Can Women Uncover Their Hair While in Ihram, and Do Umra Rulings Apply to Children?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

I’m planning to do Umra next week with my husband and 9-year-old daughter. She is not an adult, so will all the rules of umra/Ihram will apply to her?

She has very short hair, so after Umra, is she also eligible for a hair cut? If she makes any mistake, then will we have to do “Dum”?

During Ihram, can women uncover her hair/head in front of her Mehram and Muslim women? (I never did in front of my husband, but my friends said they did)

Previously, after performing Umra, I cut my hair in our hotel room, which was very near to Masjid al-Haram, is it right to do it because I didn’t have scissors in my hand bag, and my husband was done by a barber in his shop, which is also in front of Masjid al-Haram?

Answer

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

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Umra for a Child

No, your child won’t have to apply the rulings pertaining to Umra and sacrality (ihram) because Allah, Most High, is not holding a child responsible for performing any act of worship. [Nassafi, Manar]

The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon him) has said: “The pen is lifted from three people: a sleeping person until he awakens, a child until he becomes an adult, and an insane person until he regains his sanity.” [Tirmidhi]

When it comes to Allah’s rights, a child is also not accountable for any legal punishment. (This includes mistakes in Umra). [Ibid.]

Nonetheless, if you encourage your child to perform Umra, it will be valid if performed correctly and she will be rewarded. [Ibid.]

Reward and validity are not necessarily related and your child could well be rewarded even for an invalid Umra as long as she doesn’t commit voluntary mistakes. [Ibn Nujaym, Ashba was Naza’ir]

Uncovering One’s Hair

Uncovering one’s hair in front of someone else won’t nullify your Umra. [Quduri, Mukhtassar]

If it was, scholars would have mentioned it.

Nonetheless, it remains of course, impermissible to do so in front of a non-mahram.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[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.