Nur al-Shayb wa Hukm Taghyirihi fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunna
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Safir Press
Nur al-Shayb wa Hukm Taghyirihi fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunna (The Light of Gray Hair and the Ruling on Altering It in the Light of the Book and the Sunnah) is a concise legal and hadith treatise by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE), examining the merits of gray hair in Islam and the rulings on plucking or dyeing it.
Overview and Composition
The treatise was completed on 27 Rabi' al-Awwal 1419 AH (21 July 1998 CE) as part of al-Qahtani's published monograph series. The author composed the work to compile and evaluate prophetic traditions concerning the virtue of growing gray hair while adhering to Islam, the prohibition of altering it with pure black dye, and the permissible alternatives such as henna, katam (a dyeing plant), and yellow dye (ṣufrah). Throughout the text, al-Qahtani documents the narrations with their classical hadith sources and relies on the gradings of modern hadith scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, alongside legal commentaries from classical authorities and oral rulings from his teacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz.
Contents and Rulings
The book examines several interconnected legal and ethical topics regarding gray hair:
- Virtues of Gray Hair and the Prohibition of Plucking: Al-Qahtani presents traditions narrated by over ten Companions establishing that gray hair serves as a light for the believer in this world, within the grave, and on the Day of Resurrection. The narrations state that for every gray hair grown in Islam, a good deed is recorded, a sin is expiated, and a spiritual rank is elevated; consequently, plucking gray hair from the beard, mustache, or eyebrows is forbidden or intensely disliked (makrūh).
- Prohibition of Pure Black Dye: The work argues that dyeing gray hair black (al-khiḍāb bi-l-sawād) is strictly unlawful (ḥarām) and constitutes a major sin. Al-Qahtani cites the Prophet's ﷺ instruction to the father of Abu Bakr to alter his white hair while avoiding black, as well as the severe warning regarding end-times individuals who dye their hair black like the crops of pigeons and will not perceive the fragrance of Paradise. Addressing reports that certain early Muslims dyed with black, al-Qahtani notes that the explicit prohibitive texts likely never reached them, citing Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Nawawi to maintain that textual prophetic prohibition supersedes individual practice.
- Recommended Methods of Dyeing: Dyeing gray hair using non-black substances—such as pure red henna, a combination of henna and katam (producing a dark reddish-black tone), or yellow dyes derived from saffron and wars—is categorized as an emphasized Sunnah (sunnah muʾakkadah). Quoting al-Qurtubi, the author highlights that such dyeing distinguishes Muslims from other religious communities and cleanses the hair.
- Non-Age Causes of Graying: The treatise concludes by noting that gray hair can arise before old age due to awe and fear of God, citing prophetic statements where the Prophet ﷺ declared that Surah Hud and related Quranic chapters had turned his hair gray.
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