the heads of boys. As for girls, the Prophet ﷺ prohibited a woman from shaving her head; this was narrated by al-Nasa’i.

Explanation
The compiler—may Allah have mercy on him—placed this chapter in Riyad al-Salihin to clarify the ruling on qazaʿ. He then cited a number of hadiths, among them the report of Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with both of them): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade qazaʿ.” Qazaʿ is to shave part of the head and leave part of it unshaven, whether that be on one side only, on every side, at the top, on the right, the left, the back, or the front. In short, whenever part of the head is shaved while another part is left, that is qazaʿ, and the Prophet ﷺ prohibited it.

This linguistic usage also appears in the statement of Anas: “We saw in the sky neither cloud nor qazaʿ,” meaning not even a patch of cloud.

The compiler next cited the second hadith of Ibn ʿUmar, in which a child was brought to the Prophet ﷺ with part of his head shaved while the rest was left. He said, “Shave it all, or leave it all.”

He then mentioned the hadith concerning the children of Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was martyred. The Prophet ﷺ allowed them three days and then came to them, saying, “Do not weep for my brother after today.” He granted them those three days so that their hearts might be consoled and their grief and sorrow might subside. After the three days had passed, he forbade them to continue weeping for Jaʿfar.

The young children were then brought to him, and he instructed that their heads be shaved; so their heads were shaved in order to keep them from becoming dirty, for—as is well known—children’s bodies and hair often become soiled. For that reason their heads were shaved.