Chapter: The Prohibitions of Ihram

The prohibitions of ihram are the acts that become unlawful for a person once he has entered the sacred state of pilgrimage.

They number nine in all:

First prohibition – Removing hair:
It is forbidden for a pilgrim to take off any hair from any part of his body without a valid excuse, whether by shaving, plucking, or cutting. Allah the Exalted says, “And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal reaches its place of slaughter” (Q 2:196). Although the verse singles out the head, the same ruling applies—by consensus—to all body hair, because the underlying meaning is the same and because removing it brings comfort, whereas the pilgrim is meant to remain unkempt and dusty. If a hair falls into his eye, he may remove it and no compensation is due, for that hair is not in its normal place and its removal lifts harm.

Second prohibition – Trimming the nails:
Cutting the fingernails or toenails without excuse is likewise forbidden. If a nail breaks and he shortens it, or it comes off together with a piece of skin, no compensation is required, for it departed incidentally and what is subsidiary is not given an independent ruling. This is unlike the case of shaving the head because of lice or severe headache, for Allah the Exalted says, “Whoever among you is ill, or has an ailment of the head, must offer a compensatory fasting, or charity, or sacrifice” (Q 2:196).