Can a Man Have a Ponytail?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question

1. Are men with long hair allowed to tie their hair in a ponytail?

2. If one wears a ponytail, would this have to be undone for prayer?

3. Are men with long hair allowed to curl their hair to make it wavy like the noble hair of the Prophet?

Answer

1. Yes, it would be permitted for men to have long hair and a ponytail provided it is not viewed as imitating the opposite sex or a sign of the corrupt/irreligious. Whether it is or is not would return to the customs of the land where one is.

2. A ponytail would not affect the validity of the prayer and it would not have to be undone before praying.

3. There is no harm in styling one’s hair in a manner resembling the noble hair of the Prophet (God bless him).

Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Salman Younas
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.