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I am a twenty-eight-year-old man, and I have had alopecia areata, which has caused me to lose my hair completely, since the age of eight years. Since then, I have been receiving local cortisone injections all over my head at regular intervals, which has a temporary effect, but afterwards my hair starts to fall out from other areas on my head. Please note that these injections are very painful, and with alopecia areata it is impossible to have natural hair transplants by taking follicles from elsewhere because the problem is not concentrated in one particular place. Is it permissible for me to have a synthetic hair transplant with hair of the same type and colour as my original hair?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
It is permissible to have a hair transplant for one whose hair has fallen out due to sickness or an accident, because that comes under the heading of correcting a defect and restoring that which Allah, may He be exalted, created.
It says in a statement of the Islamic Fiqh Council belonging to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which was held during its eighteenth session in Malaysia, 24-29 Jumada al-Akhirah 1428 AH/9-14 July 2007 CE regarding cosmetic surgeries, explaining what is permissible of such procedures:
It is permissible according to Islamic teachings to do essential and necessary cosmetic surgeries for the following purposes:
a. Restoring the appearance of a body part to the state in which it was created, because Allah, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning): {We have certainly created man in the best of stature} [at-Tin 95:4].
b. Restoring the usual function of a body part.
c. Repairing congenital defects such as: cleft palate (harelip), severely crooked nose, and birthmarks, removing extra fingers and teeth, and separating fused fingers, if their presence leads to physical or psychological harm.
d. Repairing accidental (acquired) defects resulting from burns, accidents, sickness and other causes, such as: skin transplants and grafting, reshaping the breast completely if it has been removed completely or partially, if its size is so large or small that it leads to a pathological condition, and hair transplant in the event of hair loss, especially for women.
e. Removing a congenital deformity that causes psychological or physical harm to a person. End quote.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Hair transplants can be done for one who is bald, by taking hair from the back of the head and implanting it in the affected place. Is that permissible?
He replied: Yes, it is permissible, because this comes under the heading of restoring what Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, created, and it comes under the heading of removing a defect. It does not come under the heading of purely cosmetic procedures or adding to what Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, created, so it does not come under the heading of changing the creation of Allah. Rather it comes under the heading of restoring what has been lost and removing a defect. The story is well known of the three men, one of whom was bald and said that he wanted Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, to restore his hair, so the angel touched him and Allah restored his hair, and gave him beautiful hair."(Fatawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haram p. 1185).
The hadith to which the shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) referred was narrated by al-Bukhari (3277) and Muslim (2964).
Secondly:
If it is not possible to transplant natural hair, as in the case referred to in the question, there is nothing wrong with transplanting synthetic hair, on condition that it is made of a pure (tahir) substance, and that no harm will result from that which will exacerbate the current harm.
Some researchers are of the view that it is synthetic hair transplants that are haram. They gave as a reason for that the fact that they are akin to hair extensions, which are prohibited, because the synthetic hair will remain as it is and will not grow, and there are other reasons for it being prohibited, such as deceit and changing the creation of Allah, and harms that may result from it.
After mentioning the reasons noted above, Dr. Salih ibn Muhammad al-Fawzan explained further, noting that this kind of transplant calls for the use of medicines that contain cortisone, which is harmful to the body, and Islamic teachings forbid harming oneself. But if it is possible to avoid this harm, and it is not possible to remedy baldness except by this means, then it may be said that it is permissible, based on what some jurists mentioned about it being permissible to add hair extensions or use wigs for one who is affected by baldness, because that comes under the heading of removing defects, and does not come under the heading of seeking to enhance beauty, especially if baldness results in psychological harm which cannot be dealt with except by transplanting synthetic hair. That is on condition that it is not made from any impure (najis) substance."(Buhuth an-Nadwah at-Tibbiyyah in Imam [Muhammad ibn Sa‘ud Islamic] University, 1431 AH, Vol. 3, p. 2427).
What appears to be the case – and Allah knows best – is that these hair transplants cannot be compared to hair extensions, because there is nothing to attach them to, because we are speaking about someone whose hair has fallen out completely.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about someone who took medicine and it led to her hair, or most of it, falling out, and she does not want to use a wig because she thinks that wigs are haram. He replied:
Using a wig in a case such as that described here, in which her hair has fallen out in such a way that there is no hope that it will grow back, we say that there is nothing wrong with using a wig in such a case, because in fact it is not being done to enhance beauty; rather it is done to remove a defect. Based on that, it does not come under the heading of hair extensions for which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) cursed the one who does that. Rather he cursed the woman who does hair extensions and the one who asks for them to be done. The woman who does hair extensions is the one who adds something to her hair. But in fact, this woman does not resemble the one who does hair extensions, because she is not seeking to enhance beauty or add to the hair with which Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, created her. Rather she wants to remove an acquired defect, and there is nothing wrong with that, because it comes under the heading of removing a defect, not enhancing beauty. There is a difference between the two matters."(Fatawa Nur ‘ala ad-Darb, tape no. 3.)
Please see also the answer to question no. 141074 .
And Allah knows best.