I say, and with God's success: The hadiths are conflicting; some indicate permissibility, like the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: "I braided the necklaces of the Prophet's sacrificial animals, then he marked them and I adorned them, or I adorned them and then sent them to the house, and he stayed in Medina, and nothing that was permissible was forbidden to him" in Sahih Bukhari 2: 169, and Sahih Muslim 957. The other indicates prohibition, like the hadith of Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When you see the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah, and one of you wants to sacrifice, let him refrain from cutting his hair and nails" in Sahih Muslim 3: 1565. The jurists differed in reconciling between them, and in interpreting the second hadith; the Hanafis held that cutting is permissible and that doing so is contrary to what is preferable, while the Malikis and Shafi'is held that refraining from cutting is recommended and that it is disliked in a way that is not sinful. The Hanbalis alone held that cutting is forbidden. Therefore, it is appropriate not to be strict with Muslims in such matters, and Allah knows best.