Ibn Umar used to dye his beard with yellow dye until his clothes became saturated with the yellow color. He was asked, "Why do you dye with yellow?"He replied, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dye with it, and nothing was more beloved to him than it. He used to dye all of his clothes with it, even his turban."
أن ابن عمر كان يصبغ كان يصبغ لحيته بالصفرة حتى تمتلئ ثيابه من الصفرة، فقيل له: لم تصبغ بالصفرة؟ فقال: إني رأيت رسول الله ﷺ يصبغ بها، ولم يكن شيء أحب إليه منها، وقد كان يصبغ ثيابه كلها حتى عمامته.
Abu Dawud (4064) and Nasai (5086) both narrated it from the hadith of Abdul-Aziz, meaning Ibn Muhammad, from Zayd bin Aslam, who mentioned it. Its isnad is hasan, due to the discussion regarding Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, who is Darawardi, except that he has been corroborated.Nasai (5115) and Ahmad (5717) both narrated it from the hadith of Abdullah bin Zayd, from his father, with a similar isnad, and Nasai abridged it. Abdullah bin Zayd has been criticized, but there is no harm in him for corroboration purposes.His statement, "he used to dye his clothes with it..." is anomalous, and the correct version, as given at the beginning of the hadith, is "the beard." This is how the statement of Ubayd bin Jurayj should be understood, in the hadith where it is explicitly stated by Ahmad (4672) that he used to dye his beard yellow.It is narrated from Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman regarding Abdul-Rahman bin Aswad bin Abd Yaghuth, who was a companion who used to sit with them, and who had a white beard and head. He said, "One morning he came to them having dyed them both red." He said, "The people said to him, 'This is better.'" He said, "My mother Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, sent her maidservant Nukhayla to me last night, and she insisted that I dye it, and she informed me that Abu Bakr Siddiq used to dye [his hair]."Malik narrated it in the chapter on hair (8), from Yahya bin Saeed, who said, "Muhammad bin Ibrahim Taymi informed me, from Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman," who mentioned it. Its isnad is sahih, except that it is mawquf.Yahya said, "I heard Malik say about dyeing hair black, 'I have not heard anything definite about that, and other kinds of dye are more preferable to me.'" He said, "Leaving off dyeing altogether is permissible, if Allah wills, and there is no constraint upon people regarding it." He said, "And I heard Malik say, 'In this hadith is a clear indication that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not dye his hair, for if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had dyed his hair, Ayesha would have sent word of that to Abdul-Rahman bin Aswad.'"On this subject there is also a report from Ibn Abbas, who said, "A man passed by the Prophet ﷺ having dyed [his hair] with henna, and he said, 'How good this is.'" He said, "Then another passed by having dyed with henna and katam, and he said, 'This is better than that.'" He said, "Then another passed by having dyed with yellow, and he said, 'This is better than all of that.'"Abu Dawud (4211), Ibn Majah (3627), and Bayhaqi (7/310) all narrated it via Muhammad bin Talha, from Humayd bin Wahb, from Ibn Tawus, from Tawus, from Ibn Abbas, who mentioned it. Its isnad is daif due to Humayd bin Wahb Qurashi, Abu Wahb Makki. Bukhari said, "He is munkar al-hadith." Aqeeli said, "He is not corroborated in his narration." Humayd is unknown in transmission, and Ibn Madini likewise deemed him unknown.I say, this hadith he narrated alone, and he was not corroborated in it.As for what is narrated from Ibn Masud, who said, "The Prophet ﷺ disliked ten things," and mentioned among them "changing gray hair," this is munkar.Abu Dawud (4222), Nasai (5088), and Ahmad (3605) narrated it, and Ibn Hibban (5682) and Hakim (1954) graded it sahih, all of them via Rukayn bin Rabi, narrating from Qasim bin Hassan, from Abdul-Rahman bin Harmala, from Ibn Masud, who mentioned the hadith in full, which is his statement, "The Prophet of Allah ﷺ disliked ten things, yellow dye, meaning khaluq, changing gray hair, trailing the lower garment, wearing a gold ring, women displaying adornment outside its proper place, gambling with dice, incantations except with the Muawwidhat, tying amulets, withdrawal outside its proper place, or from its proper place, and violating a boy who is not one's unmarriageable relative."Abu Dawud said, "The people of Basra were the sole transmitters of the isnad of this hadith."I say, Abdul-Rahman bin Harmala did not hear from Ibn Masud, and he is not known among his companions except through this hadith. Bukhari said, "This is a munkar hadith." Dhahabi mentioned this in the biography of Qasim bin Hassan in Mizan, and said in Tarikh al-Kabir (5/270), "His hadith is not sahih." Qasim bin Hassan is unknown, as Ibn Qattan said, and Hafiz said in Taqrib, "Maqbul," meaning when corroborated. This hadith does not meet the standard of Jami Kamil, even though some of its clauses have sahih supporting evidence.Jurisprudence of the hadiths on this topic. The hadiths in this chapter indicate that dyeing is recommended for men.The early scholars differed regarding dyeing with black. Some disliked it based on the hadith of Jabir, "Avoid black," and most of the practice of the early generations was upon this, so they used to dye with yellow. Among them were Ibn Umar, Abu Hurairah, Abu Umama, Jareer bin Abdullah, Mughira bin Shuba, Abdullah bin Busr, and others. Others did not dislike it, and permitted dyeing with black, among them Uthman, Hasan and Husayn the sons of Ali, Uqba bin Amir, Ibn Sirin, Abu Burda, Zuhri, Abu Salama bin Abdul-Rahman, and others.Muhammad bin Ali was asked about wasma, and he said, "It is the dye of us, the people of the household." Ayub said, on the authority of Muhammad bin Sirin, "I know of no harm in dyeing with black, except that a man might deceive a woman with it." Zuhri said, "The Prophet ﷺ commanded the use of dyes, and the darkest of them is most preferable to us," meaning the blackest of them. Abdul-Razzaq (20176) narrated it from Mamar, from Zuhri.Likewise, the early generations permitted blackening the hair for women. Abdul-Razzaq (2018) mentioned, from Mamar, from Qatada, who said, "Dyeing the hair with black was permitted for women." And from Hammad bin Salama, from Umm Shabib, who said, "We asked Ayesha about blackening the hair, and she said, 'I wish I had something with which to blacken my hair.'"These reports were mentioned by Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunnah (12/93-94), and Qadi Iyad, and Nawawi transmitted them from him in Sharh Muslim.As for abandoning dye altogether, some people saw no harm in it. Malik said, "Leaving off dyeing altogether is permissible for people." Indeed, some of the Malikis held that changing gray hair is disliked because it is light, as mentioned in the hadiths, and there is a prohibition against changing gray hair, except that it is not established.Among those from the early generations from whom abandoning dye is reported are Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ali, just as the opposite has also been reported from them. Abu Ishaq said, "I saw Ali on the pulpit with a white head and beard." Abdul-Razzaq (20188) narrated it from Mamar, from Abu Ishaq. Hasan said, "I saw Ubayy bin Kaab with a white head and beard." Adi bin Adi said, "I saw Jabir bin Abdullah with a white head and beard." Abu Saeed Khudri did not dye his hair, and his beard was white. Jareer bin Hazim said, "I saw Ata bin Abu Rabah, Raja bin Haywa, Makhul, and Hakam bin Utayba, their beards were white."Saeed bin Jubayr said, "One of you deliberately extinguishes a light which Allah has placed in his face." Abdul-Razzaq (20180) narrated it from Mamar, from Ayub, who said, "I heard Saeed bin Jubayr," and he mentioned it. Ayub said, "That was because I asked him about wasma."Saeed bin Musayab had a head and beard of intense whiteness, and the matter is broad in scope. For this reason, the Shafi'is held that it is a matter of choice according to people's circumstances and conditions, while the Hanafis and Hanbalis held that it is recommended, though none held it to be obligatory. As for avoiding black, it is preferable, in order to steer clear of the disagreement.