Is My Tawaf Valid If a Few Hairs Showed Through My Hijab?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I struggle a lot with waswasa. Before tawaf, I felt a few small hairs at the back of my head under my hijab. My sister looked at me directly and said nothing was showing.

Later, when I checked the hijab, I noticed a few hairs were visible through the fabric, but only if you looked very closely. Is my tawaf valid?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Your tawaf is valid, and your hajj is accepted, amin. I am going to keep this answer short, because brevity is part of the answer.

The Ruling

According to Sacred Law, hair that can only be seen by looking closely in a mirror is considered covered. What matters is what can be seen with normal vision, not by close inspection.

Even if a few strands of hair were visible, showing much less than a quarter of the head is excused, so your tawaf is valid.

Remember this important point: once an act of worship is completed, it is not undone by doubts that come up later. Certainty is not removed by doubt [Suyuti, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza’ir].

During your tawaf, your sister looked at you and confirmed nothing was showing. Checking your scarf in a mirror days later does not tell you what was visible at that time, nor does it outweigh her observation.

The Key Factor

You did the right thing during tawaf. Later, the waswasa came back, and instead of ignoring it, you looked for and found something to worry about. This is exactly how waswasa works.

So here is what you should do: do not check again. Leave the scarf as it is, and let this be the last answer you look for on this issue.

When the thought comes back, and it probably will, remind yourself, “my tawaf is valid, I have been told so,” and move on without arguing with the thought.

One Next Step

If these doubts affect other parts of your worship, please talk to a doctor or therapist as well as a scholar.

If you treat this only as a fiqh issue, it can keep you stuck in a cycle. This is a health matter, and it often improves with treatment. Seeking help is also a way of trusting Allah.

You were invited to hajj, and you went, so do not let anything take that away from you. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “The accepted hajj has no reward but Paradise.” [Bukhari and Muslim] May Allah accept your hajj and give you peace from these doubts.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.