I have asked this question various time and Jazakallahu khairan for the response but I dont feel as though my question has been answered and I know many sisters who also have the same question. Please can you explain the Hadith about the women in hell you have hair gathered at the tops of their heads LEANING TO ONE SIDE. This site has told me that it is impermissible to wear a bun beneath the hijab as it shows the size of the hair however when hair is wrapped in a bun you can’t tell how long it is because you are wrapping it around. To clarify I am not referring to the huge buns some women and are now donning I am just referring to a bun at the back of the head not at the name but below the crown. Is this permissible and if not please state why? Also in a previous fatwa you have said ‘if it is at the nape of the neck, for example, then there is nothing wrong with it, unless the woman is going out to the marketplace, in which case this is a kind of tabarruj because it can be noticed through the abayah, so this comes under the heading of tabarruj and is a means of fitnah, so it is not allowed’ does this mean that a women’s head at the back must be completely flat ? Please state evidence, it is important to note that a bun also holds up the khimar from draping over the back. if it is haram it is something I am ready to accept but I am not currently convinced as the Hadith has not been explained and the bun is not at the top of the head nor leaning to 1side
Praise
be to Allah
There is nothing wrong with a woman gathering her hair
beneath the hijab in a manner that will prevent it from spreading, if she
thinks this is more appropriate and safer. Gathering the hair in a bun is
not haraam in and of itself, and there is no specific prohibition narrated
concerning that, praise be to Allah, because issues of clothing, traditions
and adornment are basically permissible, so as to make things easy for
people and to spare them hardship and difficulty. This is one of the most
important principles that make Islam appropriate for every time and place,
and avoid causing hardship to the followers of this great religion.
Rather what is prohibited, as was explained previously in
fatwa no. 45674, is gathering the hair in the shape
of a camel’s hump, and it is obvious that this refers to a remarkably large
formation that makes the head appear visibly bigger and attracts attention,
and that would lead people, on the basis of their customs and traditions, to
think that there is something very dubious about the way this woman looks
because of the manner in which she has done her hair. It is in this manner
that the scholars explained this hadith when talking about enlargement or
going to great lengths to make the hair appear bigger by adding other
material such as cloth and the like, that makes the woman’s head look like
the hump of a camel.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “There are two types of the people of
Hell whom I have not seen, men with whips like the tails of cattle with
which they strike the people, and women who are clothed yet naked,
mumeelaat maa’ilaat walking with an enticing gait (or turning
away from righteousness and leading others astray) with their heads like the
humps of camels leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise nor smell
its fragrance, and its fragrance may be detected from such and such a
distance.”
Imam al-Maaziri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What this
means is that they will enlarge their heads with cloth and head wraps so
that they will resemble the humps of camels.
End quote from al-Mu‘allim bi Fawaa’id Muslim (3/361)
Ibn Hubayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Perhaps this refers to when women will attach to their hair
other hair that has been cut from the heads of other people, so as to
enlarge their heads..
End quote from al-Ifsaah (8/119)
Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Concerning the words “with their heads like the humps of
camels” there are two views:
One is that they will enlarge their heads by means of what
they will attach to them of hair and by using head wraps, so that they will
resemble the humps of camels because they will be so high.
The second view is that it is a metaphor, meaning they will
look up at men and not lower their gaze, or they will not tilt their heads
downwards.
End quote from Kashf al-Mushkil min Hadith as-Saheehayn
(3/568).
Ibn al-Atheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
They are the ones who put wrappers around their heads in
order to make them bigger; this is a symbol of female singers.
End quote from an-Nihaayah fi Ghareeb al-Hadith wa’l-Athar
(2/409)
Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What is meant by the words “with their heads like the humps
of camels” is that they will make them bigger and enlarge them by wrapping a
headcover, headband or the like around them.
End quote from Sharh Muslim (14/110).
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Because these women will enlarge their heads by means of what
they put on them, they will resemble the humps of camels.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (6/356)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
What is meant is that one of them will make herself look like
that, piling up her hair on top of her head, so that it will lean to the
right or the left, like the hump of a camel. The word bakht, translated here
as camel, refers to a type of camel that is known for having a large hump
which leans to one side or another. To sum up, these women will do that
which will lead to fitnah for themselves or others.
End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb by al-‘Uthaymeen
(6/2).
This is what is disallowed and prohibited, namely enlarging
the head vertically by adding something and clearly going out of one’s way
to achieve that shape. Islam has protected women from attracting the
attention of evil people, and it protects their beauty and modesty so that
it is only to be uncovered in front of her womenfolk, husband or close
family members only. As for a woman adopting hairstyles that enlarge the
head under the hijab, thinking that she is doing nothing wrong, this is an
obvious mistake and this is what we are calling to be corrected.
Therefore we hope that the previous fatwa did not have too
much impact on righteous women, to the point that they fell prey to waswaas
(insinuating whispers from the Shaytaan) and went to extremes in limiting
the types of hairstyle they can have, and started sending us questions about
every type of hairstyle, because our aim is to set out general guidelines
and show the wisdom behind them, for they may all be understood from the
wording of the hadith, “like the humps of camels leaning to one side”, which
requires a great deal of effort and exaggeration to make that shape on top
of the head. As for a woman combing her hair in a regular manner, and
collecting it at the back of her head so that it will not be scattered or
fall down her back, this is not included in the hadith and there is nothing
wrong with it, so long as it is not a shape that attracts attention by
appearing from beneath the headcover or abayah.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Some
women gather their hair at the back of the head; is this what is prohibited
in the hadith of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?
He replied:
No. In the hadith of the Messenger it says: “like the humps
of camels leaning to one side”, which refers to gathering things on their
heads to enlarge them and make them big. As for this ordinary gathering of
the hair, it does not come under the same heading and is not what the
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) meant.…
As for what is mentioned in the hadith, “like
the humps of camels leaning to one side”,
this refers to gathering things on the head such as cloth so that it looks
like the humps of camels leaning to one side. The humps of the bakht camels
look like two humps with something in between them. End quote.
http://www.binbaz.org.sa/noor/2276
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Gathering the hair on the head so that it looks like a
camel’s hump is something blameworthy according to Islamic teaching.… It is
not permissible to pile up the hair on top of the head.
On the other hand, if we assume that this gathering the hair
at the back of the head refers to what is known as wearing the hair in a
bun, there is no harm in that, because with regard to wiping over the hair
(in wudoo’), it is not essential for the water to reach the skin of the
scalp; rather it is sufficient to wipe over the surface of the hair, whether
it is gathered or left loose.
End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb by al-‘Uthaymeen
(22/2).
Even though he was speaking about wiping over the hair, it
may be understood as meaning that there is nothing wrong with that hairstyle
(i.e., wearing the hair in a bun).
Conclusion: there is nothing wrong with a woman gathering her
hair under the hijab at the back of her head, without going out of one’s way
to enlarge it or make it big. The fatwa that appeared previously on our site
speaks about gathering the hair on top of the head and putting a great deal
of effort into raising it and giving it a big shape in such a way that it
attracts attention.
And Allah knows best.
