48/7. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 5058 — Al-Irfah Means Daily Hair Combing
Combing the Hair Every Other Day
Al-Irfah Hadith: Combing Hair Every Day Explained
Sunan an-Nasai : 5058
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 5058
أَخْبَرَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ كَهْمَسٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ شَقِيقٍ، قَالَ كَانَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَامِلاً بِمِصْرَ فَأَتَاهُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ فَإِذَا هُوَ شَعِثُ الرَّأْسِ مُشْعَانٌّ قَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكَ مُشْعَانًّا وَأَنْتَ أَمِيرٌ قَالَ كَانَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَنْهَانَا عَنِ الإِرْفَاهِ . قُلْنَا وَمَا الإِرْفَاهُ قَالَ التَّرَجُّلُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ .
Abdullah b. Shaqiq Narrated from:
One of the Companions of the Prophet [SAW] was a governor in Egypt, and one of his companions came to him and found him with unkempt, wild hair. He said: 'How come I see you with wild hair when you are a governor?' He said: 'The Prophet of Allah [SAW] forbade us from Al-Irfah,' and we said: 'What is Al-Irfah?' He said: 'To comb your hair every day.'
[1] The general meaning of which is “luxuriousness.”Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 5058In-book reference : Book 48, Hadith 19English translation : Vol. 6, Book 48, Hadith 5061
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 5058
This hadith about Al-Irfah gives both an incident and an explanation. A Companion of the Prophet [SAW] was a governor in Egypt. Someone came to him and found his hair unkempt and wild, and asked why he looked that way while being a governor. He answered that the Prophet [SAW] forbade them from Al-Irfah. When they asked what Al-Irfah was, he explained it as combing the hair every day. The report does not praise being messy for its own sake, and it does not ban all grooming. Its own explanation limits the point to daily combing. That is the safest way to present the teaching.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Companion connected his practice to the Prophet’s prohibition of Al-Irfah.
- Al-Irfah is explained in the report as combing hair every day.
- The story happened while the Companion was a governor in Egypt.
- The teaching is about daily grooming, not rejecting all neatness.
