It is very important to note that during Hajj women do not have to shave their heads; they may only shorten their hair. Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq, stated in his well-known book Fiqh-us-Sunnah: “Abu Dawud and others reported on the authority Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Women (pilgrims) do not have to shave (their heads); they may only shorten their hair.” Ibn Al-Mundhir points: “There is a scholarly consensus (ijma`) on this issue, because shaving a woman’s head is in fact a sort of punishment for her.
As to how much of her hair a woman is to cut off, Ibn `Umar is reported to have said: “When a woman (pilgrim) wants to cut off her hair, she may hold her hair at the front and cut it off about the length of the tip of a finger.” According to `Ata’, a woman should cut her hair off her sides, of the long hair as well as the short ones. This is reported by Sa`eed Ibn Mansur. Others hold that there is no limit as to how much a woman may cut off her hair. The Shafi`i school holds that cutting as much as three hairs is enough for a female pilgrim.