Etiquette & Sunnahs of Hair Care in the Quran & Sunnah

1. Adornment is commanded — hair is part of it.

Allah says:

۞ يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ

O children of ’Ādam, take on your adornment at every mosque. Eat and drink and do not be extravagant. Surely, He does not like the extravagant. (Surah Al-A'raf 7:31)

The verse that commands adornment for the mosque covers the whole appearance a believer presents — and the head is the first of it that people see.

1. Whoever has hair, let him honour it.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever has hair should honour it.” — honouring it by washing, oiling and combing it, not by letting it go wild or by shaving it into shapes.

Lesson: Hair is a blessing displayed on the head; its honour is care, and its dishonour is neglect.

2. Qaza‘ is forbidden — the patchwork haircut.

Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade qaza‘. He was asked: what is qaza‘? He said: “Having part of a boy’s head shaved and leaving a part unshaven.”

Lesson: Hairstyles of patches and ridges were forbidden fourteen centuries before they became fashion; the head is kept whole and dignified.

3. Kept simple — no indulgence in luxury.

A Companion travelled to Fudalah ibn ‘Ubayd in Egypt for the sake of a single hadith they had both heard. He found Fudalah — the ruler of the land — with unkempt hair and bare feet, and asked him about it. Fudalah said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to indulge much in luxury,” and: “The Prophet ﷺ used to command us to go barefoot at times.”

Lesson: Between neglect and vanity stands the Sunnah’s measure: cared for, not worshipped — even a governor’s head is kept simple.

4. He ﷺ parted his hair.

Ibn ‘Abbas reported: the People of the Book used to let their hair hang down, and the pagans used to part their hair — so at first the Prophet ﷺ let his hang, then afterwards he parted his hair.

Lesson: Even the parting of the Prophet’s ﷺ hair is preserved for us: a reminder that appearance follows guidance, not whim.

5. His ﷺ grey hairs were few.

Muhammad ibn Sirin asked Anas: “Did the Prophet ﷺ dye his hair?” Anas replied: “The Prophet ﷺ did not have except a few grey hairs.”

Lesson: The discussion of dyeing begins from his ﷺ own head: grey came to it lightly — the rulings of dyeing concern the ummah whose grey is plentiful.

6. Do not pluck out grey hair — it is the believer’s light.

“Do not pluck out grey hair. If any believer grows a grey hair in Islam, he will have light on the Day of Resurrection.”

Lesson: Grey is not a flaw to be torn out; every white strand kept in Islam is stored as light for the darkest day.