Dyeing hair back to its natural black color

Question

My wife had her hair colored and now wants to return it to black. I am aware of the prohibition set out by the Prophet ﷺ in Abu Dawud regarding dyeing hair black — does this hadith also apply when returning to one's own natural color?

Mufti Sajid · Accepted Answer

This is our finding according to the Hanbali madhab, and we stand to be corrected by those specialized in the madhab. Ibn Qudamah mentions in Al-Mughni: *وَيُكْرَهُ الْخِضَابُ بِالسَّوَادِ* — "Dyeing with black is disliked," due to the Prophet's ﷺ statement: *غَيِّرُوا هَذَا الشَّيْبَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا السَّوَادَ* — "Change this grey hair and avoid black." In Kashshaf al-Qinaʿ (al-Buhuti): *وَيُكْرَهُ خِضَابُهُ بِالسَّوَادِ؛ لِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ التَّدْلِيسِ* — "Dyeing it black is disliked because of what it contains of deception." So the ruling concerns dyeing hair black, with the reason being تدليس (deception, altering one's appearance). Ibn al-Qayyim, in Zad al-Maʿad, says: *وَالصَّحِيحُ أَنَّ السَّوَادَ مَنْهِيٌّ عَنْهُ* — "The correct view is that black dye is prohibited." However, returning to one's natural black hair after using another dye would not fall under this prohibition, because the ʿillah (effective cause) is absent — it is not initiating black dye, but rather removing a previous dye to return to the original color. *والله تعالى اعلم.*

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