page_title: Kohl (cosmetics)
section_title: Kohl and Islam
hierarchical_section_title: Kohl (cosmetics) / Kohl and Islam
caption_attribution_description: In the muslim world, men sometimes dye their hair, beards and moustaches with henna, a natural dyestuff, which needs to be applied periodically in order to maintain its lustrous colour. In Afghanistan dyeing is very popular especially among Pashtun in the south. Muslim do so because they believe that the prophet Muhammad had done so and also because it was a remedy for headaches and dandruff.
context_page_description: Kohl is an ancient eye cosmetic, traditionally made by grinding stibnite for similar purposes to charcoal used in mascara. It is widely used in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa as eyeliner to contour and/or darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. It is worn mostly by women, but also by some men and children.
  Kohl has also been used in India as a cosmetic for a long time. In addition, mothers would apply kohl to their infants' eyes soon after birth. Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", and others believed it could prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.
context_section_description: In Islam, Muhammad used kohl and recommended others to use it because he believed that it was beneficial for the eyes based on the following saying by him: "One of the best kinds of kohl that you use is Ithmid (antimony); it brightens the vision and makes the hair (eye-lashes) grow" and he "used to apply kohl to his right eye three times, and to his left eye twice." It is used by many Muslim men today during Ramadan as a sign of devotion although the practice is not universally agreed upon as being based on authentic sources.
caption: A Pashtun man with kohl applied under eyes and beard dyed with henna following the Sunnah of Muhammad.
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