EgyptSearch Forums: Katam

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Posted by Dalia* (Member # 10593) on :

Does anyone know whether it's possible to get katam in Cairo?

I can order it online when in Germany, but it's quite expensive, and since it is imported from Yemen anyway, I was wondering whether it would be possible to get it in Cairo.

Posted by VanillaBullshit (Member # 10873) on :

You mean khat?

Posted by Dalia* (Member # 10593) on :

LOL, no. [Big Grin]

Katam is a plant (from the myrtle family, I think) that's being used for dyeing hair darker and for conditioning.

Now I don't believe it's forbidden to dye hair black, as the fatwas from which I quoted below state. [Wink]

But I've been told that katam produces better results than indigo which is what I'm using right now.

Abu Dharr narrated the hadith, The best thing
with which to dye gray hair is henna and
katm. (Mentioned in Fath al-Bari.) Henna
makes the hair red, while katm, a plant from
Yemen, colors it black tinged with red. Said
Anas, "Abu Bakr dyed his hair with henna and
katm, and 'Umar dyed it with henna only."

(Yussuf al Qaradawi, "The Lawful and the Prohibited", p. 45)

" ... Thirdly: with regard to katam, Ibn Hajar said:

Katam is a plant from Yemen which produces a reddish-black dye. Henna produces a red dye, so when they are used together as a dye, they produce a colour that is between black and red. Fath al-Baari, 10/355.

Did the Sahaabah use katam? Yes, they did that and so did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

It was reported that ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Wahb said: we entered upon Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) and she brought out a lock of hair of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to show us, and it was dyed red. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5558. Ibn Maajah (3623) and Ahmad (25995) added: “… with henna and katam.”)

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best things to use to change grey hair are henna and katam.” qâl rasûl allah, salla allah alayhu wa salam: Inna ahsunu ma ghaiyar bihi ash-schaib al-henna wa al-katam!

(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1753; Abu Dawood, 4205; Ibn Maajah, 3622). Al-Tirmidhi said: the hadeeth is hasan saheeh). Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) dyed his hair with henna and katam. (Narrated by Muslim, 2341).

Fifthly: it may be noted that in the ahaadeeth where katam is mentioned , it is always accompanied by henna, because what is meant by the ahaadeeth is that the hair should be dyed with katam mixed with henna.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

What is prohibited is making the hair pure black, but if something else is added to henna, such as katam etc., there is nothing wrong with that. Katam and henna make the hair a colour between red and black, unlike wasmah (woad leaves) which make the hair black as coal. This is saheeh. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/336).

(Wasmah or woad is a plant that is used for dyeing).

Hence we know that katam is not to be used on its own, because it gives a pure, coal-black colour, but it may be used with henna to give a black colour with reddish highlights. Hence we can reconcile the ahaadeeth. And Allaah knows best.
..."

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Islam-947/highlighting-hair.htm

in Arabic:
www.science4islam.com/index.aspx?act=da&id=211

Posted by VanillaBullshit (Member # 10873) on :

My bad, I saw 'Yemen' & immediately thought you were looking to score some khat [Smile]

As for hair dyeing, IMO, forget the islamobabble, keep it simple & buy some OTC stuff.

Posted by Dalia* (Member # 10593) on :

What's OTC???

I don't want to use chemical colors because they can ruin your hair and your health in the long run; in fact black hair dye is pretty toxic, and also it makes your hair color look artificial. So far I'm doing fine with a mix of henna, indigo and some Indian herbs. But the katam sounds really interesting, so I'd love to give it a try. [Cool]

But speaking of khat ... are there people using that in Cairo? I always thought Yemenis are the only ones using it, no?

Posted by islamway (Member # 10368) on :

Over the counter

Now, I'm surprised you are refering to Qaradawi. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by VanillaBullshit (Member # 10873) on :

Khat is not available to the best of my knowledge in Egypt, mainly Yemen, Somalia & Ethiopia.

Posted by Dalia* (Member # 10593) on :

quote:
Originally posted by islamway:
Now, I'm surprised you are refering to Qaradawi.

Oh, I can't stand Qaradawi (nor, for that matter, the other sheikhs I quoted). [Razz]

But I wanted to show that katam obviously is a plant that has been used a lot in history, that's why I'm surprised that noone seems to know it.