“It is absolute madness,” the veteran Muslim radio man chided, reflecting on a series of worrying observations made over the weekend.

“Sometimes we witness so much wrong in front of us, but we just accept all that goes on, because we have become paralysed”.

Ebrahim Gangat, Cii Radio Sabahul Khair anchor stood perturbed at how violations of the Shariah, particularly in Muslim dressing, were now coming to be seen as the norm.

“The Ahadeeth teach us that only considering something as evil within ourselves(without speaking out), amounts to the lowest form of faith,” he said.

“Is that what we are contented with – always being third best, always coming out last?

 

“Our Nabi  ﷺ  says: ‘Don’t’ and you say ‘I will’ – If you have understanding of Deen but don’t practice on it,” he added, “it equates to arrogance”.

Through failure to adhere to a basic Islamic regulation on hairstyle, Gangat observed, “large numbers of people were breaking the sunnah en masse”.

He opined that parents had to shoulder a great responsibility for this state of affairs, as they were the ones usually paying for the haircut, condoning it, and even praising their offspring for their ‘stylish looks’.

“You send your youngster to the barber, he comes back with a haram hairstyle, and you congratulate him..Sometime you even cut two lengths yourself. What is the example you are portraying?”

Gangat also appealed to Muslim barbers to reconsider their role, noting instances where clients were being presented, on arrival, with a bouquet of un-Islamic hairstyle options modelled by sportstars and their ilk, to choose from.

Islamic guidelines

Whilst society may know it by a plethora of names – Caesar, Undercut, Mohawk, Comb-over – to name but a few, the Sunnah terminology for such hairstyles is encompassed in just a single term.

Qaza’:

Any male haircut that deliberately involves cutting the hair in two distinct lengths falls under this ambit, and is expressedly forbidden.

The two most authentic books of Ahadeeth narrated from Sayyidina Ibn ‘Umar RA that the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) forbade qaza’. Naafi’ (one of the narrators of the hadeeth) said, explaining qaza’: Shaving part of a boy’s head and leaving part.

Al-Nasaa’i and Abu Dawood also narrated from Sayyidina Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) saw a boy part of whose head had been shaved and part of it left. He told them not to do that and said: “Shave all of it or leave all of it.”

Ibn Al-Qayyim RA said: “There are four kinds of Al-Qaza: First, to shave here and there (at random or in a pattern, but without shaving the entire head). Second, shaving the middle of one’s head and leaving the sides, a practise that is common among Christian monks. Third, shaving the sides of one’s head and leaving the middle, a practise that is common among the foolish members of society. Fourth, shaving the front of one’s head and leaving the back. All of these practices are categories of Al-Qaza, and Allah knows best. 

Mufti Ebrahim Desai cautions that hairstyles play no small role in the way a person is perceived by society.

“Certain hairstyles display chivalry and boyishness, whereas other styles display that a person is a business man or a serious person. Certain hairstyles link a person to a certain group, clique or organization. Other people choose to style their hair to display their personality; be it daring, carefree, lazy, adventurous, free spirited etc.”

In this vein, in addition to being a direct violation of the command of Nabi SAW, many contemporary hairstyles are also prohibited by due to their resemblance of the ways of the unbelievers.

It was narrated that Sayyidina ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar RA said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood)

“The one who imitates the kuffaar feels that inferior and defeated, so he hastens to make up for his feelings of inadequacy by imitating those whom he admires,” says Sheikh Muhammad Saalih.

“If these people were to ponder the greatness of Islamic sharee’ah and understand how corrupt is that civilization they are running after, they would realize that they are doing wrong and that they have forsaken something that is perfect and true for something that is imperfect and corrupt.”

Far from many of the ‘popular’ hairstyles being a source of beautification, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen says they represent a source of changing the creation of Allaah and spoiling people’s appearances.

“It is an imitation of the West in which there is no benefit, in addition to the cost involved, as it involves a lot of effort and spending money on something that is harmful, as is well known. We advise men not to adopt this western style and we advise women to stick with that which their mothers and grandmothers did, of letting their hair grow and braiding it, as this is more beautiful.”

Cii Radio