Dyeing the Beard Black

Answer

There are many ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīths on this subject. Among the best known is a ḥadīth about the father of al-Ṣiddīq [Abū Bakr] raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, which Muslim narrated in his Ṣaḥīḥ from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, from the Prophet ﷺ. When he saw that the head and beard of al-Ṣiddīq's father were as white as thaghāmah [a plant with white flowers], he said: Change this with something, and avoid black. In one narration: And keep him away from black. Then there is the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās, which Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī narrated with a ṣaḥīḥ chain from Ibn ʿAbbās raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā, that the Prophet ﷺ said: At the end of time there will be people who dye with black, like the crops of pigeons; they will not smell the scent of Paradise. This is a severe threat. There are other ḥadīths on the matter, all of which show that dyeing with black is forbidden and that dyeing with other colours is lawful¹.