What do the scholars of the Dīn and muftīs of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: There are some premature white hairs on my beard, and – Allāh willing – my wedding is in the following month, so am I allowed to dye them so that they don’t stand out as much?
Questioner: Mahmood from England, U.K.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایة الحق والصواب
You may apply orange, yellow, saffron or brown colouring to your beard, however one is prevented from colouring it black. It is stated in a Hadīth of the renowned Sahīh Muslim,
“غَیِّرُوا ھذا بشیٍ واجْتَنِبُوْا السوادَ”
“Change it with something (i.e. red henna) and avoid black.”
[Sahīh Muslim, p. 1164, Hadīth no. 2102]
Moreover, it is stated in a Hadīth of the respected Sunan Nasā’ī,
“یَاتِیْ نَاسٌ یَخْضَبُوْنَ بِالسَّوَادِ کَحَواصِلِ الْحَمَامِ لَایُرِیْحُوْنَ رَائِحَۃَ الْجَنَّۃِ”
“There will be some (people) who will dye their hair black like the chests of pigeons at the end of time, but they will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
[Sunan Nasā’ī, vol. 8, p. 138]
It has also been mentioned in Majma’ al-Zawā’id [that the Noble Prophet ﷺ stated],
مَنْ خَضَّبَ بِالسَّوَادِ سَوَّدَ اللہُ وَجْھَہ، یَوْمَ الْقِیٰمَۃِ
“Whosoever dyes his hair black, Allāh [Almighty] will darken his face on the Day of Judgement.”
[Majma’ al-Zawā’id, vol. 5, p. 293, Hadīth no. 8814]
والله تعالی أعلم ورسوله أعلم صلی الله علیه وآله وسلم
کتبه أبو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء القادري
Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qādiri
Translated by Haider Ali al-Madanī