behind it is beautification, then the apparent ruling is that it is not permissible.

Our teacher Shaykh Muḥammad al-Amīn al-Shinqīṭī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Adwā’ al-Bayān: “The custom now prevalent in many lands whereby a woman cuts the hair of her head almost down to its roots is a European practice that clashes with the way Muslim women—and even Arab women before Islam—used to be. It is one of the many deviations that have become widespread, afflicting religion, character, appearance, and more.”

He then dealt with the ḥadīth, “The wives of the Prophet ﷺ used to trim their hair until it resembled a wafrah,” explaining that the wives of the Prophet ﷺ only shortened their hair after his passing, for during his lifetime they beautified themselves, and one of their finest adornments was their hair. After his death, however, they were placed under a ruling unique to them, shared by no other women on earth: the total, irrevocable loss of any hope of remarriage—a despair utterly devoid of the least expectation. They were, in effect, like women observing a waiting period, confined on his account ﷺ until death. Allah the Exalted says, “It is not lawful for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah or to marry his wives after him ever; indeed, that would be an enormity in the sight of Allah.” (Al-Aḥzāb 53) ⦗1⦘

Such absolute despair of men may be a reason for granting them a concession to avail themselves of certain adornments that are not permissible for others