Part of Al-Shama'il Al-Muhammadiyah (the series is completed)
· Lesson 6 of 40
Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiya | Episode (6) | Chapter on what was mentioned about the gray hair of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and his pigmentation
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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With pens of longing
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and ink of love,
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we pen lines more precious than gold
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describing the Master of Creation,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
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Chapter: What Has Been Related Concerning the White Hair of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Graying is the turning of hair from its original color to white,
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and it occurs due to various reasons,
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among them advanced age,
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constant grief, and other factors.
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And graying also refers to a person entering the stage of old age.
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On the authority of Qatadah, who said:
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"I asked Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him:
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'Did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, dye his hair?'
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He replied: 'It had not reached that stage;
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it was only a few white hairs at his temples.
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But Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,
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dyed his hair with henna and katam.'"
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In this hadith,
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Qatadah, may Allah have mercy on him,
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asks the noble Companion Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him:
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"Did the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, dye his hair?"—
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that is, did he alter the whiteness of the hair of his head and beard?
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Dyeing (khidab) means coloring the hair with red or another shade.
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Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, answered him:
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"It had not reached that stage,"
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meaning that whatever white hair the Prophet, peace be upon him, had
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was very minimal indeed,
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not warranting that one change it.
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And his words: "It was only a few white hairs at his temples"
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mean that the white hair of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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was merely a small amount at his temples.
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The temple is the area between the ear and the eye,
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and it also refers to the hair hanging down from the head
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into the space between the ear and the eye.
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And his words: "But Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him,
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dyed his hair with henna and katam"—
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Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, informed the questioner
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that Abu Bakr
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used to dye his hair with henna and katam.
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These are two well-known plants
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used for dyeing and changing hair color.
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Henna turns white hair red,
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while katam turns it black.
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When the two are combined
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by mixing a portion of henna with a portion of katam,
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the white hair takes on an intermediate color,
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between black and red.
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And on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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"I did not count on the head of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and his beard,
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more than fourteen white hairs."
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In this hadith,
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Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, relates
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that the white hairs found on the head
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and beard of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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were very few indeed,
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reaching a total of only fourteen hairs.
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And this number
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is considered exceptionally small.
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For this reason, Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
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as mentioned previously:
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"It had not reached that stage,"
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meaning its count had not reached the point of necessitating
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dyeing, due to how few they were.
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And on the authority of Simak ibn Harb,
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who said:
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"I heard Jabir ibn Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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when he was asked about the white hair of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and he said:
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'When he oiled his head,
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no white hairs could be seen;
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but when he did not oil it,
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some could be seen.'"
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In this hadith,
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Jabir ibn Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, answers
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upon being asked about the white hair of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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saying:
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"When he oiled his head,
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no white hairs could be seen;
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but when he did not oil it,
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some could be seen."
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That is, the white hairs were not noticeable
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because the few white hairs
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on his head, peace be upon him, blended
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with the sheen of the oil
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that he had applied.
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For that reason, the white hairs would show
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whenever he did not apply oil.
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And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
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who said:
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"The white hairs
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of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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were only about
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twenty white hairs."
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In this hadith,
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'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, relates
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that
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the white hairs of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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were close to twenty
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white hairs.
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And this is close
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to the hadiths
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mentioned earlier.
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And on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
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who said:
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"Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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'O Messenger of Allah,
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you have grown gray!'
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He replied:
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'Surah Hud, al-Waqi'ah,
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al-Mursalat,
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and 'Amma Yatasa'alun have turned me gray.'"
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And on the authority of Abu Juhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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who said:
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"They said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
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we see that you have grown gray.'
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He replied:
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'Surah Hud
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and its sister surahs have turned me gray.'"
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The textual evidence in these
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two hadiths
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is his statement, peace be upon him:
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"Surah Hud,
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al-Waqi'ah, al-Mursalat,
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'Amma Yatasa'alun,
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and Idha ash-Shamsu Kuwwirat have turned me gray,"
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and his saying:
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"Surah Hud and its sisters have turned me gray"—
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meaning its sister chapters
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from the surahs of the Qur'an
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that contain mention
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of the terrors of the Day of Resurrection
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and its tribulations.
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For these mentioned surahs
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contain depictions of the terrors of that
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Day.
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Thus, the few white hairs found in the hair
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of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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were not caused by anxiety
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over worldly matters,
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its interests,
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attachment to it, a desire
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for more of it,
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or similar reasons that typically
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characterize many people
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who turn gray
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from such causes.
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Rather, it was out of deep concern for the affair
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of the Hereafter.
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And on the authority of Abu Rimthah at-Taymi,
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of Taym ar-Ribab, who said:
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"I came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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accompanied by a son of mine."
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He said:
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"He was pointed out to me,
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and when I saw him, I said:
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'This is the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him.'
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He was wearing
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two green garments,
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and he had hair
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touched by white streaks,
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and his white hair was reddish."
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In this hadith,
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the noble Companion Abu Rimthah,
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may Allah be pleased with him, says:
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"I came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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and he was pointed out to me"—
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that is, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was shown to him.
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This visit might have been
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his very first visit
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to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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so he did not yet recognize him;
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thus, he asked about him.
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So when he saw him, he said:
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"This is the Prophet of Allah,
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peace be upon him,"
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seeking to verify his identity.
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And his words:
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"He was wearing two green garments,"
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such as a lower garment (izar) and an upper wrap (rida')—
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and what is meant is not
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purely solid green,
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but rather it may have been
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green mixed with black,
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or with black stripes,
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like Yemeni cloaks.
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And his words:
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"and he had hair touched by white streaks"—
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this is the point of evidence
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in the hadith,
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meaning the presence of white hairs
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on his head, peace be upon him.
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And his words:
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"and his white hair was reddish"
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mean it showed traces of dyeing,
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as will be mentioned later.
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A point of benefit:
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that which is established by
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the authentic hadiths
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is that the gray hair found
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in the hair of the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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was very minimal indeed,
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just a few scattered strands
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in three places,
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as pointed out by Anas,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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when he said:
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"The Messenger of Allah,
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peace be upon him, did not dye his hair;
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the whiteness was only in his soul patch,
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at his temples,
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and a few scattered strands on his head."
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And the soul patch (ʿanfaqah)
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is the small tuft of hair between the lower lip
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and the chin.
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The description given by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
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of the Prophet's gray hairs, peace be upon him,
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that were on his head,
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is proof that he,
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peace be upon him,
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would occasionally uncover his head,
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at times
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such as when rainfall descended,
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or because it might be obligatory to do so,
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such as for one who wishes to wipe
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over his head during ablution,
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and likewise during Hajj
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in the state of ihram.
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Chapter: What Has Been Related Concerning the Hair Dye
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of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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On the authority of
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Abu Rimthah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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who said:
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"I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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accompanied by a son of mine.
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Thereupon he asked:
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'Is this your son?'
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I replied: 'Yes, I testify to it.'
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He said:
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'He is not responsible for your crimes,
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nor are you responsible for his crimes.'
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He said:
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'And I saw his gray hair dyed red.'"
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In this hadith,
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Abu Rimthah, may Allah be pleased with him, relates
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that he came to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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having his son along with him.
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In this phrasing
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there is a point of benefit:
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namely, that fathers should take
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their children along to gatherings of goodness,
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or to visit a scholar,
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and the like.
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Thus, a father ought to
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bring his children along whenever possible,
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for in doing so
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lies their proper upbringing and nurturing
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upon love for the people of knowledge
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and love for gatherings of learning.
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As for his statement: "Thereupon he asked:
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'Is this your son?'"
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meaning, the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked
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Abu Rimthah, may Allah be pleased with him:
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"Is this your son?"
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And Abu Rimthah replied:
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"Yes, I testify to it,"
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meaning: "I formally acknowledge that
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he is my son,"
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stating this purely for emphasis.
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And his saying, peace be upon him:
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"He is not responsible for your crimes,
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nor are you responsible for his crimes,"
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means that if a offense is committed by him,
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an offense,
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then the burden of his offense falls only upon himself;
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and if an offense is committed by you,
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then the burden of your offense falls only upon you,
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and no bearer of burdens
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shall bear the burden of another.
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In this is the eradication of a custom
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that was prevalent during the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah),
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which was tribal blood vengeance.
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For whenever a son
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killed a person from another tribe,
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they would retaliate by killing his father,
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his brother, or a group
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of his relatives.
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Thus the Prophet, peace be upon him, abolished
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that custom.
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As for his statement: "And I saw
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his gray hair dyed red,"
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this indicates that the gray hair
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which was in his hair
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was very little,
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and that the redness observed in it
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was the result of hair dye.
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And on the authority of 'Uthman ibn Mawhab,
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who said that
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Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked:
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"Did the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, dye his hair?"
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He replied: "Yes."
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And in another narration he said:
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"I entered upon Umm Salamah,
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may Allah be pleased with her,
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and she brought out to us some hair
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from the hair of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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which had been dyed."
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And on the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
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who said:
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"I saw the hair of the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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dyed."
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And on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn 'Aqil,
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who said:
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"I saw the hair of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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in the possession of Anas
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ibn Malik, and it was dyed."
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In these
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hadiths lies the affirmation
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of hair dye for the Messenger of Allah,
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peace be upon him.
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The summary of the scholarly discussion concerning this,
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as an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
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"Al-Qadi said:
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'The scholars differed as to
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whether the Prophet,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, dyed his hair
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or not.
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The majority denied it, relying on the hadith
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of Anas, and this is the school of Malik.
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Yet some of the hadith scholars stated
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that the Prophet,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did dye his hair,
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due to the hadith of Umm Salamah
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and the hadith of Ibn 'Umar,
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stating that he saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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dyeing with yellow.'"
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He said:
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"'And some scholars reconciled between
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these hadiths by referring to what was alluded to
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regarding the hadith of Umm Salamah
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from the statement of Anas,
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wherein he said: "I do not know concerning
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what they narrate,
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except that it might have been caused
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by the perfume with which he used to scent
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his hair,"
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because he, peace be upon him,
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would use perfume frequently,
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and it naturally fades the blackness
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of hair.
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Thus Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, indicated
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that this change in color
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was not due to dyeing,
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but rather to the weakening of the dark pigment
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caused by the perfume.'
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He said:
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'It is also possible that those strands of hair
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changed after his demise
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due to Umm Salamah's frequent perfuming of them
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out of veneration.'"
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This marks the end of al-Qadi's words.
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"And the preferred view
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is that he, peace be upon him,
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dyed his hair on occasion
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and omitted it for the majority of the time.
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Hence, each narrator reported
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what he personally witnessed, and each was truthful.
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And this reconciliation is the designated sound approach."
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And al-Hafiz,
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may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
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"The essence of at-Tabari's reconciliation
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is that whoever affirmed definitively
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that he dyed his hair—
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as is apparent from the hadith of Umm Salamah
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and as is in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar,
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that he, peace be upon him,
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dyed with yellow—
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merely related what he personally observed,
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and that was indeed on some occasions.
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Whereas whoever negated it,
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such as Anas,
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this is understood as referring to the most frequent
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and predominant of his states."
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To be continued, if Allah wills.
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And Allah knows best.
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And may the peace and blessings of Allah be
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upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon his family and companions
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all together.