“I am a woman who tightly plaits the hair of my head; must I undo it for menstruation or janābah?” He replied, “No.”

The majority of jurists maintain that if water reaches every part of a woman’s hair—both the outer strands and the roots—without her undoing it, then undoing is not obligatory.

Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm said: “The stronger evidence indicates that undoing the hair is not required in the ghusl for menstruation, just as it is not required for janābah. However, in the case of menstruation it is legislated by the textual proofs, yet the command does not amount to an obligation, as shown by the ḥadith of Umm Salamah. This is likewise the position adopted by the author of al-Insāf. As for janābah, it is not even recommended; the recommendation is emphasized only for menstruation.”

Al-Zarkashī commented, “The first opinion is preferable, for it treats the two ḥadiths as expressing recommendation rather than obligation.”

Those who do not oblige undoing the hair cite certain versions of Umm Salamah’s ḥadith that mention menstruation together with janābah. Ibn al-Qayyim said of some of these versions, “The sound text of Umm Salamah’s ḥadith is limited to janābah alone, without any mention of menstruation, and there is no authentic report that prescribes undoing the hair for a menstruating woman.”

Al-Albānī likewise held that the mention of menstruation in the ḥadith is anomalous and not sound.

In light of this, Imam Aḥmad’s position in the matter is strong, and interpreting the two ḥadiths as recommending—rather than obligating—undoing the hair is a sound approach.