Answered by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt
Question:
Can muslim men and boys have haircuts where one’s hair is cut in uneven lengths?
Answer:
In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Jazāk Allāh Khayr/ Thank you for your question.
The Prophet of Islam, Muḥammad (peace and blessings upon him) prohibited a haircut wherein the cut or shave is distinctively uneven. This is known as “qazʿaʾ” in islamic references.
Cutting hair in the qazʿaʾ style can incorporate any or all of the following:
- To shave some parts of the hair on the head and leave other parts.
- To shave all the hair on the head and only leave the hair of the forehead.
- To only distinctively shorten some areas of the head hair.
In modern day, such haircuts are termed ‘short, back and sides’, ‘mushroom cut’, ‘quiff’, ‘fauxhawk’ etc.
All four schools of jurisprudence, namely, Ḥanafī, Shāfiʾe, Mālikī and Ḥanbalī have labeled such a haircut for both men (boys) and women (girls) as makrūh (disliked), karāhiyyah tanzīhīyyah. (See: Al-Majmūʾ, Al-Fatāwā Al-Hindiyyah, Al-Yanābiʾ, Al-Muntaqāʾ, Tuḥfat Al-Muḥtāj, Al-Mugnīy, Al-Mawsūʾ Al-Fiqhiyyah)
Jurists have stated various reasons for such a haircut being disliked, including the following:
- Distorting fiṭrah (natural disposition)
- Resemblance to the devil’s style
- Resemblance to the style of disbelievers and or evil doers
(See: Abū Dāwūd, Fatḥ Al-Bārī, ʿOmdat Al-Qārī)
The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said,“God Almighty has forbidden me from qazʿaʾ (to shave part of the head and leave other parts).”. (Nasaī)
“The Messenger of God, Muḥammad (peace and blessings upon him) forbade qazʿaʾ. Qazʿaʾ means having part of a boy’s head shaved and leaving parts unshaven.” (Abū Dāwūd)
Ibn ʿOmar reported that God’s Messenger (peace and blessings upon him) forbade qazʿaʾ. Nafiʾ(Ibn ʿOmar’s student) explained, “This means having a part of a boy’s head shaved and leaving a part unshaven.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
And Allāh Knows Best