Fiqh-us-Sunnah - 5.55

Hadith 5.55.1

Penalty for Violating Sanctity of Ihram

A muhrim who for a genuine reason is compelled to violate any of the restrictions of ihram, like shaving his head, wearing sewn clothes because of cold or heat or something else, with the exception of having sexual intercourse with his spouse, (For details on this see the following pages) he may do so, but he will have to slaughter a sheep, or feed six needy people, (Each needy person should be given at least the equivalent of half sa in measure) or fast three days to atone for it.
Violation of restrictions of ihram other than sexual intercourse does not invalidate Hajj or 'Umrah. Sexual intercourse with one's wife invalidates Hajj or 'Umrah.
Abdur Rahman bin Abi Laila reported from K'ab bin 'Ujrah that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) passed by him while in Hudaibiyah and said, "Are the lice in your head bothering you?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Shave your head and slaughter a sheep, or fast three days or give a measure of three sa ' of dates to six needy people." (Reported by Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Daw'ud) In another report the same narrator says: "Lice infested my hair and bothered me, while I was with Allah ' s Messenger (peace be upon him) during Hudaibiyah. It got so bad that I was afraid of losing my sight. Then Allah, the Almighty revealed the Qur'anic verse (2.196) "And if any of you is ill or has an ailment in his scalp (necessitating shaving) (he should) in compensation either fast or feed the poor or otfer sacrifice." Upon this Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) called me and said: "Shave your head, or fast three days or feed six poor persons one farq (A measure commonly used in Madinah at the time of the Prophet, it is roughly equivalent to sixteen Iraqi rotl) of raisins, or slaughter a sheep." So I shaved my head and slaughtered a sheep."
With regard to penalty Ash-Shafi'i makes no distinction between a muhrim who is compelled to violate ihram by some genuine need, and one who does so without any genuine cause. In either case penalty must be paid to atone tor violation. Abu Hanifah holds that a person who violates the ihram restrictions without genuine cause must offer a sheep to compensate for his violation, if he can afford it. A person who cannot afford this does not have to make any atonement as mentioned above.