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All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and may God be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny.
All praise belongs to Allah, the Almighty. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and may God be pleased with all the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his progeny.
This article is an attempt to shine a light on one of the most obvious external attributes of a typical practicing Muslim man, and in these times, it has almost become a trademark as strong as some of the major commercial companies. Namely, the beard.
Growing a beard is a major part of Islam, and Muslims have been encouraged to do so by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has repeatedly instructed us in many hadiths to grow a beard. His (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) own practice was to have a full beard.
1) Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Trim the moustache and let the beard grow.” (Sahih al-Bukhari & Sahih al-Muslim)
2) Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Cut the moustache and leave the beard, and thus do the opposite of those who worship fire.” (Sahih Muslim, no. 260)
3) Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Trim the moustache, leave the beard, and do not imitate the Jews.” (Tahawi, Sharh Ma’ani al-A’sthar, 4/230)
4) Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered the trimming of the moustache and the growing of the beard.” (Sahih Muslim, no. 1/222)
In the above hadiths, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has categorically ordered the maintenance of the beard in different ways, and using different words and expressions each time. In the Norwegian translation this does not come out clearly, but if one looks at the original Arabic texts of these hadiths, one can clearly see that different words have been used in each hadith to emphasize the importance of keeping the beard.
The four Sunni schools of law (legal schools/madhhabs) have also taken a clear position regarding shaving the beard.
Hanafi school
The famous Hanafi jurist, Imam al-Haskafi, says in his Durr al-Mukhtar: “It is unlawful for one to shave off the beard… and as for trimming it when it is less than a handful, as is the custom of some North African tribes, it is something that no one (i.e. Hanafi scholars) has said is permissible.” (See: Radd al-Mukhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 2/113, Kitab al-Sawm) This position is also confirmed by other major works, such as al-Bahr al-Ra’iq, Fath al-Qadir, al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Bada’i al-Sana’i and al-Ikhtiyar.
Maliki school
Imam al-Dasuqi specifies: “It is haram for a man to shave off his beard, and whoever commits this sin will be held accountable for this act” (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi ala Sharh al-Kabir, 1/90, Kitab al-Taharah)
Shafi school
In Sharh al-Ubab it is stated: “The two sheikhs of this madhhab (Nawawi and Rafi’i) state that it is Makruh (disliked) to shave the beard, but Ibn al-Rif’a objected that Imam Shafi’i himself categorically stated in his book “al-Umm” that shaving the beard is haram. Imam al-Azra’i has said that the final position of this school is that shaving the beard without a valid medical reason is unlawful!” (Sharh al-Ubab & Hashiya Ibn Qasim al-Abbadi, 9/376)
Hanbali school
“….The beard should grow so that it is not necessary to trim it at all. But this is only if it does not become abnormally long, or create difficulties for oneself and others. But it is haram to shave off the beard” (Kashaf al-Qina’, 1/75). This is also confirmed in several major Hanbali works such as: al-Insaf, 1/121 by al-Mawardi, Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/85 by al-Bahuti and al-Rawdh al-Murbi’, 27-28 also by al-Bahuti. The above-mentioned statements from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and from Muslim jurists, confirm by a long way that trimming the beard very short, or shaving it off is haram. A Muslim (and especially one who considers himself to be a practitioner) can and should never accept such an act.
The length of the beard
When it comes to the length of the beard, there is no doubt that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions (the companions of the Prophet) were known to have full and at least a handful of long beards. However, there are still differences of opinion regarding the length of the beard in the different madhhabs.
The Hanafi school is arguably the strictest on this point, while according to the Shafi and Maliki schools, having a short beard is not a sin.
Ibn-Umar narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not be like those who associate partners with Allah (al-mushrikin), leave the beard, and trim the moustache.” When Ibn-Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went for Hajj, or Umrah, he would grab his beard with his hand, and remove what was superfluous. (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
In the Hanafi madhhab, there is no harm in trimming the edges of the beard, even if a “handful” is sunnah, but trimming the beard when it is already less than a handful is not permissible in the Hanafi school. (Ibn ‘Abidin: Radd al-Mukhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Beirut, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1987, 2.113).
Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Shaybani writes in Kitab al-A’sthar that Imam Abu Hanifa said: “The sunnah regarding this (the beard) is a handful, and it consists of a man grabbing the beard with his hand, and what grows beyond it is cut off.” (ibid, 5.261). There is also disagreement about where a handful should begin. Some believe that a handful means placing the index finger horizontally just below the lower lip, while others believe that it should be measured from where the chin ends. However, it seems that most people lean towards the suggestion that the index finger should be placed horizontally just below the lower lip. Imam Nawawi, a Shafi scholar, elaborates on the phrase “…and trim the moustache” from the above hadith: “As for trimming the moustache, this is also sunnah. It is commendable to start from the right side…. As for how much to trim away, the general opinion is that it should be trimmed until the edge of the upper lip is visible, and not trimmed completely. And Allah knows best.”
It was the custom of the Persians to remove the beard, so the sacred law forbade this. ((Sahih Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1981, 3.149).
Imam Baghawi writes that Imam Malik is said to have said: “Shaving off the moustache is an innovation (bid’a) that has occurred among the people” (Sharh al-sunna. 16 vols. Damascus: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1980, 12.108). The following can be drawn from the above:
- The hadith about “leaving the beard” is unconditional, meaning that it indicates that it is forbidden to shave or trim the beard.
- This hadith, however, deviates from the actual practice of the companions, which was taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
- That Ibn-Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the most learned of the Companions and the one who was most eager to follow the Sunnah, used to cut his beard when he went on Hajj or Umrah.
- Imam Baghawi also refers to the practice of trimming the beard by Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who was one of the foremost scholars among the companions.
- If all the early Muslims had had beards down to their waists, or to their knees since they never trimmed them, this would have been mentioned in the hadith, which is not the case.
- The wisdom behind leaving the beard, in the hadith of Bukhari and Muslim, is to do the opposite of what the disbelievers did. The norm of a Muslim is not to imitate the disbelievers, for as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is like them” (Sunan Abi Dawud. 4 vols. Istanbul: al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya, n.d. 4.44: 4031). The role models for Muslims should be other religious and practicing Muslims.
- General Islamic values encourage beauty in manners, dress code, and behavior. A man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) if liking beautiful clothes and sandals was a form of arrogance. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “Indeed, Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty.” (Sahih Muslim, 1.93: 91)
Conclusion
Having a beard is obligatory (wajib) for a Muslim man. The wording in the above hadiths indicates that it should be full, but this depends on what is the norm among scholars, religious and practicing Muslims. The early Muslims trimmed their beards, and there is no unambiguous text (nass) that states anything about the absolute length and size of the beard. Although the sunnah is to be considered “a handful”, there are several ulama who trim their beards less than this. There is a belief that Allah will not punish an ordinary Muslim for something that the traditional scholars (ulama) disagree about among themselves. These considerations are particularly relevant now that Islam has spread among almost all the different races on earth, and that it is genetically impossible for everyone to grow a beard as full as ibn-Umar’s. The most important thing, however, is: 1) to have a beard, 2) to be full to the extent that it does not resemble anything that the disbelievers have, and 3) that it is well-groomed and looks neat. And Allah knows best.
Source: various articles on sunnipath.com
