Beware of Wigs, Toupees, and Hair Extensions: They are Haram!

There are many benefits to being a Muslim. One of the great benefits is that one learns what offends Allah, and what does not offend the Allah. And it is very important to know these things because human reason has no way of knowing what can please Allah and what may offend him. I am sure that from Allah's perspective they make sense, but from our perspective what Allah wills does not always make sense.

Sometimes, for us, what Allah hates seems highly arbitrary. For example, who would think that killing a Jew or a Christian, or an apostate Muslim is a good thing, and will win you a blessing and a ticket to paradise, but that wearing wigs will earn you a curse from Allah and a ticket to hell?

I, for one, would not have known this were so were it not for the wonderful Sunna that helps us know these things that otherwise we could not even guess at knowing. Our reason and common sense would tell us that wearing a wig, though it may reflect vanity, is not as wrong as murdering someone for God's sake. But this, it turns out, is not true. See! Allah's ways are simply way beyond ours. A good Muslim ought not to trust his reason!

Wigs made of human hair are very offensive to Islam, as Muhammad taught that Allah curses women who wore wigs or wore hair extensions of real human hair (al-mustawsilah), even in extenuating (pun) circumstances.* Allah even curses wigmakers (al-wasilah), so both maker and wearer--the whole economy of wig-making and wig-wearing--are condemned as much as usury is condemned.

In Sahih Bukhari 7.72.817), for example, we find the following hadith:

An Ansari girl was married and she became sick and all her hair fell out intending to provide her with false hair. They asked the Prophet (pbuh) who said, "Allah has cursed the lady who artificially lengthens (her or someone else's) hair and also the one who gets her hair lengthened."

Here is another hadith from Sahih Bukhari (7.72.818):

Narrated by Asma (the daughter of Abu' Bakr) A woman came to Allah's Apostle and said, "I married my daughter to someone, but she became sick and all her hair fell out, and (because of that) her husband does not like her. May I let her use false hair?" On that the Prophet cursed such a lady as artificially lengthening (her or someone else's) hair or got her hair lengthened artificially.

Lest one waver, the next hadith (7.72.819) is succinct as it is clear:

Narrated by Asma (the daughter of Abu Bakr) Allah's Apostle has cursed such a lady as artificially lengthening (her or someone else's) hair or gets her hair lengthened.

A similar teaching is found in Sahih Bukhari 7.72.824:

Narrated by Asma

A woman asked the Prophet saying, "Oh Allah's Apostle! My daughter got measles and her hair fell out. Now that I got her married, may I let her use false hair?" He said (to her), "Allah has cursed the lady who lengthens hair artificially and the one who gets her hair lengthened artificially."

These and similar such ahadith make it clear that Muhammad and Allah both are disdainful of wigs. I would suppose no means no even if the little girl lost her hair because of chemotherapy. See! This is how wonderful Islam is! It tells the little girl who has lost her hair in chemotherapy that she must not have a wig of real human hair, but this is because Allah--isn't he merciful?--would otherwise curse her? The little girl that suffers both being bald and being ridiculed for it will grow up psychologically healthy because she will know that at least she avoided Allah's curse because she did not wear a wig of human hair.

Oh wicked wigs! Oh wicked wigs! How much better the world would be without wicked wigs!

Louis XIV was definitely not a Muslim!

Another hadith (Sahih Bukhari 4.56.674) evidences Muhammad's teaching that wigs are evil. And this one makes clear that the prohibition is not only for women, but includes men, and so presumably includes toupees. Men who wear wigs (al-mustawsil) and who make them (wasil) are execrable.

Humaid bin 'Abdur-Rahman (May Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw Mu'awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) during the Hajj (pilgrimage) standing on the pulpit. He took from the guard a bunch of hair, and said: "O people of Al-Madinah! Where are your scholars? (Why do they do not prohibit you) I heard the Prophet (PBUH) prohibiting from using this (false hair) and saying, 'The people of Bani Israel were ruined when their women wore such hair.'"

Again, repetitio mater memoriae. Another hadith says:

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) cursed the maker and wearer of a wig and the tattooer and the one who is tattooed.

This must explain why Muslims believe America is cursed. After all, the American founders all wore wigs, white periwigs on top of that--egads! They were cursed! We are cursed! All on account of the wigs!

Allah damn the wig!

Écrasez la perruque!

Cursed wig-wearer!

This must explain why Mozart's music is so ugly, especially such works as his German Dances K 605). Not only was that piece written by a cursed man--after all, he wore a wig--he also had the temerity to put sleigh bells in his musical work, and, as all good Muslims know, Muhammad hated bells--they, after all, quite plainly instruments of the devil!

Cursed wigged musician!

Bless the world! Burn wigs! Burn wigs! Burn them all! A Jihad on all wigs!

We've heard of the Revolutionary sans culottes. We'd have been better off with sans perruques!

Wigs, wigs, and more wigs: A Muslim vision of Hell!

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*I understand that the subtleties of Shari'a allow for wigs other than for human hair (although there is some infighting among scholars here). See for here enlightenment. Clearly prohibited by all schools of thought are wigs of human hair, and of animals, such as pigs and dogs, that are considered unclean. However, for some schools (the liberals) synthetic or camel hair or other animal hair of a clean animal is acceptable, and for most everyone, the use of wool or silk, is acceptable. And naturally, a woman ought to cover the whole damn head with a burqa which makes the matter academic, or at least a matter for within the Muslim household. What's the incentive of wearing a wig under a burqa?