Question:
Salamalaykoum,
Is it true that Henna is the dearest plant to Allah? And does it also attract good luck when put on?
Thank you
Answer:
`Alaykum as-Salam,
There are four authentic reports on henna:
- The hadith that recommends dying with henna and indigo/boxwood dye
(katam) in Bukhari, Muslim, and the four Sunan. - “Four things are among the ways of the Messengers: the tooth-stick, perfume, henna, and marriage” (Tirmidhi)
- “The Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) liked the henna blossom (al-faaghiya); as for foods, the one he liked best was the gourd (al-dubbaa’)” (Musnad Ahmad)
- “The chief fragrant sustenance (rayhan) in Paradise is henna.” Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a sound chain as indicated by al-Haythami (5:157). Ibn al-Jawzi incorrectly included it among the forgeries.
The rest of the reports on henna are inauthentic.
Mulla `Ali al-Qari in his encyclopedia on forgeries entitled al-Asrar al-Marfu`a cited Ibn al-Qayyim’s statement in his book al-Manar al-Munif:
<<Among the forgeries are the reports on henna and its merit. There is an entire monograph on it, none of its contents authentic. The best that can be found on this subject is al-Tirmidhi’s hadith, “Four things are among the ways of the Messengers: the tooth stick, perfume, henna, and marriage.” … The hadith that recommends dyeing with henna and indigo/boxwood dye (katam) is sound. In al-Tabarani and al-Khatib’s version from Ibn `Umar (Allah be well-pleased with him and his father), from the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace): “The chief fragrant sustenance in Paradise is henna.”>>
Hajj Gibril Haddad
