Can Muslim ladies cut their hair? Can Muslim ladies donate their hair to non-Muslim cancer patients? Read this article in Maltese

Muslim women who are living in the Western countries regularly face the questions about their hair cut and also if they are allowed to donate their hair to cancer patients, and even to those who may not be Muslims, because it is a noble cause. Muslim women should not try to adopt hairstyle like men; otherwise, having their hair cut to a reasonable extent for the sake of adornment, or for any reasonable purpose, there is no harm in it. However, to cut the hair to donate for the cancer patients, for Muslim or non-Muslim patients, as truly a noble cause and a great service to mankind and it is permissible in Islam.

His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^aba, has given a very comprehensive answer to these questions. He said:

“There is nothing wrong with ladies having their hair cut if there is a need to do so. Hence, upon completing Hajj [pilgrimage to Mecca] and Umrah, women open their ihram only after having their hair cut.

It is narrated in ahadith [sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa] that the female Companionsra used to have their hair cut whenever the need arose to do so. However, women are not allowed to shave their heads. Similarly, the Holy Prophet Muhammad^sa forbade men from imitating women and women from imitating men. Thus, women should not have male hairstyles. However, there is no harm in having one’s hair cut to a reasonable extent for the sake of adornment in a way that does not resemble men.

Donating one’s hair to a patient is a virtuous act. There is nothing wrong with that. If one can donate their blood and other organs to another person for treatment purposes, why could they not donate hair?” (Alhakam)