Is There a Limit to How Long a Male Can Grow His Hair?


Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I was wondering if it is permissible for a man to grow his hair past his shoulders.

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

From a previous answer by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (may Allah protect him):

“There is no specific limit. However, it cannot be so long as it is womanly, which scholars tend to define as hair below the shoulders.”

The Sunna

The way the Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon him) would dress, handle his hair or sit are from the Sunnas of habit. You will be rewarded for following him in this, and there is no blame for failing to do so. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Regarding the length of his hair, ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) narrated that “the hair of the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) did not reach his shoulders while exceeding his ear-lobes.” [Tirmidhi]

And Allah knows best.

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.

Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha’ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.