Extremely Long Beards Are Foolish

An extremely Long Beard is Foolishness – اللحية

An extremely long beard, was considered a sign of negligence (غفلة) and foolishness (حمق) by the Salaf.

For this reason, some scholars of Hadith would weaken/criticise (جرح) someone for having a massive beard. If a man is careless/negligent (غافل) about his own beard – he will be careless with narrations.

1- Imam Dhahabi narrates:
وقيل لخالد الطحان : دخلت الكوفة فلم لم تكتب عن مجالد ؟ قال : لانه كان طويل اللحية
Khalid was asked: “You entered Kufah, why didn’t you accept narrations from Mujalid?”
He replied: “Because he had a long beard.”
[‘Mizan al-‘itidal’, 3/438].

2- There was a Hadith narrator by the name of Yazid al-Rishk, it is narrated:
بلغ من طول اللحية أنه دخلت فيها عقرب فمكثت فيها ثلاثة أيام لا يدري بها
“His beard had reached such a length, that a scorpion entered it and settled there for three days, without him knowing about it!!”
http://islamport.com/w/trj/Web/214/6.htm

3- Imam Suyuti mentions a scholar from the past and says:
وكانت لحيته طويلة بحيث تصل إلى قدميه. ولا ينام إلا وهي في كيس. وإذا ركب تتفرق فرقتين
“He had a long beard, which reached his feet!
He used to wrap his beard in a bag before he went to sleep!
And when he sat on a horse, his beard would split in two parts.”
[Reference: ‘بغية الوعاة’, 3/14].

4- Imam Abu Hanifah said:
جاء في ثقات ابن حبان 9 / 162 : حدثنا عنه عمران بن موسى بن مجاشع ثنا موسى بن السندي ثنا المؤمل بن إسماعيل قال : سمعت أبا حنيفة يقول : يقولون: من كان طويل اللحية لم يكن له عقل
“They [pious predecessors] used to say: The person who has a long beard has no intellect.”
[‘Thiqaat’, 9/162].

5- Ibn Hajar says about a narrator:
جاء في تهذيب التهذيب للحافظ ابن حجر 1/257 : قال الترمذي ليس بالقوي عند أصحاب الحديث وقال ابن سعد يقولون أنه صدوق وقال حسين الجعفي كان طويل اللحية أحمق
Hussain said [about him]: “He had a long beard and was a fool.”
[‘Tahzib’, 1/257].

6- Ibn al-Jawzi says:
جاء في أخبار الحمقى و المغفلين لابن الجوزي (1/29) : ومن العلامات التي لا تخطىء طول اللحية، فإن صاحبها لا يخلو من الحمق
“One of the unmistakable signs is the length of the beard, because a person with a [long beard] will not be free from foolishness.”
[‘Akhbar al-Hamqa’, 1/29].

7- Ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi, speaking about the idiots, says:
ويستدل على صفته من حيث الصورة بطول اللحية
“And the proof has been taken about his characteristics from his outward appearance by larger length of his beard.”
[“Bahr al-Raiq”, 6/444].

8- Imam Shafi’ii is reported to have said:
كلّما طالت اللحية، تكوسج العقل
“Whenever the beard is grown longer, it defects the intellect.”
[“Al-Wafi bi-al-Wafayat”, 2/123].

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Similar things are narrated from Imam Shafi’iee and other scholars of the Salaf.
Some people these days consider the beard a Taqwa-meter: the longer your beard, the more God-fearing you are.
This is incorrect.
The Sunnah is to have a beard and according to most jurists it should be a fist length but many other jurists say: whatever is deemed ‘a beard’ in the society, that is sufficient.
They say: it should not be longer than what is seen as acceptable within the norms of the society.
If the beard grows too long, beyond what is considered acceptable in the ‘Urf (customs/culture) – then it looks ridiculous and people will make fun of him.
The beard is a good Sunnah and nobody should make fun of the beard itself.
These narrations are about abnormal beards.

Allaahu A’alam