Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The author included this chapter in his book to show whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) dyed his hair or not. In summary, the companions differed in opinion about it as mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim who quoted the statements of many companions such as Anas ibn Mālik who denied that the Prophet ever dyed his hair and Abū Hurairah who affirmed that the Prophet dyed his hair. Some other companions said that he used to perfume his hair abundantly, which made his hair appear reddish and that made people think his hair was dyed when it was not.
Al-Bajūrī said,
Dye refers to colouring the hair with henna or any other dyestuff. According to us – Shāfi’ī scholars, it is the Sunnah to dye the hair with any colour except black and it is forbidden to dye the hair with black.
45. Abū Rimthah related: “I went with my son to visit the Prophet (peace be upon him). [When he saw me], he asked, ‘Is this your son?’ I replied, ‘Yes, this is my son. I testify to that.’ Then he said, ‘You are not held accountable for his crimes, nor is he held accountable for your crimes.’” Abū Rimthah then remarked, “I noticed that the white hairs of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been dyed red.”
Al-Tirmidhī commented: “This hadīth is the most correct and explanatory report on the subject of using a dye. This is because the authentic hadīths state that he did not have many white hairs. The name of Abū Rimthah is Rifā’ah ibn Yathrabī al-Taymī” [60]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This hadīth shows that if it is possible for parents to take their children to the gatherings of good such as lectures and visiting scholars etc., then they should do so. This will cause the children to grow up loving the people of knowledge and the circles of knowledge. This should be more emphasised in the current era, as the fruits of deviation and misguidance are everywhere and desires and whims are playing with the Muslim youth. Thus, parents should take their children to the places of knowledge with encouragement and kindness so that the love of these places is instilled into them.
“I noticed that the white hairs of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been dyed red”: This could have been because of dye being applied or due to the effect of the oil that he used to use. The people of knowledge differed on this; some of them such as Umm Salamah said it was because of dye, and some said it was because of oil and that he never used dye as affirmed by Anas ibn Mālik.
Al-Bajūrī said,
“I testify to that”: [The Arabic words used for this part] could also mean, “[O Prophet of Allāh] be a witness that he is my son” and so the statement is an affirmation of his answer, “Yes, he is my son.” It could also mean, “I testify to that [i.e. I testify and acknowledge that he is my son]” to advise the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he will take the consequences of the actions of his son as this was the norm during the times of jahiliyyah.
“This hadīth is the most correct and explanatory report”: This statement does not necessitate that the hadīth is authentic because scholars use it even if the hadīth is weak i.e. they intend to mean with that statement that it is the least weak hadīth.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
“You are not held accountable for his crime”: This response was to show Abū Rimtha that he will not be held accountable or take the burden of his son’s sins and mistakes, and that his son will not be held accountable for his father’s mistakes and sins. From this, our renowned [Shāfi’ī] scholars concluded that the father and the children of the killer are not liable to contribute in the blood-money.
46. Abū Hurairah was asked: “Did the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) dye his hair?” He replied, “Yes.” [61]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
This conforms to the statement of Ibn ‘Umar which is documented in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and Sahīh Muslim i.e. he narrated that he saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) use a yellow dye. This is our evidence that using a dye colour other than black [i.e. it is not allowed to use black dye] is an act of Sunnah. Other hadīths that are documented by Abū Dawūd also support this.
Al-Nawawī said,
The view that we adopt is that it is recommended for both men and women to use reddish-brown or yellow dye, and that it is forbidden for them to dye the hair black except in the case where men do this for the purpose of jihad.
Al-Bajūrī said,
This hadīth confirms the other hadīths that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did dye his hair. To reconcile between these hadīths and those hadīths that negate his use of dye, we say that he used to dye his hair at one point, then he stopped doing that most of the time or did it very infrequently; hence each narrator reported what they saw.
47. Al-Jahdamah (the wife of Bashir ibn al-Khasāsiyah) related: “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) coming out of his house; after taking a bath, shaking [water from] his hair. I saw on his head the remnants of henna (or saffron).” [The doubt of whether henna or saffron was seen is from Ibrahīm ibn Harūn.] [62]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
“I saw on his head the remnants of henna”: Some hadīth commentators stated that this part does not necessitate that he dyed his hair. Rather, it is possible that he used the henna for medical purposes or to reduce heat from his head (cool down) or for any other similar purposes.
48. Anas ibn Mālik narrated: “I saw the hair of Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) dyed.” [63]
Alī al-Qārī said,
It has been stated in other authentic hadīths that Anas ibn Mālik denied that the Prophet (peace be upon him) dyed his hair. With that said, it is possible that he intended to say that he did not use dye most of the time, and that he used dye infrequently.
Mirak Shah al-Hanafī said,
You should know that it is proven in many hadīths documented in the two Sahīh books and other books of hadīth that Anas held the view that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not dye his hair or that he did not possess enough white hairs to warrant the use of dye on them. This hadīth, however, is the only report from him that states otherwise; hence either this hadīth is classified as odd or it refers to when he saw him after his death. This is because it was reported by al-Daraqutnī that Abū Hurairah said, “After the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him), everyone who had some of the hairs of the Prophet (peace be upon him) dyed them in order to preserve them.” Hence it is possible that Anas saw his dyed hair in the possession of one of his companions.
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The conclusion is that all the authentic hadīths indicate that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had few white hairs, so he had no need to dye them as reported by Anas ibn Mālik (peace be upon him) and others. As for the reddish colour that was noticed in his hair, which was thought to be because of dye, it was most probably due to the use of oil or perfume.