Why is it taboo in asian societies for women to cut their hair?

You —

Just asking because I came across this page which mentioned:

It was narrated in Saheeh Muslim that Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan said: “The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to cut their hair until it came just below their ears.” ( al-Hayd , 320)

So why is it taboo especially for the older generation? Is there some valid source, or could it be due to maybe influence from other religions in the region which may be against cutting of hair? (I *think* sikhs may consider it wrong to cut the hair... or I may be making that up.)

(PS I cannot seem to find that hadith in the USC collection of Sahih Muslim...)

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You — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 - 16:20

wednesday

MakeMeRawr_6TeenF
Ya'qubRory stop being silly.

Nuh-uh

hehe : )

What about men? Are they anywhere advised not to look like women? ie long (I mean longer than shoulder length) hair and stuff? Are they too asked not to imitate non-believers?

I am quite sure both the imitation of the other gender and of other religions is unisex (or the phrasing may even be masculine as that is what is used when addressing everyone.)

You — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 - 16:21

MakeMeRawr_6TeenF

Youcouldn't you like... think out of the box... only when we tell you to?

:o

No you didn't just accuse me of being narrow minded!

It was a joke. (I am quite sure I suggested the opposite. or narrowly broadminded or something.)

Ya'qub — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 - 17:09

wednesday

MakeMeRawr_6TeenF
Ya'qubRory stop being silly.

Nuh-uh

hehe : )

What about men? Are they anywhere advised not to look like women? ie long (I mean longer than shoulder length) hair and stuff? Are they too asked not to imitate non-believers?
.

I thought it was sunnah to have shoulder-length hair

RI_RS — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 - 21:19

You

MakeMeRawr_6TeenF
Youcouldn't you like... think out of the box... only when we tell you to?

:o

No you didn't just accuse me of being narrow minded!

It was a joke. (I am quite sure I suggested the opposite. or narrowly broadminded or something.)

😂

SUCH a scaredy cat xD

TPOS — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 - 17:14

if i try to explain to my parents that this sort of stuff is just cultral crap they make me look soo bad. first they would say the scholars say it etc and then its like "ur older than me arent u, u know more than me" or "i dont know anything do i?!" 🙁

TPOS — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 - 18:17

I am so circulating this hadith to everyone!! 😃

do u think i could find the hadith in urdu? if someone else does please do link it to me, it would be most appreciated!!

Also yesterday when i asked my dad for evidence (:P) he dad goes it says in Surah Nisa that u cant cut ur hair and i was like it probably says to not look like a boy and all that but i need to read up on that. does anyone else know anything about it?

TPOS — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 - 18:53

Women cutting the hair
The hadith in Muslim in which it is stated that the blessed wives of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give peace) used to cut their hair, the commentators of Muslim explain that it is applied to women who are old and widowed and does not beautify herself. Imam Nawawi states that this action cannot be imagined as haven been during the lifetime of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give peace).

- It is permissible for an old woman and a young girl who cannot look after her hair, to cut it short a little, in order to look after it.

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?id=56

Walaikum assalam,

In general, the books of the Hanafi school are very strict about women not cutting their hair. The scholars differed, however, about what exactly is meant by this.

What I learned from several scholars was that a woman�s hair cannot resemble a man�s (therefore, it should be below the shoulder); it cannot imitate those of kafir or corrupt women; the best is that it be long.

The recent �answer� by Shaykh Taqi on http//www.albalagh.net is similar to this.

And Allah knows best.

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=99&CATE=90

According to leading Hanafi scholars of Syria, including Shaykh Adib Kallas, there is no harm in a woman cutting her hair, as long as:

a) it remains feminine (and thus does not resemble men);

b) it is not cut with the express intent of imitating non-Muslim fashions; and

c) it is not cut �excessively�.

The texts in the Hanafi school indicating impermissibility of women cutting their hair are understood�these scholars say�to be conditioned by the above considerations.

In the Shafii school, it is permitted to even cut the hair very short if the husband prefers it that way.

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=4319&CATE=178

:S
aren't the second and last ones contradictory?

You — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 - 01:22

inna lillah wa inna ilaihi raaji'oon.

The crux of it all seems to be "it should not imitate men" and then people take that to mean different things...

as for the it should not imitate non muslims thing - I think that cna be discounted as generally it means in a religious manner where it should not imitate something that is considered from another religion - like dress wise this is meant to mean eg dressing up as a preiest. At the same time this can be taken in the opposite manner where... were sikh/hindu women allowed to cut their hair at all? if no, would it not be differentiating from them to cut the hair?