Does the pronouncement of divorce include the severance of a wife's hair or nails?
Chapter on Divorce by Calculation
Al-Mughni
Book of Divorce
Primary text
The severance of hair and nails does not constitute a divorce decree when issued by the husband. This is because hair and nails detach and are replaced by new ones, thus they are not considered fixed limbs. This view is held by the companions of Al-Ra'y (Hanafi school).
Supporting text
Malik and Al-Shafi'i hold that such a pronouncement results in divorce, similar to the view narrated from Al-Hasan. Their reasoning is that these are parts permissible to use through marriage, thus divorce applies to them just as it applies to a finger. The opposing view is based on the fact that hair and nails separate from the body during normal health, unlike a finger, and thus divorce does not apply, similar to saliva or semen, where there is no dispute. Furthermore, hair lacks a soul, is not defiled by the death of an animal, and touching it does not invalidate ablution, resembling sweat, saliva, or milk. A fetus is connected to the mother, yet divorce does not apply because its ultimate fate is detachment, and the same applies to hair and nails. Teeth are similar because they fall out in childhood and are replaced, and they can be extracted from an adult.