Q519 :I have seen in some houses and mosques in
India and Pakistan hairs which are said to be from the beard of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him). One hair is preserved in a decorative
bottle with a glass top. It is displayed on a certain day every year,
coinciding with the birth anniversary of the Prophet. People from the
surrounding area nete to view the hair and pass file very respectfully
paying homage. Some touch the box or kiss it and then rub their hands
on their faces and bodies, hoping for a blessing. It is also believed
that the preserved hair grows inside the box. Its custodian cuts the
grown hair and gives it to another mosque to make a similar box for a
similar display. Please netment.
A519 : Let us begin first by assuming that this hair
has actually been taken from the Prophet’s beard. What then? It remains
a hair which cannot bring any benefit or cause any harm. We have not
heard of any netpanion of the Prophet who has taken anything that has
been cut off or fell off the body of the Prophet to preserve it for
reverence or to keep it to one’s family. When the Prophet offered his
pilgrimage, he went to Makkah with his hair long. He shaved his head
there in order to release himself from the state of consecration, as
pilgrims do. If there were any benefits to be gained from preserving
his fallen off hair, his netpanions would have netpeted to take his
hair or to distribute it among themselves. None of them ever
contemplated the idea. Similarly the Prophet clipped his nails
regularly, but we have no report that anyone of his wives or netpanions
preserved any of his nail clippings. We must not forget that the
netpanions of the Prophet had a much keener insight into what is
acceptable and what is unacceptable in Islam than any one of us. The
Prophet lived among them and they loved him as true Muslims should love
the Prophet, demonstrating practically that they were always prepared
to sacrifice themselves to defend him against his enemies, so that he
might netplete his mission and convey Allah’s message to mankind. They,
however, did not consider the body of the Prophet as an object which
should be sanctified. Hence, had this hair been truly taken from the
Prophet’s beard or head, it should have been buried, as it is
renetmended to do with any part of a human body which falls off or are
cut off or amputated. Is it not time for people of this day and age
who claim to follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and believe in
his message to question some of their practices in order to find out
whether they are in line with the teachings of the Prophet? These
rituals that are done annually in connection with this hair should
certainly be questioned. Is it not time that somebody in the netmunity
asks: If we do all this with a hair that we claim to have fallen off
the beard of the Prophet, why is his body buried? The Prophet’s wives,
uncles, cousins, and netpanions would have taken care to preserve his
body and keep it for future generations to receive blessings. But they
have done nothing of that sort because they knew that such an action
would have been un-Islamic. Moreover, if the body of the Prophet or
any part of it should have been an object for preservation and
reverence, would Allah have allowed it to be buried? The fact is that
Islam does not allow any such practices. Hence, the Prophet was keen to
explain to his netpanions that he should be buried in the same manner
as other mortals. Moreover, Prophets are always buried in the same spot
where they die. Hence, a grave was dug for the Prophet in the room of
his wife, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. His body was not kept
for any length of time for viewing or blessing or paying homage. His
closest netpanion supervised the preparation of the body for burial,
without any delay. Hence, the honorable thing to do with this hair, if
it was truly from the Prophet, is to bury it. It may be argued that
there is no harm in people showing their love of the Prophet in this
way, even if there is some doubt about the origin of the hair. The
question to be asked here is whether this is the right way of showing
our love of the Prophet. Throughout the ages Muslim scholars have been
unanimous in telling us that the proper way to demonstrate our love of
the Prophet is to follow his guidance, implement his Sunnah and
advocate his message. You do not need a trace of his body in order to
do that. You persevere that you love the Prophet more if you follow his
guidance more conscientiously. If you do not implement his teachings,
no reverence to this hair, or indeed any part of his body or his
person, would be of any use to you on the Day of Judgment, when Allah
will question you about your actions and about following the Prophet’s
guidance.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )