It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ka’b bin ‘Ujrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw him while lice were falling onto his face. So the Prophet asked:“Are your lice causing you pain?”He replied:“Yes.”So the Prophet ordered him to shave his head, even though they were still at Hudaybiyyah. The Prophet had not yet informed the Companions that they would shave their heads at Hudaybiyyah, while the Companions wished to enter Makkah (and perform ‘Umrah). Then Allah the Exalted revealed the command of fidyah (compensation). So the Messenger of Allah ordered him to feed one faraq (three sa‘) of grain to six needy people, or to slaughter one goat, or to fast three days.

Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I have explained the amount of a faraq in the Book of Faith and Expiations, that it is three sa‘. And I have explained that one sa‘ is four mudd, and one faraq is sixteen ratl. And one sa‘ is one third of a faraq, because one faraq is three sa‘. And one sa‘ is equal to five and one third ratl. I have stated these amounts based on the evidence from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). And this noble verse is also related to this type of matter, about which we say that Allah the Exalted has mentioned a general obligation, and Allah has explained its amount through the words of His Prophet. Because Allah the Exalted has commanded in His Book to give fidyah by fasting for shaving the head, but the number of fasts, the amount of charity, the number of people under the charity, and the description of the sacrifice are not mentioned in the Qur’an. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), whom Allah entrusted with the responsibility of clarifying His revelation, explained that in fidyah, three fasts must be observed, and in charity, three sa‘ of grain must be given to six needy people, and in sacrifice, one goat must be slaughtered.

In this hadith, the mention of sacrifice is of the same type about which we say that it is obligatory to apply the same ruling to similar, resembling, and analogous things. Therefore, in the fidyah for shaving the head, it is permissible to give as fidyah one-seventh of a cow or camel in place of sacrificing a goat. There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that in Hajj Tamattu‘, Hajj Qiran, and the general sacrifice, one-seventh of a cow or camel is considered as one thing, in one respect it is made obligatory, and sometimes the same thing is made obligatory without that respect. Either that thing is made obligatory by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or the obligation is expressed by the words of the scholars of the Ummah. Because Allah the Exalted has made fidyah obligatory in this noble verse upon the muhrim (one in the state of ihram) who shaves his head due to illness or pain in the head. And according to all the scholars, this fidyah will also be obligatory upon the muhrim who shaves his head without any illness or pain in the head. In that case, he will be sinful. At this point, I have clarified the issue that it is obligatory to apply the same ruling to similar, analogous issues. If it were not obligatory to apply the same ruling to similar, analogous issues in this place, then fidyah should not have been obligatory upon the one who cuts his hair with scissors. Because shaving the head does not apply to cutting the hair. But when it was obligatory to apply the same ruling to similar and analogous actions, then the same fidyah was applied to the one who cut his hair as was applied to the one who shaved his head. This is a lengthy issue which I have mentioned under this verse.