Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Glorious Prophet of Islam (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Five things are from the traditions of the Prophets of the old: circumcision, removing the hair below the navel, trimming the moustaches, cutting the nails and removing the hair from armpit”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (radi Allahu anhu) reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Trim your moustaches and grow your beard and follow not the fire-worshippers”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Sayyiduna Zaid Bin Arqam (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Beloved Rasool (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “He who does not trim his moustaches is not of us”. (Tirmidi, Nisai)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “He who does not shave off the hair from the abdomen and does not cut his nails and does not trim his moustaches, is not of us”. (Muslim)

Sayyiduna Anas (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the maximum exemption for shaving off the hair from the abdomen and armpit and for cutting nails and for trimming the moustaches is forty days. (Muslim)

Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Don’t pluck white hair, as it is the light of a Muslim. He who grows grey as a Muslim, Allah will write for him virtue and rub off his sins and raise him in status.” (Abu Da’ood)

Sayyiduna Ka’b Bin Murrah (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Glorious Prophet of Islam (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “He who grows old in Islam, the old age will serve him as a light on the Day of Resurrection.” (Tirmidi, Nisaai) 

Sayyiduna Omar (radi Allahu anhu) reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has forbidden shaving off the hair from the neck. (Tabraani) 

Sayyiduna Ali (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Habeeb of Allah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has forbidden women from shaving off the head. (Nisaai) 

Sayyiduna Ali (radi Allahu anhu) says it is better to start cutting nails from the little finger of the right hand, then the middle finger, followed by the thumb, then the ring finger, and lastly, the pointer. In the left hand start from the thumb, then the middle finger, and then the little finger, then the pointer, and lastly, the ring finger. 

The above is a complicated way and a difficult one for the common men to remember. There is another easy method of cutting the nails, also reported from Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). That is to start cutting the nails from the pointer of the right hand and finish with the little finger. Then start cutting the nails of the left hand beginning from the little finger and finish with the thumb and finally cut the nails of the right thumb. (Durr-e-Mukhtar) 

Eating one’s nails is highly abominable and may cause leprosy. (Alamgiri) 

Women should not remove hair or cut their nails during the menses. It is also unlawful for them to go to the beauty parlour for plucking their eyebrows and getting their unwanted hair removed by some other woman.   

Men should not shave off hair of the chest or back. Hair can be removed from arms and legs. Men can grow hair over the head and part them in the middle but certainly not the way some self-styled Sufis do these days, who keep the flocks hung over their chest.  

Four things are supposed to be buried: removed hair, nails, dirty napkins and blood. (Alamgiri) 

Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn-e-Abbas (radi Allahu anhuma) reported that the Glorious Prophet of Islam (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “There will be persons in the Last Era who will apply black dye like the bosoms of the pigeons. Such persons will not get the fragrance of Paradise.” (Abu Da’ood, Nisai) 

Sayyiduna Abu Zar (radi Allahu anhu) reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “The best thing to dye grey hair is henna”. (Tirmidi) 

Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn-e-Omar (radi Allahu anhuma) reported that Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “The dye of a Mu’min is yellow, and that of a Muslim is red and that of a Kaafir black.” (Mustadrek)  

Sayyiduna Anas (radi Allahu anhu) reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Prophet Ibra’heem (alaihis salaam) was the first person to use henna and Katam for dying his hair and the Pharaoh first used the black dye”. 

At the time of the Conquest of Mecca, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) brought his father to the Glorious Prophet of Islam (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to declare his adoption of Islam. Abu Quhafah (radi Allahu anhu) was an old man in his eighties and his hair had gone all grey with not a single black hair on his head. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) gave instructions that his hair should be dyed but he told his son to avoid black.  

Sayyiduna Amir Mua’wiyyah (radi Allahu anhu), after performing Haj during his Caliphate, came to Madina and mounted his pulpit. He took a bunch of false hair from a soldier’s hand said: “O People of Madina! Where are your Ulema? I heard Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) forbidding women to use false hair. The Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) said, ‘The Children of Israel met their destruction when their women started using false hair.’”

It is permissible to puncture the ears of girls for wearing earrings. Some people get the ears of their sons punctured for the same purpose, which is unlawful. Equally unlawful is for the males to apply Henna in palms and feet.