Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam alaykum,
Can I dye my hair in black?
Answer: Assalam alaykum wa rahmatullah,
If pure black dye is used for mere adornment, many scholars deem it disliked (makruh). However, there is some difference of opinion within the school about the matter as some scholars held its permissibility based on what they understood from Qadi Abu Yusuf.
Those that permit it interpret the traditions (hadith) which seem to interdict its usage as specifically referring to the deceptive usage of such black dye, making oneself look younger to a prospective spouse, for instance. According to the other position, the basis is that using black dye is disliked due to the clear command to abstain.
Note that this refers to pure black dyes, yet not those that are simply very dark browns or tending toward black and the like. Such alternatives would generally be superior and more praiseworthy to use in order to avoid committing what some deemed an enormity (kabira).
[Ibn Mazah, al-Muhit al-Burhani; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (5.271); Usmani, Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim bi Sharh Sahih Muslim]
Please also see: The Fiqh of Hair Dyes and: Is it a Sunna for Men to Dye their Hair and Beard?
And Allah Most High alone knows best.
Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam was born and raised in Ipswich, England, a quiet town close to the east coast of England. His journey for seeking sacred knowledge began when he privately memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown at the age of 16. He also had his first experience in leading the tarawih (nightly-Ramadan) prayers at his local mosque. Year after year he would continue this unique return to reciting the entire Quran in one blessed month both in his homeland, the UK, and also in the blessed lands of Shaam, where he now lives, studies and teaches.