Meaning of a Hadith in Sahih Muslim

Question

What is the meaning of the following Hadith:

Wa kana azwajun Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam ya’khuzna min ruoosihina hata takuna kalwafrati. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 728)

Answer

Translation of the quotation:

“..the wives of Nabi (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) would collect their hair [when taking a bath] until it looked like a wafrah.’

Wafrah is that hair which reaches the shoulders [or above it].

Moulana Shabbir Ahmad ‘Uthmani (rahimahullah) explains this to mean that when taking a bath, the wives of Rasulullah (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) would gather their hair above their shoulders, to make it easy to wash the back.

(Fathul Mulhim, Hadith: 739, vol.3 pg.156-157)

By offering the above explanation, Moulana (rahimahullah) has correctly removed the misunderstanding of it referring to ‘cutting’ the hair.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,

Answered by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar

Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar