She is asking about gathering her hair together under the hijab

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 1 side

ANSWER :

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, 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. 

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 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.

-islamqa.info