Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your interest about Islam and its teachings. We do really appreciate your question which shows how far you are interested about adherence to the dictates of Shari`ah. May Allah save us all from the traps of Satan and enlighten our hearts with the light of Islam!
In his response to the question, Dr. Sabri `Abdul-Ra’oof, professor of Comparative Jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, issues the following Fatwa:
“Islam is a universal message that is valid for all peoples at all epochs. Islam never prohibits something unless it contradicts the Qur’an or the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, it is the duty of a Muslim to follow the example of righteous people and not to allow any matters of heresy in Islam. Hence, he is not to stick to the odd habits of non-Muslims in styling their hair.
The consensus of jurists agree that qaz` (shaving part of the head and leaving the rest) is prohibited as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against it, saying: “Shave it all or leave it all.”
Moreover, Imam Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalani reported in his book, Fathul-Bari, that Abu Dawud quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Qaz` is a Jewish habit”
Such way of shaving is prohibited as it causes distortion of man’s original figure and make him resemble the accursed Satan. It is even said to be the habit of people who possess ill morals.
Taking all this into account, Muslim youth have to follow the guidance of Islam and give up non-Islamic habits. Muslims are permitted to make the best use of the advanced technology of all peoples, but they should not try to imitate their way of dressing or hair styling which negates the appropriate Islamic protocols.
As for relating such issue to personal freedom, we’d like to draw the attention to the fact that man’s personal freedom is not questionable. But man should make use of that freedom to improve himself economically, educationally or so on, so that he may bring about many benefits for himself and for the whole society. Nevertheless, it is forbidden for a Muslim to do anything that contradicts the teachings of Islam or causes any harm to others.
So, the notion of personal freedom is shaded in bracket when it comes to how Muslim should behave; he is free to act as he likes as long as he does not go against the teachings of Islam.
In conclusion, Muslim youth should follow in the footsteps of righteous youth who adhere to Islam and stick to its teachings, so as to make the Muslim Ummah the best nation ever raised for mankind."
If you are still in need of more information, don't hesitate to contact us. Do keep in touch. May Allah guide us all to the straight path!
