Points Derived from the ḥadīth
1 – It is permissible for a pilgrim in the state of iḥrām to shave his hair when its remaining causes him harm, and he must then offer a compensatory offering (fidya). The Prophet ﷺ only asked about his ability to give the fidya so as to grant him permission to shave, as is explicitly stated in another narration.
2 – It is forbidden for the pilgrim in iḥrām to remove any hair when there is no need, even if he intends to offer a fidya.
3 – The preferred form of the fidya is a sheep; if he cannot find one or cannot afford it, he should either fast three days or feed six needy persons, giving each of them half a sāʿ.
4 – The general wording of the ḥadīth indicates that the requirement is half a sāʿ whether the fidya is wheat or something else. This is the view of Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and one narration from Aḥmad, and it is adopted by the majority of scholars.
• The well-known position in Aḥmad’s school is that a single mudd of wheat, or half a sāʿ of anything else, suffices.
• Abū Ḥanīfah holds that one must give half a sāʿ of wheat or a full sāʿ of other grains. The first opinion is the strongest of the three.
5 – Shaving is allowed either before the expiation is offered or after it has been given.
6 – The Sunnah clarifies the Qur’an: the “charity” mentioned in the verse, “…or charity or sacrifice” (Qur’an 2:196), is explained in this ḥadīth as feeding the poor.
7 – The ḥadīth highlights the Prophet’s mercy toward his community and his concern for their circumstances.
8 – Because the text establishes that what is paid here is a fidya, it takes the same ruling as an expiation (kaffārah): the one who offers it may not eat from it or benefit from it in any way, nor may anyone whose maintenance he is obliged to provide through kinship or contract, whether the fidya is an animal or food.
9 – Ibn al-Qayyim stated that a pilgrim in iḥrām is allowed to comb his hair, and there is no evidence from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, or scholarly consensus prohibiting or forbidding him from doing so; combing the hair is not among the things that are unlawful for a person in iḥrām.