Shaving
the beard is haraam because of the saheeh ahaadeeth that clearly state
this, and because of the general application of texts
that forbid resembling the kuffaar. One of these reports is the hadeeth of
Ibn ‘Umar who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Be different from the mushrikeen: let
your beards grow and trim your moustaches.” According to another report: “Trim
your moustaches and let your beards grow.” There are other hadeeth
which convey the same meaning, which is to leave the beard as it is and let
it grow long, without shaving, plucking or cutting any part of it. Ibn Hazm
reported that there was scholarly consensus that it is an obligation (fard)
to trim the moustache and let the beard grow. He quoted a number of ahaadeeth
as evidence, including the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) quoted above, and the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Arqam in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not
remove any of his moustache is not one of us.” (Classed as saheeh by
al-Tirmidhi).
Is it haraam (to shave
it)? Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The Qur’aan, Sunnah and ijmaa’ (scholarly
consensus) all indicate that we must differ from the kuffaar in all aspects
and not imitate them, because imitating them on the outside will make us
imitate them in their bad deeds and habits, and even in beliefs, which will
result in befriending them in our hearts, just as loving them in our hearts
will lead to imitating them on the outside. Al-Tirmidhi reported that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He
is not one of us who imitates people other than us. Do not imitate the Jews
and Christians.” According to another version: “Whoever imitates
a people is one of them.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad) ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab rejected the testimony of the person who plucked his beard. Imaam
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in al-Tamheed: “It is forbidden to shave
the beard, and no one does this except men who are effeminate” i.e.,
those who imitate women. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) had a thick beard (reported by Muslim from Jaabir). It is not permitted
to remove any part of the beard because of the general meaning of the texts
which forbid doing so.
The beard (Arabic: liyah) is defined as the hair which grows on the cheeks
and the jaws (ex., review: al-Q m s al-Muh t by al-Fayrazabad ). It includes
the hair of the temples, the growth underneath the lower lip, the hair of
the chin, and the hair that grows on the lower side of the
jaws.
The Islamic Ruling Concerning Beards
Growing the beard is a wajib (mandatory) for all males who are capable of
doing so. This has ample evidence in the Sunnah (as will be shown below)
and is the unanimous opinion of the ulamaa of Islam. One should not be misled
by the neglect to this sunnah by a few contemporary shaykhs, and by their
providing shaky fatwas to support their action. By doing that they make people
follow them into the wrong way, when the Messenger (S) said: He who starts a good sunnah (way) will be rewarded for it, in addition to
receiving rewards equal to the rewards of those who follow him into it. Whereas
he who starts a bad sunnah will be burdened with it, in addition to receiving
burdens equal to the burdens of those who follow him into it. [Muslim]
And he said: Allah does not pull the knowledge abruptly from the hearts of people, but
he takes away the knowledge by taking [the lives of] the `ulamaa (true scholars).
When no `ulamaa are left, people will take ignorant persons for leaders.
Those will give them fatwa (religious verdicts) without knowledge. By doing
this, they will stray and lead others astray as well. [Al-Bukhari]
A List of Violations
Shaving the beard results
in a series of Islamic violations, as is obvious from Allah’s Book and His Messenger’s
Sunnah. The following is a list (not necessarily comprehensive) of such
violations:
A Disobedience to Aallah (T)
Shaving the beard is a disobedience to Allah (T).
The ruler of Yemen,
appointed by the Persian emperor Kisraa, sent two envoys to the Messenger
(S) to summon him. When they came into his presence, he
noticed that they had shaved their beards and grew their moustaches. He hated
to look at them (because of their odd appearance) and he said: Woe be to
you, who told you to do so? They replied: “Our lord! (referring to
Kisraa.)” The Messenger (S) then said:But my Lord, may He be exalted
and glorified, has commanded me to leave alone my beard and to trim my moustache.
[Recorded by Ibn Jar r a-abar , and judged to be Hasan (good) by al-Albani.]
A Disobedience To the Messenger (S)
Shaving the beard is a disobedience to the Messenger (S). In many hadiths,
the Messenger (S) commanded men to leave alone their beards. These different
hadiths have a similar meaning: Trim the moustache and save the beard. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Obeying the Messenger (S) in that is equivalent to obeying Allah (T) who
said (what means): He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah. [An- Nisaa 4:80]
A Deviation from the Appearance and Guidance of the Messenger (S)
Shaving the beard is a deviation from the appearance and guidance of the
Messenger (S).
The Messenger (S) used to have a large beard [Muslim].
One should strive to imitate him (S) in his practices, as Allah (T) said
(what means): In the Messenger of Allah is a good example for you to follow. [Al-Ahzab
33:21]
And the Messenger (S) said: Verily, the best guidance
is Muhammad’s guidance. [Muslim]
A Deviation from the Way of Believers
Shaving the beard is
a deviation from the way of believers. All the prophets (S), the sahbah
(Prophet’s companions), the great `ulamaa, and the
righteous early Muslims of this Ummah (Nation) grew their beards. There is
no report of a single one of them ever shaving his beard. Thus, this is their
way, and Allah (T) says (in the meaning): Whoever disobeys the Messenger after guidance has been clarified to him,
and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall give to him what
he deserves and broil him in hell, which is the worst abode. [An-Nisaa 4:115]
An Imitation of the Disbelievers
Shaving the beard is an imitation of the disbelievers. This has been emphasized
in several hadiths of the Prophet (S). For example: Cut the moustaches and grow your beards. Be different from the Magians (followers
of a religion that dominated in Persia). [Muslim]
Cut your moustaches and leave your beards alone. Be different from the people
of the scripture. [Muslim]
Be different from the Mushrikin (those who worship other than Allah (T));
trim your moustaches and save your beards. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
We have been commanded to be different and distinct from the disbelievers,
as in surat ul-Fatihah. Also, Allah (T) said (what means): Follow not the whims of those who have no knowledge (of Islam). [Al-Jathiyah
45:18]
And His Messenger (S) said: Whoever imitates a people is but one of them.
[Recorded by Abu Dawud, and judged to be authentic by al-Albani]
Changing Allah’s
Creation without Permission
The Messenger (S) declared that the women who change what Allah (T) has
created (such as removing the hair from their faces or filing their teeth
or tattooing their bodies) seeking by that to improve their appearance, are
accursed by Allah (T). [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
The hadith mentioned women in particular because they normally seek to beautify
themselves more than men. But the warning surely applies to both sexes, because
the condition for the curse is declared, and thus the curse applies to anyone
who satisfies such condition.
Shaving the beard falls under this warning, as it is much worse than the
Nam (removal of facial hair) practiced by some women. It involves obeying
Satan who said: And I shall tempt them until they change what Allah has created. [An-Nisaa
4:119]
An Imitation of Women
The beard is a major distinction between men and women. Shaving it removes
this distinction, and is thus a means of imitating women. The Messenger (S)
said: Allah curses those men who imitate the women, and He curses those women
who imitate the men. [Al-Bukhari]
Shaving the Beard Contradicts
the Pure Fitrah (Nature) Allah’s Messenger
(S) mentioned ten qualities as indicative of a good, clean nature [Muslim].
Two of these qualities are to trim the moustaches and to grow the beard.
The Messenger (S) also tells that every child is born with a clean, pure
fitrah, which later may get deformed by the influence of the environment
and the up-bringing. [Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
In the footsteps of
the disbelievers, many Muslims’ fitrah is now,
unfortunately, so much deformed that they seem to find a clean-shaven man
more handsome and masculine than one with a beard - exactly the opposite
of what the Messenger (S) declared in the above hadith.
This fitrah never changes with time: Allah (T) said (what means): The pure nature according
to which Allah has created people. There is no change in Allah’s
creation. [Ar-Room 30:30]
For shaving their beards, some men give the strange excuse that their wives
prefer them without one! As if their purpose in this life is to follow the
deformed inclinations of their wives instead of the clear-cut commands of
Allah (T) and His Messenger (S)!
Others claim that growing their beards results in an irritability and scratching.
This cannot result from abiding by the pure fitrah, but would result (if
true) from neglect of the proper cleaning and washing with wudu as instructed
in the Sunnah.
What the `Ulamaa and Imams Say
All the `ulamaa of as-Salaf u- li, including the Four Imams, agreed that
shaving the beard is haram (prohibited). They considered shaving it an impermissible
mutilation, as has been reported about Umar bin Abdil-Aziz. They used to
consider the person who shaved his beard effeminate. Many of them would not accept his witness or allow him to lead the prayers.
May Allah (T) guide
us to abide by His Deen, and to adhere to His Messenger’s
Sunnah, and to be among those whom he blessed in both lives. |
