ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “O Messenger of Allah, are we not upon the truth and our enemy upon falsehood?” He said, “Certainly.” He said, “Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?”

He said, “O Umar, I am the Messenger of Allah; I do not disobey Him, and He is my Helper.” Consider the Prophet’s confidence in Allah, the Exalted, when he said, “He is my Helper,” for Allah has guaranteed victory to whoever obeys Him. Umar then went to Abu Bakr, seeking his support against the Messenger of Allah so that he would be on his side, but Abu Bakr’s reply was exactly the same as the Messenger’s reply.

From this we know that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was closer to what was right than Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, because he agreed with the Messenger of Allah in this matter. What happened was that they came out of their Umrah, instead of continuing to recite, “Here I am, O Allah, here I am.” The talbiyah ceased, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed them to cut their hair short, but they held back in hope that the decision might change—not out of disobedience, may Allah be pleased with them.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then went in to Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her. She was an intelligent woman, and he told her of what he had encountered from the people. She said, “Go out, and do not speak a single word to any of them until you slaughter your sacrificial camels and summon your barber to shave your head.” So he did so, and then they rose and did the same as he had done, until they nearly killed one another out of grief (1). Consider how following an action was more effective than following words.

Thus, this hadith indicates that shaving the head is obligatory, even though it is not