What is described in this hadith is a reality in our time, for dyeing the beard and hair black has become widespread among men.
It appears to me—and Allah knows best—that the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) words, “like the crops of pigeons,” describe the appearance of some Muslims in this age. You see them fashioning their beards into the shape of pigeons’ crops: they shave the hair from their cheeks, leave the hair on their chins, and then dye it black, so that it comes to resemble the crops of pigeons.
Ibn al-Jawzī (1) said: “It may be that the words ‘They will not smell the fragrance of Paradise’ mean that this is because of some deed they commit or belief they hold, not because of the dyeing itself, and that dyeing is merely their distinguishing mark—just as he said of the Kharijites that their distinguishing mark is shaving—even though
Abd al-Karīm ibn Abī al-Mukhāriq, who is *matrūk* (rejected).
Ibn Hajar refuted him, saying: “He erred in this, for the hadith was narrated by Abd al-Karīm al-Jazarī, a trustworthy narrator whose reports are included in *al-Sahīh*.”
He then listed those who transmitted the hadith. See Ibn Hajar, *al-Qawl al-Musaddad* (pp. 48–491).
The eminent al-Shawkānī followed Ibn al-Jawzī in this, stating in *al-Fawāid al-Majmūa*: “Al-Qazwīnī said: ‘It is *mawdū* (fabricated).’” See *al-Fawāid al-Majmūa fī al-Ahādīth al-Mawdūa* (p. 510, hadith no. 1420), edited by Abd al-Rahmān ibn Yahyā al-Muallimī, 2nd ed., Beirut, 1392 AH.
(1) He was the eminent Abū al-Faraj Abd al-Rahmān ibn Alī al-Jawzī al-Qurashī al-Baghdādī al-Hanbalī, author of major works numbering approximately three hundred in hadith, preaching, Quranic exegesis, history, and other fields. He died in 597 AH—may Allah have mercy on him.
See *al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya* (13/28–30), and Abd al-Rahmān Muhammad Uthmān’s introduction to Ibn al-Jawzī’s *al-Mawdūāt* (1/21–26), published by Muhammad Abd al-Muhsin, 1st ed., 1386 AH.