Must Hair Above the Sideburns Be Washed in Wudu?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I am a woman with hair growing down from my scalp to the middle of my ear. Must the entire length of this hair, above the sideburns, be washed in wudu, or is washing the skin of the sideburns sufficient?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
I pray this finds you in the best of states.
When it comes to the face, it is obligatory to wash it from earlobe to earlobe. This includes the skin of the sideburns. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
When it comes to the hair, it is obligatory to wipe with water one-fourth of the area of the head above the ears and the forehead. It is an emphasized sunna to wipe all of this area. [Ibid.]
Allah, Most High, says:
“O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles.” [Quran, 5:6]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching for ways to learn Islam reliably and was disappointed at the answers he found locally.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
