Dress and appearance, questions and answers.
Beards, hair, tattoos, gold, silk, perfume and clothing. 28 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- Is shaving your beard haram, and what is the punishment?Yes. In the Hanafi school, shaving the beard or trimming it shorter than a fist is makruh tahrimi (close to haram), and doing it habitually is a major sin. There is no worldly punishment fixed for it: it is a sin to repent from. The Maliki and Hanbali schools also call it haram; the relied-upon Shafi'i view calls it strongly disliked.
- What is the Sunnah length of the beard?In the Hanafi school the beard should be at least one fist long, measured below the chin. Whatever grows beyond a fist may be trimmed, as the Companion Ibn Umar did. Trimming it shorter than a fist is not allowed. Shafi'is prefer leaving it untouched, and Malikis allow trimming when it becomes very long.
- How should a Muslim man trim his moustache?Trim it short so the edge of the upper lip shows. In the Hanafi school trimming is sunnah, and Imam al-Tahawi held that trimming it very short is better. Letting it grow over the lip is disliked, and it should not be left for more than 40 days. Malikis dislike shaving it off with a razor.
- Which haircuts are haram in Islam?A haircut is not allowed when it shaves part of the head and leaves other parts long (qaza'), copies the opposite gender, or copies a style that marks a non-Muslim religion or a sinful group. A normal fade or taper where all the hair is cut and blended is generally fine. Long hair is allowed for men if it is kept tidy and not styled like a woman's.
- Is it haram to dye your hair black?For most purposes, yes. In the Hanafi school, dyeing grey hair pure black is makruh tahrimi for men and women, according to most of its scholars, with an exception for soldiers in battle. Dark brown, chestnut and henna shades are allowed. The Shafi'i school calls black dye haram, while Malikis and Hanbalis call it makruh.
- Is it haram to dye your hair in Islam?No. Dyeing hair is allowed, and for grey hair it is mustahabb (recommended) in the Hanafi school, ideally with henna or henna mixed with katam. Any colour is allowed except pure black, as long as the dye is pure and harmless and the look does not copy a sinful fashion. Wudu and ghusl are valid over normal hair dye.
- Are hair extensions and wigs haram?Extensions or wigs made of human hair are haram, because the Prophet ﷺ cursed the woman who joins hair and the woman who asks for it. In the Hanafi school, extensions made of synthetic fibre, wool or animal hair are allowed for a woman, provided they do not deceive anyone. A wig must be taken off for the wiping of the head in wudu.
- Is gold haram for men, including white gold?Yes. Wearing gold is haram for Muslim men in all four schools, whatever its colour or carat, so white gold and rose gold are included. This covers rings, chains, bracelets, earrings and watches made of gold. Women may wear gold freely.
- Is silk haram for men?Yes. Pure silk clothing is haram for men in all four schools, while women may wear it. A silk border or trim up to four fingers wide is allowed, and in the Hanafi school cloth with a silk warp and a cotton weft is allowed. Satin or "silk feel" fabrics made of polyester are not silk.
- Can Muslim men wear a silver ring?Yes. A Muslim man may wear one silver ring, and in the Hanafi school it should weigh less than one mithqal (about 4.37 grams). The stone can be any gem. Rings of iron, steel, brass, copper or platinum are not allowed for men in the Hanafi school, though the Shafi'is allow them. Other silver jewellery, like chains and bracelets, is not allowed for men.
- Do Muslims wear wedding rings?Many do, but a wedding ring is a custom, not part of an Islamic marriage, and the nikah is complete without one. A wife may wear a gold or silver ring. A husband may only wear a silver ring (under one mithqal in the Hanafi school), never gold. Many Hanafi scholars advise against the ring exchange ceremony itself.
- Can Muslim men wear jewelry?Women may wear all kinds of jewellery, including gold, silver and gems. Men are limited: in the Hanafi school a man may wear only one silver ring, whose stone can be a diamond or any gem. Chains, necklaces, bracelets and earrings are not allowed for men, whatever the metal, because they copy women's adornment.
- Is it haram to wear trousers below the ankles?For men, letting trousers, a thobe or a lower garment hang below the ankles out of pride is haram. Without pride, classical Hanafi texts call it makruh, and many Deobandi muftis say pride is hard to rule out and advise avoiding it altogether. The rule is for men only: women are told to cover their ankles.
- Can Muslim men wear shorts?Only if they cover from the navel to below the knees. In the Hanafi school a man's awrah runs from the navel down to and including the knees, so shorts that show the knees or thighs in front of others are not allowed. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools do not count the knee itself as awrah.
- Is it haram to wear tight clothes in Islam?Clothes that cover the skin but are so tight that they show the shape of the awrah are not allowed in front of others, for men or women. In the Hanafi school a prayer in them is still valid, though disliked. A fitted shirt or trousers that do not cling to the awrah are fine for men.
- Why are tattoos haram in Islam?Permanent tattoos are haram for men and women in all four schools. The Prophet ﷺ cursed the person who tattoos and the person who asks for it, and scholars explain it as changing Allah's creation for show, with needless pain and harm to the body. Henna and stick-on designs are not tattoos, though men should avoid henna designs.
- Is wudu or ghusl valid if you have a tattoo?Yes. A permanent tattoo is under the skin, so water still reaches the skin and your wudu, ghusl and prayer are valid. In the Hanafi school you do not have to remove it, especially if removal would harm you, but you should repent if you got it as a Muslim. Shafi'is require removal when it can be done without real harm.
- Are nose piercings haram?No, not for women. In the Hanafi school a woman may pierce her ears, and also her nose where a nose ring is a normal women's adornment, as it is in much of the Muslim world. Piercings for men are not allowed. Some Shafi'i scholars were stricter, though the later Shafi'i view also allows ear piercing for girls.
- Are earrings haram for guys?Yes. In the Hanafi school, and in the other three schools, it is not allowed for men to wear earrings or other piercings, because it copies women's adornment, and the Prophet ﷺ cursed men who imitate women. Eyebrow, lip and tongue piercings are not allowed for men either, and they are discouraged for women.
- Are eyebrow slits haram?Yes. Shaving slits into the eyebrows is not allowed in the Hanafi school, because it removes eyebrow hair for style, which falls under namas (plucking or thinning the eyebrows) that the Prophet ﷺ cursed. It also copies a street fashion. Men may not shape or thread their eyebrows, but they may trim very long stray hairs and remove hair between joined brows.
- Is perfume with alcohol haram?No, according to the mainstream Hanafi fatwa. The alcohol in perfumes, colognes and deodorants is almost always synthetic or made from sources other than grapes and dates, so on the view of Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf it is not khamr and not impure. You may pray wearing it. The other three schools treat all intoxicating alcohol as impure, so many of their scholars advise alcohol-free attar.
- Can Muslim men wear red clothes?Clothes dyed with saffron or safflower are makruh tahrimi for men in the Hanafi school. For plain bright red from other dyes the Hanafi scholars differ, and many advise men to avoid pure red, while red mixed with other colours, such as stripes or checks, is fine. The Shafi'i school allows plain red for men.
- Is it haram to dress like non-Muslims?It depends on what is copied. Wearing another religion's symbols or religious dress, like a cross, a monk's habit or a festival costume worn to celebrate, is haram. Clothes that everyone now wears, such as jeans, suits and t-shirts, are allowed in the Hanafi view, as long as they meet the rules of awrah, gold, silk and modesty.
- Can Muslims wear football shirts with a cross on them?A Muslim should not wear a cross, so in the Hanafi view a shirt or kit that clearly shows a cross is makruh tahrimi to wear, and praying in it is disliked. Cover or remove the cross with tape or a patch, or choose a version without it. A plain coloured pattern or a badge with no cross is fine.
- Can you wear clothes with pictures of people or animals?In the Hanafi school, wearing clothes with clear images of people or animals is makruh tahrimi, and praying in them is makruh tahrimi too, although the prayer counts. Images of trees, buildings, cars or patterns are fine, as are images too small to make out when worn, and images with the head removed. Some scholars are more lenient with printed photos.
- Is it haram to shave or laser your body hair?No. Removing pubic and armpit hair is Sunnah for men and women, at least every 40 days. Men may also remove chest, back, arm or leg hair; the Hanafi texts say shaving the chest and back goes against good manners but is not a sin. Laser is allowed, but nobody else may see or treat your awrah for it.
- What is the Sunnah way of cutting nails?Cutting nails is part of the fitrah (natural way) and should be done at least every 40 days, ideally weekly, with Friday preferred in the Hanafi texts. No authentic hadith fixes an order of fingers, but the Hanafi books recommend starting with the right hand in a set order. You may cut nails at night, and it is good to bury the clippings.
- What is the dress code for men in Islam?Islam sets rules, not a uniform. A Muslim man must cover from the navel to below the knees, avoid gold and silk, keep his clothes from hanging below the ankles, avoid tight or see-through clothes, and not imitate women or wear other religions' symbols. Within that, a thobe, a kurta, a suit, or jeans and a shirt are all acceptable.