Is It Permissible for a Hanafi to Cut Only 3 Hairs When Performing Umrah?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: As salamu alaykum, Is it permissible for a Hanafi to take the Shafi’i opinion on cutting only 3 hairs when performing umrah? And if it is allowed under certain conditions or a certain situation, could you please tell me what those are.

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

No. In the Hanafi school, the way to exit ihram is to shave the head or to trim the hair. Cutting three hairs is not a valid position in the school. (Izmiri, Kamal al Diraya)

However, if one wanted to follow the Shafi’i school to perform one’s hajj then that is perfectly permissible. However, as Shaykh ‘Abd al Ghani al Nabulsi stated, you would have to learn all the rulings needed to perform it according to the Shafi’i school and ensure that it is valid according to that school. There should be no mixing. (Khulasa al Tahqiq fi Bayan Hukm al Taqlid wa al Talfiq).

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.