Short answer
No. A hair transplant that moves your own hair from one part of your body to a bald area is allowed according to Hanafi muftis, because it treats hair loss and restores what is normal without using anyone else's hair. Attaching another person's hair, through extensions or wigs of human hair, is not allowed.
Permissible as treatment for hair loss, provided the procedure is safe and only your own hair is used. Joining another person's hair to your own is haram, and scalp micropigmentation, being a tattoo, should be avoided.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Hair loss is a condition, and treating it is allowed like any other. In a transplant your own follicles are moved from one place to another, so nothing foreign is added to the body. Hanafi muftis see this as restoring a normal state rather than changing Allah's creation for beauty, and the four schools' principles agree with this.
The line is foreign hair. A woman once came to the Prophet ﷺ and said her daughter, about to be married, had lost her hair through illness, and asked whether she could attach hair to it. He answered that Allah has cursed the woman who attaches hair and the one who has it attached. So extensions, weaves and wigs made of human hair are not allowed, even after illness, while treating the scalp so that your own hair grows is.
Practical points:
- Ghusl and wudu: transplanted hair is your own hair, so the normal rules apply once it has healed. While the scalp is healing, if washing would harm it, wipe over it with a wet hand instead, and if even that would harm it, leave that part out, as your doctor advises. See how to do ghusl.
- Beard and eyebrow transplants: restoring hair lost to injury or a condition takes the same ruling.
- Scalp micropigmentation: this is tattooing, which the hadith also curses, so avoid it.
- Medicines: hair-loss medicines and treatments are allowed if they are safe and their ingredients are halal.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 2122
Sahih... إن لي ابنة عريسا أصابتها حصبة فتمرق شعرها أفأصله ...
"A woman said: I have a daughter who is a bride; she had measles and her hair fell out, so may I attach hair to it? He said: Allah has cursed the woman who attaches hair and the one who has it attached."
Attaching another person's hair is forbidden even after illness, which is the line a transplant does not cross.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5678
Sahih... ما أنزل الله داء إلا أنزل له شفاء ...
"Allah has not sent down any disease except that He has also sent down a cure for it."
Hair loss may be treated.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Buyu, Bab al-Bay al-Fasid. Using human hair from another person is not allowed, because the human being is honoured.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Bab al-Mash ala al-Khuffayn, on wiping over bandages and wounds. When washing a part would harm it, it is wiped instead, and if wiping harms it, it is left.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.