Hadith prohibiting use of black dye for men
| Fatwa #756 | Category: Miscellaneous | Country: Zambia | Date: 9th February 2023 |
| Fatwa #756 | Date: 9th February 2023 |
| Category: Miscellaneous | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
Salam
Could you please help me by quoting the authentic Hadith which forbids us from using black dye.
Jzk
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
First and foremost, it is worth mentioning that this notion of requiring only saheeh ahadith to substantiate a particular ruling is no more than ignorance in the field of Islamic Jurisprudence as well as the science of hadith. A mere beginner in Islamic studies (fiqh and hadith) knows that there are certain principles and methodologies based on which each and every scholar (belonging to any of the four madhabs) analyses evidence and arrives at a conclusion. The four famous Imams themselves had differing approaches and none of these approaches entailed “simply looking for a saheeh hadith whilst ignoring all manner of possibilities which may render said saheeh hadith not fit for practice.”
It is known and accepted in academic circles since the time of the illustrious Imams that a saheeh hadith (despite being acknowledged to be saheeh) may not be strong enough to alter, change or add onto a law established explicitly in the Quran. So it is now likely that what is unanimously deemed to be a saheeh hadith is no longer practiced upon.
Once an individual studies and understands the differences in methodology amongst different schools of thought, it is very easy to understand why differences of opinion exist. Upon due and rigorous study, one will not even have a question as to why a specific Imam preferred a certain approach over another.
It is a pity that a certain group of people who only appeared on the horizon some few hundred years ago now claim to be the true flag bearers of this Islamic heritage, daring to presume that those before them were bearers of some other heritage. Some people today claim that “we only want to act on Quran and Sunnah”! Have the scholars of the past acted on anything besides the Quran and the Sunnah? They will be forced to acquiesce that actually the differences in opinion stem from differences in understanding and analysing evidences. If that is the case, which it is, then why would we abandon the understanding of Imams who were part of the two best eras after the era of the Sahabah themselves for the contemporary understanding of self-proclaimed enlightened souls?
It is therefore incorrect to assume that a ruling can only be established by an authentic hadith, especially when the very meaning of “authentic” differed amongst the great Imams of Hadith and Fiqh.
Nonetheless, the answer to your query is as follows,
وحَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ، قَالَ: أُتِيَ بِأَبِي قُحَافَةَ يَوْمَ فَتْحِ مَكَّةَ وَرَأْسُهُ وَلِحْيَتُهُ كَالثَّغَامَةِ بَيَاضًا، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: غَيِّرُوا هَذَا بِشَيْءٍ، وَاجْتَنِبُوا السَّوَادَ
صحيح مسلم (3/ 1663)
Jabir Ibn Abdullah Radhiyallahu Anhu reported that Abu Quhafa Radhiyallahu Anhu was brought before Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah and his head and beard were white like hyssop (a type of plant), whereupon Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam: “Change it (the color) with something but avoid black.”
To add onto the first few paragraphs of the answer, assume that this hadith was not in the Saheehayn, but was found in other books of hadith with chains that may have had some criticism from the Muhadditheen, whose final word would you have accepted? If you took the view of a recent “Shaykh” who said his own research into this has shown the hadith is weak, are you still not doing Taqleed of the said shaykh? If you are going to do Taqleed at the end of the day, then why not do so of respectable Imams of the past who were blessed to be part of an era Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam labelled as “the best of people”?
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Checked and Concurred By:
Mufti Muhammad
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia