Q. In answering a reader about not fasting in Ramadan because he got married, you said he could consider this as travel from Jeddah to India. This sounds as if you are giving a ruling to fit a case. Is this right? Could it not suggest a way out for anyone who does not wish to fast because of special circumstances?
(Name and address withheld)
A. When a question is asked by a reader, the answer should take into account the special circumstances of the person who puts the question. This is necessary in all cases. How else can a scholar give the right answer? The same question may be asked by another reader, but the answer can be different in certain aspects because of a particular factor, or factors, affecting one case but not the other. The reader who asked the question travelled from Jeddah where he works and lives to India for the purpose of the marriage. Anyone who travels has the option not to fast while he is on travel. This concession is given in the Qur’an. No one can judge his situation other than him, because he is the one aware of all factors. Therefore, we say to him that if his stay in India is one of a traveler, then he can avail himself of this concession. However, no one is given an exemption from fasting only because he wishes to get married in Ramadan. There is no emergency in this case. The reader put to me the two factors, and I answered him on this basis.
Had his question been whether he is allowed not to fast because of his marriage, I would have told him that he is not, but when he added the travel factor, the case became different.
Q. What is the rule on hair dyeing? Is it forbidden to dye one’s hair black? Does the same ruling apply when a person’s hair starts to go gray at an early age? How does this apply to a person whose hair is not black? How about women trimming their eyebrows?
Y. Yakoob
A. Hair dyeing is permissible, provided it is not intended for deception. A man got married after dyeing his hair. After the marriage, his wife discovered that he was much older than he looked. Her father complained to Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second Caliph, who annulled the marriage, saying to the man: ‘You have committed an act of deception’.
When the Prophet suggested to Abu Bakr that he should dye his father’s hair, because he was very old and his head looked very white. The Prophet told Abu Bakr that he should avoid dyeing it black. This is because such an old man would look odd if he were to wear black hair. In fact, such a sight could make people laugh.
So, the important factor to observe is that the hair of an old man should not be dyed in its original color so as not to invite derision. Moreover, deception must not be the intention. Hence, a hair dye, which is clear to be a dye, as in the case of using henna, is permissible. Young people who have gray hair may use a dye giving a natural color, provided they do not try to deceive anyone with regard to their ages.
The Prophet denounced thinning eyebrows in order to give a woman an attractive appearance. However, if a woman’s eyebrows are too thick so as to cause her embarrassment, then she may take off a small part of hair to avoid such harm.