because imitating the disbelievers is prohibited. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them” (1). Accordingly, if we see someone who has shaved part of his head, we should instruct him to shave all of it; thereafter, he should be instructed either to shave it all or to leave it all.
Among the recommended acts of ablution are:
His statement, “Among the recommended acts of ablution”: sunan is the plural of sunnah, and it may refer to a way or practice: the sayings, actions, and tacit approvals of the Messenger ﷺ. In this sense, there is no distinction between what is obligatory and what is recommended: an obligation may be called a sunnah, and a recommended act may likewise be called a sunnah.
An example of an obligation is Anas’s statement: “It is from the sunnah that, if a man marries a virgin after having married a previously married woman, he stays with her for seven nights” (2).
An example of a recommended act is the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him: “Aligning the feet and placing one hand over the other are from the sunnah” (3).
As for the jurists and scholars of legal theory, may Allah Most High have mercy on them, it refers to that which is not obligatory; that is, what has been commanded without being binding.