The Ruling On The Beard

The Beard – اللحية

The jurists disagree about the ruling on the beard.

This is a Fiqhi issue (من المسائل الفقهية الفرعيَّة) on which disagreement is valid (خلاف معتبر) and we should not make a big deal out of this.

1- The Prophet said:
خَالِفُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ، وَفِّرُوا اللِّحَى، وَأَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ
“Do the opposite of what the moshrikin do, keep the BEARDS and trim the MOUSTACHES.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 5892].

You might think:

This Hadith is crystal clear. How can anyone disagree on this issue?

Well, these words can be understood as an obligation, recommendation, advice, etc.

For example:

2- The Prophet also said, using similar words:
إِنَّ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى لاَ يَصْبُغُونَ فَخَالِفُوهُمْ
“Jews and Christians do not dye their hair, do the opposite of what they do.”
[“Sahih Bukhari”, 5899].

Nobody says that DYING HAIR is an obligation, yet similar words are used in both Ahadith.

3- It is also narrated with an authentic chain in the ‘Musnad Ahmad’, (21789):
حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْعَلَاءِ بْنِ زَبْرٍ ، حَدَّثَنِي الْقَاسِمُ قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ أَبَا أُمَامَةَ يَقُولُ : خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى مَشْيَخَةٍ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارٍ بِيضٌ لِحَاهُمْ فَقَالَ : يَا مَعْشَرَ الْأَنْصَارِ حَمِّرُوا وَصَفِّرُوا ، وَخَالِفُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ . قَالَ : فَقُلْنَا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ يَتَسَرْوَلَونَ وَلْا يَأْتَزِرُونَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : تَسَرْوَلُوا وَائْتَزِرُوا وَخَالِفُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ . قَالَ : فَقُلْنَا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ يَتَخَفَّفُونَ وَلَا يَنْتَعِلُونَ . قَالَ : فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَتَخَفَّفُوا وَانْتَعِلُوا وَخَالِفُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ . قَالَ : فَقُلْنَا : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ يَقُصُّونَ عَثَانِينَهُمْ وَيُوَفِّرُونَ سِبَالَهُمْ . قَالَ : فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : قُصُّوا سِبَالَكُمْ وَوَفِّرُوا عَثَانِينَكُمْ وَخَالِفُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ
Abu Umaamah reports that once the Prophet came upon a group of old people of the Ansaar with beards that were completely white.
He said to them: “O people of the Ansaar, dye your beards red or golden and (thus) be different from the people of the Book.”
[Abu Umaamaah says:] I asked: “O Prophet the people of the Book wear [clothes like] pants and avoid wrapping the loincloth, [what should we do?]”
The Prophet said: “You should wear [clothes like] pants as well as wrap the loincloth and [thus] be different from the people of the Book.”
I asked: “O Prophet, the people of the Book walk bare feet and avoid wearing shoes, [what should we do?]”
The Prophet said: “You should walk bare foot as well as wear shoes, and [thus] be different from the people of the Book.”
Then we asked: “O Prophet, the people of the Book keep their beards closely trimmed and let their moustaches grow long, [what should we do?]”
The Prophet said: “You should trim your moustaches and let your beards grow and [thus] be different from the people of the Book.”
[“Musnad Ahmad”, 21789 – the chain is authentic إسناده صحيح].

END QUOTE.

Is walking BAREFOOT an obligation?
Is wearing a LOINCLOTH an obligation?
No – nobody says that.
So why single out the beard, which is in the same list?

There are similar narrations about praying in shoes: https://sunnah.com/abudawud/2/262

And eating Suhur during Ramadhan: https://sunnah.com/muslim/13/56

Yet – nobody says that praying in shoes or waking up for Suhur are obligations.

But these commands also came in the context of doing the opposite of ahlal-kitab.

I’m just trying to show WHY the jurists disagreed – so you can appreciate the difference of opinion on this issue.

And secondly:

If keeping the beard is an OBLIGATION, then trimming the moustaches should also be an obligation, because both are mentioned together.

Either both are an OBLIGATION, or none are an OBLIGATION – beause they are mentioned together.

The reason (علة) for both is the same: خَالِفُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Yet – nobody says that leaving the moustache untrimmed is sinful.

Again – why is the beard singled out?

——————————-

THE OPINION OF THE 4 MADHABS ON THE BEARD:

All scholars agree as a minimum that the beard is recommended and that nobody is allowed to ridicule this Sunnah.

1- Hanafis post-Ibn Humaam agree that keeping the beard is compulsory and shaving it is forbidden.

2- The early Hanbali school (pre-Ibn Taymiyah) considered shaving the beard as disliked. Ibn Taymiyah was the first Hanbali to say it is forbidden to shave the beard, and the Hanbalis after him settled on this prohibition until today.

3- The mainstream relied upon opinion of the Malikis is that keeping the beard is compulsory and shaving it is forbidden, but some Malikis have said its Makroh to shave.

4- As for the Shafi’ies, they also have two opinions on this – and the mainstream position is that keeping the beard is recommended and shaving it is not forbidden, but it is disliked.

So classical jurists held this view and discussed it for centuries – its not some modernist opinion.

This is the opinion that doesn’t get much air-time, but its important that people know:

Imam al-Shafi’ii himself said in ‘al-Umm’, (6/88):
وَهُوَ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي اللِّحْيَةِ لَا يَجُوزُ
“Though (shaving) the beard is not allowed.”

Some Shafi’ii jurists understood from this that it is Haram to shave the beard. The majority of Shafi’ii jurists understood this to mean that it is discouraged to shave the beard, and not that it is haram.

1- Sh Salim Bahiri says:
أن الشافعي ما نصَّ على التحريم كما يتوهمه بعض الشافعية ، وإنما نصَّ على عدم الجواز ، وهناك فرق يعرفه الشافعية بين قول الشافعي : (ويحرم) وقوله : (لا يجوز) .
ولذا قال الشافعي : (لا يجوز ترك صلاة الكسوف) ، ومراده : لا يباح .
“Al-Shafi’i did not mean that it is forbidden (haram), as some Shafi’is mistakenly understood this, but he meant to say that it is not allowed.
There is a difference between the words of Imam al-Shafi’i when he says “forbidden” and “not permitted,” and the Shafi’iiis know about this distinction.
Similarly, Imam al-Shafi’i said: “It is not allowed to leave the Eclipse prayer”.
He means that it is not “permissible” (mubah) (and not that it is sinful).”

2- Al-Ramli in his ‘Fatawa’, (4/69):
قال الرملي الشافعي في فتاواه (4|69): «حلق لحية الرجل ونتفها مكروه لا حرام
“For a man to shave his beard is disliked, but it is not unlawful/forbidden (Haram). ”

3- Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami in ‘Tuhfatul Muhtaj’ (9/375):
(فرع) ذكروا هنا في اللحية و نحوها خصالا مكروهة ، منها: نتفها ، وحلقها وكذا الحاجبان.
“[Branch Issues]: Here they (scholars) mentioned with regards to the the beard and the like, some things that are disliked, among them plucking and shaving the beard, as well as the eyebrows.”

4- Al-Dimyati in ‘I’anat al-Talibin’, (2/386):
المعتمد عند الغزالي وشيخ الإسلام وابن حجر في التحفة والرملي والخطيب وغيرهم: الكراهة.
“According to the relied upon opinion, by al-Ghazali, Sheikhul Islam Zakariya al-Ansari, Ibn Hajar, al-Ramli and al-Khatib (al-Shirbini) and others: shaving the beard is undesirable [makruh].”

5- Syaikhul Islam Zakariya Al-Ansari in ‘Asna al-Matalib’, (1/551):
ويكره نَتْفُهَا أَيْ اللِّحْيَةِ
“It is disliked to pull out hair from the beard.”

6- Al-Nawawi said ‘Al-Majmu’, (1/290):
وَالصَّحِيحُ كَرَاهَةُ الْأَخْذِ مِنْهَا مُطْلَقًا بَلْ يَتْرُكُهَا عَلَى حَالِهَا كَيْفَ كَانَتْ لِلْحَدِيثِ الصَّحِيحِ وَاعْفُوا اللحي
“… And the correct (opinion) in the undesirability (karahah) of removing anything from (the beard) at all, on the contrary (it is better) to leave it as it is, as it came to in a reliable hadith “And leave the beards.”

7- Ibn Qasim Al-Abbadi in ‘Hashiyah Tuhfah al-Muhtaj’ (9/375) said:
قال الشيخان يكره حلق اللحية
“The two Shaykhs (Nawawi and Rafi’i) say its disliked to shave the beard.”

8- Al-Bujairimi in his ‘Hashiyah’ (4/346) said:
إن حلق اللحية مكروه حتى من الرجل وليس حراماً
“Indeed, shaving the beard is disliked for men, and it is not Haram.”