Step 9 of 12
Shaving or Shortening, and the First Release
Next, men shave the head or shorten the hair, and shaving is better: the Prophet ﷺ prayed for mercy on those who shave, and only when asked again did he include those who shorten. Women do not shave; they cut a little from the ends of their hair. Allah describes the pilgrims entering the Sacred Mosque ﴿مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ﴾ (“with heads shaved or hair shortened”).
With this the pilgrim reaches the first release (al-tahallul al-awwal): most of what ihram forbids becomes lawful again, while intercourse stays forbidden until the tawaf of hajj. 'A'ishah (رضي الله عنها) said that she perfumed the Prophet ﷺ when he left ihram, before he made his tawaf of the House.
The sunnah order on the 10th is stoning, then the sacrifice, then shaving, then the tawaf. On that day people asked the Prophet ﷺ about doing these out of order, one having shaved before slaughtering, another having slaughtered before stoning, and to each he said, "Do it, and there is no harm."
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
How much of the head must a man shave or shorten?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Hanafi, Shafi'i.
Show each school
- At least a quarter of the headHanafi
- The whole headMaliki · Hanbali
- At least three hairsShafi'i
- Hanafi
- Shaving or shortening a quarter of the head suffices, as with wiping the head in wudu, though the whole head is the sunnah.
- Maliki
- The whole head must be shaved or its hair shortened, since the Prophet ﷺ shaved his whole head.
- Shafi'i
- Removing three hairs from the head is the least that counts, though shaving the whole head is best.
- Hanbali
- In the relied-upon view the whole head is shaved or shortened; another narration from Imam Ahmad accepts most of it.
What brings the first release from ihram?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Hanafi, Maliki.
Show each school
- Shaving or shorteningHanafi
- Stoning Jamrat al-'AqabahMaliki
- Any two of stoning, shaving and tawafShafi'i · Hanbali
- Hanafi
- Stoning alone does not release the pilgrim; once he has shaved or shortened, everything except intercourse becomes lawful.
- Maliki
- Stoning brings the first release, after which everything is lawful except women and hunting, and perfume is disliked until the tawaf.
- Shafi'i
- Doing any two of the three brings the first release, and doing the third brings the full release.
- Hanbali
- In the relied-upon view any two of the three bring the first release; another narration from Imam Ahmad holds that stoning alone does.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1727 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1301Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1984 Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih Lighairihi · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
- Qur'an 48:27
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1539 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1189Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1734 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1736 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1737 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1306Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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