Q187 :In the past, you have mentioned that it is
permissible for men to dye their hair, but you have not clarified the
position regarding a black dye. Indeed, you have tended to make it
permissible, when the Prophet’s advice was clearly quoted to avoid
“black”. Would you please review the verdict with this
clarification?
A187 : You seem to be clear in your mind that using
a black hair dye is not allowed in Islam. I feel you are being too
strict. It is true that the Prophet has renetmended Henna and Katam as
the best material to use when dyeing hair, but there is nothing
specific in the Hadith about prohibiting or discouraging the use of
black dyes, except in a particular incident to which I will be
presently referring. Henna is a plant which can be used for hair dye
and which imparts to the hair a reddish color. Apparently, it is
beneficial to hair, because it is used in making shampoo. Katam is a
similar stuff but it gives the hair a darker color which is nearly
black but with a touch of red. Some of the netpanions of the Prophet
used to dye their hair using both these dyes or different ones. Abu
Bakr used both Henna and Katam, while Umar used Henna alone. What is
important to guard against when dyeing one’s hair is that there should
be no attempt to give oneself a false appearance. It happened during
the days of Umar that a man got married to a girl who was much younger
than him. Shortly after the marriage, she discovered that he had dyed
his hair to appear much younger. Her parents netplained to Umar who
reproached the man for giving a false appearance and ruled the marriage
null and void. But there is no other restriction on using a black dye.
Az-Zuhri says: “We used to dye our hair black when we had young faces.
When wrinkles appeared and teeth dropped, we stopped.” Some scholars
say that using a black dye is permissible only during the time of war,
because it gives an appearance of strength to the Muslim army. Other
scholars say that it is permissible at all times. The incident, which
has nete as the source of some confusion took place at the time of the
conquest of Mecca by the Prophet. Abu Bakr brought his father to the
Prophet to declare his adoption of Islam. Needless to say, Abu Bakr’s
father was an old man in his eighties. His hair had gone all gray, that
you could not see a single black hair on his head. The Prophet gave
instructions that his hair should be dyed, but he told his son “to
avoid black”. Scholars agree that this instruction by the Prophet did
not indicate any prohibition. It simply takes care of the old man’s
position. If he were to dye his hair black, his appearance would have
been ridiculous. The point was to change the total whiteness of his
hair with something respectable. I hope I have clarified this subject.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )