
- In the relied-upon view the hair must be shaved, or shortened, from the whole head, not from part of it.
- Qur'an 48:27
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1727 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1301Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1984Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih Lighairihi · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1985Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Hasan · Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad HasanSahih
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1785 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1218Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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