trimming the nails, shaving the pubic hair, and the other practices transmitted by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ. All of this stands as an explicit rebuttal of the author—and of anyone who follows his line of thought—that the beard is a mere social custom whose legal status shifts with the passing of eras and cultures. For fitrah (the primordial disposition) is a category that, in Sacred Law, admits of no alteration, no matter how norms and habits evolve. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “The natural disposition of Allah upon which He has created mankind—there is no changing Allah’s creation. That is the upright religion, yet most people do not know.” ⦗1⦘
If even on this point we are opposed, I would not be surprised to see a day come when certain shaykhs and writers—steeped in the corrupt milieu that surrounds them—live in a society where letting the pubic hair grow instead of shaving it, leaving the beard to grow, and allowing the fingernails to lengthen like wild beasts have all become fashionable. I would not be surprised if some of them then pronounce these practices, which run counter to the fitrah, permissible on the pretext that their age finds them tasteful and attractive, claiming that they are merely outward appearances to which Islam pays no heed, leaving them to personal preference—even though such behaviour undermines the distinct Islamic identity that is one of the sources of the Ummah’s strength. O Allah, guide us to Your way.
He says: “Some of the Companions dyed their hair yellow, others used henna and katam, yet others saffron, and a group of them used black dye.”
I reply: Dyeing with colours other than black is authentically reported from the Companions and accords with both the Prophet’s ﷺ practice and his teaching.
As for his statement that “a group of them used black dye,” I say: even were this reliably established, it carries no weight as evidence, for it contradicts the firmly established sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in both word and deed. Allah the Exalted has said, “If you disagree about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger…” ⦗2⦘ It is authentically transmitted that leading Companions such as Abū Bakr and ʿUmar used dye