The fifth view is that if he shaves enough to remove the harm, he is liable to a compensatory sacrifice.

The view closest to the apparent meaning of the Quran is the last one: that he shaves enough to remove the harm—that is, an amount apparent over the entire head. This is the view of Malik: namely, if he shaves in a manner that is nearly complete, such that the head is relieved of the harm. For this is what removes the harm. The evidence for this is as follows:

First: Allah the Exalted says in the Quran concerning this matter:

“But if any of you is ill or has an ailment of the head…” [al-Baqarah 2:196]

Thus, if he has an ailment of the head, he does not shave except an amount that removes the harm; then he is liable to an expiation.

Second: The Prophet ﷺ “had himself cupped on his head while in a state of consecration” (1). Cupping the head necessarily requires shaving the hair from the site of the cupping instruments; there is no alternative. Yet it has not been reported that the Prophet ﷺ offered an expiation, because the hair removed for the sake of the cupping instruments is not enough to remove the harm; it is little in comparison with the rest of the hair.

Accordingly, we say: whoever shaves three hairs, four, five, ten, or twenty is not liable to a compensatory sacrifice or anything else. This is not called shaving. But is it permissible for him to do so or not?

The answer is: It is not permissible, because we have a principle: “Fulfilling a command is not complete except by carrying out all of it, and complying with a prohibition is not complete except by abandoning all of it.”

Thus, when you are prohibited from something, you must refrain from it in its entirety and in every part; and when you are commanded to do something