Shaving or Cutting Hair Short During Hajj

As far as shaving in Hajj is concerned, Al-Bukhari and Muslim reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) shaved his head, and so did a group of his Companions, while others only cut their hair short. Shaving here means removing the hair of the head with a razor or plucking the hair out. It suffices one, however, to remove only as many as three hairs.
Most scholars hold that either shaving or cutting the hair short is obligatory, and one who fails to do so must slaughter an animal in order to atone for this omission. According to the Shafi`i School of fiqh, it is an integral part of Hajj. However, the issue of which is obligatory, shaving or cutting the hair, is controversial among jurists.

The eminent Muslim scholar and renowned Da`iyah, Sheikh `Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, states:

“It suffices one to remove only a few hairs or anything from his hair as much as he can. However, the most proper way is to shave or cut short some hairs for all corners of his hair.”