What Should I Do about Hair That Falls While I Am in an Impure State?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
After intimacy with my wife, I noticed some hairs on my pillow and bedsheet. The hair may have come out before or after intercourse. I would like to know whether I have any obligation to that fallen hair according to the Shafi’i School?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah guide us to what pleases Him.
The scholars generally concur that it is recommended to bury everything separated from a living human’s body, such as a limb, hair, nails, and the like. [Nawawi, Al-Majmu’ Sharh al-Muhadhdhab]
Burying is recommended whether the severed parts/hairs were severed in a pure state or a state of sexual impurity (janaba), though deliberate removal should be done while in a pure state; Allah knows best.
Removing Hair or Nails in an Impure State
It is recommended (Sunna) for anyone in a sexually impure state (janaba) to defer the removal of nails and hair till after they perform the major ritual washing (ghusl) [Shirwani, Hashiya ‘ala Tuhfat al-Muhtaj]
A woman in her menses may remove hair and nails without waiting for her period to pass since she does not possess control over when her period will end. If she expects her period to end soon and can postpone her hair/nail removal, it is Sunna for her to do so, and Allah knows best. [ibid.]
I pray that this benefits and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
