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Sent: 27 November 2012 00:13 On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 5:13 PM, Charles Moser wrote: > Do Muslim women remove any other hair besides pubic hair? Yes, Muslim women (and men) also shave/trim/pluck underarm hair, and Muslim men trim their mustaches so that they do not grow down over their lip. That is all in hadith. Men do this too; indeed, the ahadith are primarily about men's bodies, and applied also to women's bodies. Additionally, there are rituals as part of the Hajj that involve men shaving or cutting short (head) hair and women cutting off a lock of hair. A Muslim community leader (Egyptian-American, first language Arabic and fluent in English) who included this topic in a women-only practical course for new Muslims in 2009 at the Islamic Society of Boston referred to this process not as "shaving" but as "cleaning" the hair off, i.e. removing the hair, which could be understood to mean/include shaving, plucking, and/or trimming, with the main point being the intention of "cleaning" the body. She stated that in the context and time of the Prophet, many people (who had more limited access to water than does her audience) might do this thorough bathing and hair removal process once a week on Friday before Friday prayers, but that it is permissible to go a maximum of 40 days without removing the hair, and that doing it more often if one is able is better. Below are some of the relevant ahadith abut hair. The first several are sahih hadith from Muslim about pubic hair and underarm hair and mustache hair; most of the rest are about head hair and some are "weak" hadith. There are multiple narrations of some of these, sometimes with slight variations, but I just included one of each to convey the general idea. Ahadith on pubic hair: Found In: Sahih Muslim Chapter No: 2, Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Hadith no: 496 Narrated: Abu Huraira Five are the acts of fitra: circumcision, removing the pubic hair, clipping the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits. Found In: Sahih Muslim Chapter No: 2, Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Hadith no: 497 Narrated: Anas A time limit has been prescribed for us for clipping the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking hair under the armpits, shaving the pubic hair, that it should not be neglected far more than forty nights. Found In: Sahih Muslim Chapter No: 2, Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Hadith no: 502 Narrated: Aisha The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Ten are the acts according to fitra: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubic hair and cleaning one's private parts with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth. Ahadith on other hair: Found In: Sahih Muslim Chapter No: 2, Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Hadith no: 498Report Mistake Permalink Narrated: Ibn Umar The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Trim closely the moustache, and let the beard grow. Found In: Imam Malik's Muwatta Chapter No: 49, The Description of the Prophet, may Allah Bless Him and Grant Him Peace Hadith no: 4 Narrated: Yahya bin Said Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn al-Musayyub said, "Ibrahim, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was the first to give hospitality to the guest and the first person to be circumcised and the first person to trim the moustache and the first person to see grey hair. He said, 'O Lord! What is this?' Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, said, 'It is dignity, Ibrahim.' He said, 'Lord, increase me in dignity!' " Yahya said that he had heard Malik say, "One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one mutilates oneself." Found In: Sunan Ibn Majah Chapter No: 3, The Chapters on Dry Ablution Hadith no: 597 Narrated: Abu Hurairah "The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: 'Under every hair there is the state of sexual impurity, so wash the hair and cleanse the skin.'" (Da'if) Found In: Sunan Abu Dawood Chapter No: 1, Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Hadith no: 255 Narrated: Thawban Shurayh ibn Ubayd said: Jubayr ibn Nufayr gave me a verdict about the bath because of sexual defilement that Thawban reported to them that they asked the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) about it. He (the Prophet) replied: As regards man, he should undo the hair of his head and wash it until the water should reach the roots of the hair. But there is no harm if the woman does not undo it (her hair) and pour three handfuls of water over her head. Found In: Sunan Ibn Majah Chapter No: 3, The Chapters on Dry Ablution Hadith no: 599 Narrated: Ali ibn Abu Talib that the Prophet (saw) said: "Whoever leaves an area the size of a hair on his body and does not cleanse it from sexual impurity, such and such will be done to him in the Fire." 'Ali said: "Because of that I am hostile towards my hair," and he used to shave his head. (Hasan) Found In: Sahih Bukhari Chapter No: 26, Pilgrimage (Hajj) Hadith no: 787 Narrated: Abdullah The Prophet and some of his companions got their heads shaved and some others got their hair cut short. Narrated Muawiya: I cut short the hair of Allah's Apostle with a long blade. Found In: Sunan Abu Dawood Chapter No: 2, Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat) Hadith no: 646 Narrated: Abu Rafi Said ibn Abu Said al-Maqburi reported on the authority of his father that he saw Abu Rafi the freed slave of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), passing by Hasan ibn Ali (Allah be pleased with them) when he was standing offering his prayer. He had tied the back knot of his hair. Abu Rafi untied it. Hasan turned to him with anger, Abu Rafi said to him: Concentrate on your prayer and do not be angry: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: This is the seat of the devil, referring to the back knot of the hair. Found In: Imam Malik's Muwatta Chapter No: 51, Hair Hadith no: 7 Narrated: Zayd ibn Aslam Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Ata ibn Yasar told him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was in the mosque when a man came in with disheveled hair and beard. The Messenger of Allah. may Allah bless him and grant him peace, motioned with his hand that he should be sent out to groom his hair and beard. The man did so and then returned. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Isn't this better than that one of you should come with his head disheveled, as if he were a shaytan?" Best regards, Stephanie Skier *Stephanie Skier* *Dual Degree candidate in World and International History Columbia University and the London School of Economics sms2316@columbia.edu*
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