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A look at Hadith : Is Kohl really a Sunnah ?

As discussed previously , it is observed that Hadiths found within the Sunnah refer specifically to one type of Kohl: Ithmid Kohl.

Since the word Kohl refers to , in Arabic, anything applied on the eyes and/or its related hair, it is incorrect to say that Kohl is a Sunnah. Rather, applying Ithmid Kohl , to the exclusion of other types of Kohl, is a Sunnah.

Hadiths on Kohl are all referring to Ithmid Kohl

عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهماَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : (إِنَّ خَيْرَ أَكْحَالِكُمُ الْإِثْمِدُ يَجْلُو الْبَصَرَ وَيُنْبِتُ الشَّعْرَ) رواه أبو داود (3878) والنسائي (5113) وابن ماجه (3497) ، وصححه الألباني في “صحيح أبي داود”

Narrated by Ibn Abbaas, May Allah be pleased with them: Said the Prophet of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( Indeed the best of your Kohls is the Ithmid… (it) Yajlu (enhances) vision and Yunbit (Grows, tames etc) hair).
Sunan al-Nasaa’i (5113) , Sunan Abi Dawood (3837), Sunan Ibn Majah (3497). Graded Saheeh by Al-Albaani in the “Saheeh of Abi Dawood”.

وعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهما أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : (اكْتَحِلُوا بِالإِثْمِدِ فَإِنَّهُ يَجْلُو البَصَرَ ، وَيُنْبِتُ الشَّعْرَ) رواه الترمذي (1757) ، وصححه الألباني في “صحيح الترمذي

Narrated by Ibn Abbaas, May Allah be pleased with them: Said the Prophet of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( Use Ithmid as a Kohl for it Yajlu (enhances, improves etc) vision and Yunbitu ( Grows, tames etc) hair ).

Reported by Al-Tirmidhi (1757), and graded Saheed by Al-Albaani in the ” Saheeh of Al-Tirmidhi”

وعن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : (عَلَيْكُم بِالإِثْمِد فَإِنَّهُ مَنْبَتَةٌ للشَّعْرِ ، مَذْهَبَةٌ للقَذَى ، مَصْفَاةٌ لِلْبَصَرِ) أخرجه الطبراني في “الكبير” (1/109 ، رقم 183) وحسَّنه المنذري والعراقي وابن حجر ، انظر “الترغيب والترهيب” (3/89) و “فتح الباري” (10/157)

Narrated by Ali Bin Abi Taalib, May Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said : ( Use Ithmid for it is “Munbit” ( Grows) hair, removes “Al-Qada” (dirt, debris, germs etc), and acts as a “Masfah” (sieve, purifier, filter etc) for the vision).
Reported by Al-Tabarani in ” Al-Mujam al-Kabeer “ (1/109, no:183 ). Classed as Hassan by Almundiri, Al-Hafiz Al-Iraqy and Ibn Hajar. See the Fath-Albari (10/157) and Al-Targheeb Wal-Tarheeb (3/89).

These are the strongest Hadiths on Kohl and they all explicitly refer to Ithmid Kohl, as we can see. There is also other weaker Hadiths (in terms of grading) which affirm the view that Ithmid Kohl is the only type of Kohl which its use and application can be described as being a Sunnah practice.

In Fath-Albari, Ibn Hajar mentioned several Hadiths further encouraging the use of Ithmid Kohl. It is reported from Anas, May Allah be pleased with him, to have said that ” He (The prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to command us to use Ithmid”. Aisha, May Allah be pleased with her, is reported to have said that “the prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to own an Ithmid Kohl which he used to apply when going to sleep thrice (three times) in each eye”. Abu Huraira and Saeed Bin Hawdah, May Allah be pleased with them, have also narrated similar Hadiths encouraging the use of Ithmid Kohl and stipulating its superiority over other types of Kohl.