Question
I have heard from a number of Ulama that, only during Hajj and Umrah, Prophet (SAW) had Halaq i.e. shaved his head, otherwise he used to have Zulfa hair. Please let us know, whether we will get the reward of sunnah, if we keep the hair Zulfa only. By Zulfa hair, I mean having hair up to shoulders or up to the lower part of the ears, am I correct?
Answer
It was the habit of Nabi Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam to keep Zulfa (long hair). The shaving of the head is also established
from Nabi Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam upon the completion of the rites of Hajj and Umrah. It was also the regular practice of some Sahaba like Hazrat Ali Radiallahu Anhu to shave the head.
Therefore, the Sunnah is either to keep all the hair, or shave all the hair. It is also permissible in Shari’ah to cut/trim the hair of the head provided that all the hairs are trimmed to one length all around.
In Raddul Muhtaar, Alaaamah Shaami Rahimahullah mentions:
( قوله وأما حلق رأسه إلخ ) وفي الروضة للزندويستي أَنَّ السنة في شعر الرأس إما الفرق أو الحلق . وذكر الطَّحاوي : أن الحلق سنة ، ونسب ذَلِكَ إلى العلماء الثلاثة ، الى قوله ويكره القزع وهو أَن يخلق الْبَعْض ويترك البعض قطعا مقدار ثلاثة أصابع
(رد المحتار ج ٥/٦ ص ٣٥٩/٤٥٧)
Allama Zandaweisty mentions in Al-Rawdha: “The Sunnah method in hair is either to keep the hair or to shave the hair.” Allama Tahawi (Rahimahullah) mentions that the Sunnah is also Halq (shaving) and he attributes this to Imaam Abu Haneefa Rahimahullah, Imaam Abu Yusuf Rahimahullah and Imaam Muhammad Rahimahullah and he further mentions that Qaz’a (to shave a portion of the head whilst leaving the rest ) is Makrooh.
Concerning the length of the Zulfa ,There are 3 types of Zulfa that can be kept:
1. Wafrah-to cut the hair in line with the earlobes.
2. Limmah-to cut the hair between the earlobe and the shoulder.
3. Jummah-to cut the hair in line with the shoulders.
Checked and Approved By:
Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
References
Ahsanul Fatawaa (8/81)