my beard is like half str8 and half curly weird huh

“when you see a beard you know what it is”

much needed article, although as Shaykh Yasir did say that beard was not a pressing issue in our Ummah, for some reason it comes up in debate a quite a bit.

I’ll definitely be posting this on forums, blogs, etc. when the issue comes up.

i always wanted to try soakign my beard in battered eggs and milk…

What’s the deal with the photo out in the woods – he looks like a shaolin monk off to train from some huge martial arts tournament (or maybe this is where he learned his ping pong technique ;))

Siraaj

While I like the fact that Muslims are now starting to groom and take care of their beards (and trust me they need to – some of them look like they have put their hand in electric sockets), I disagree with the idea of a beard being compulsory.

First, in the youtube video, the shiekh who quoted “keep your beard and shave your mustache” himself had a mustache. If beard was fard according to him as per that hadith then he should have shaved off that mustache!

Second, there is this ridiculous notion that not having a beard is like a woman. A woman once wrote about this on my blog (a guest post). If anyone wants to debate this, you can go there.

Again, I feel we don’t get it. We have bigger issues here than who is having a beard or not.

mashaAllah,

nice and neat interview…

Second, there is this ridiculous notion that not having a beard is like a woman. A woman once wrote about this on my blog (a guest post). If anyone wants to debate this, you can go there.

And I responded to this post (not quite with the debating you invited, though).

Siraaj

What’s the deal with the photo out in the woods – he looks like a shaolin monk off to train from some huge martial arts tournament (or maybe this is where he learned his ping pong technique ;))

Siraaj

hahahahaha. I cant stop laughing. that is such an amazing description. I didnt get the ping pong stuff though. Is Shaykh Yasir good at ping pong?

bro that picture of Abu Ammar had me rolling … it reminded me of those tarzan tamed pictures with the wilderness behind him…lol good stuff

I agree that the beard itself is not an important issue, but what it leads to can be. Sometimes it reveals that a person has issues with these concepts:

-Obedience of the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam): “If it’s not in the Qur’an, I don’t gotta do it!”
-Having Trust in Allah: “Having even a short beard will prevent me from getting married, getting a job, and flying in planes”
-Muslim Identity in America: “I shave my beard because I don’t want people at work to know I’m muslim. I’ve got it worse than Obama”

This is why the overzealous types (I used to be one of them) get so emotional; they sincerely want brothers to obey the Prophet, have proper Trust in Allah, not be afraid of showing that they’re muslim, etc.

Although there are some people that would be better off not displaying their Islam (because of their terrible morals/akhlaq etc.), it does sadden me a bit when I see good muslim brothers (that do all the obligatory deeds and have good akhlaq) shave the beard. These days, having a long beard is associated with extremism, backwardness, mysoginism, etc. This stereotype stirs up one’s emotions because a long beard is part of the sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and he wasn’t extreme or evil in any way.
Thus, personally, I would like to see good brothers wear long beards while doing good deeds, in the hopes that this stereotype would be minimized in the eyes of the public. In short, having a long beard is doing da’wah in a way, and this simple way of daw’ah is being ignored.

So you can see the underlying reasons why people make the beard a big deal. I think this is why scholars started to write books about this, because when a person says, “Aw man, a beard is obligatory…”, they then ask “Well, how short can I cut it?”

Note: I do agree with just about everything Sh. Yasir said, I just wanted to reveal the “other side”. :)

bismillah. the secret of the woodland shaykh? is Yasir one of Robin Hood’s merry men? from the story “Friar Tuck meets Shaykh Yasir?” nope, unless Zakir Naik has a secret Ping Pong base in Mumbai, that’s a screenshot from a segment or commercial on Peace TV, vintage Yasir’s Seerah series.

ibnabeeOmar — maybe move the youtube video to the top or remove it altogether. i wonder how many people only watched the video wondering which conditioner corresponds to which shaykh….

dontaskme — i would only ask you to listen to the mp3. one thing to understand is that growing the beard is not a hardship upon you.

mezba — many people seek out wisdoms and reasons for growing their beard, and for many other actions in Islam. well-meaning people and scholars try to provide them explanations so the first group will be convinced and then obey Allah and His Messenger, sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam. “fasting increases your appreciation for the plight of the poor.” so if a person who relied on that wisdom lived in some utopian society where there were no poor people, would that person be justified in giving up fasts?

no. a wise person does not make obedience to Allah conditional upon his or her intellect. a wise person obeys the commands of Allah and His Messenger because there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah, and obedience is part and parcel of worship.

a person who predicates obedience on comprehending the wisdom or rationality of a command, that is a person whose faith is weak. such a person has fundamentally undercut his faith because he limits it to his comprehension, whereas Allah and His Wisdom are beyond comprehension. if such a person lives in society in harmony with the commands of Allah, his faith may never be tested. but if this person lives in a society where mores and sensibilities are dictated by television and mass media… then his faith would be tested often.

the wise person appreciates what truth he may find in the wisdoms and reasons offered to explain the commandments of Allah. but his obedience does not depend on the strength or weakness of any man-made argument.

Just found a recording of Sheikh Muhammad Al-Shareef on the beard issue: Beard Q & A

ibn alHyderabadee said:

my beard is changing color by itself…i;m seeing red hairs……is that normal?

They will turn white.. I had few brown hair and I was puzzled, and they turned white eventually

Thanks ibnabeeomar for the clarification,

I suspected the David Craig type would not muster the test for a “beard” since it eliminates hair on the cheeks to begin with.

Yet, Shaykh Qadhi also excluded the 2 day not shaving as not being within the beard category (he didn’t mention the 5 o’ clock shadow).

Thus, why would these types of beards be excluded?

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2jg2p2c&s=4

Most people consider Baron Davis as having a beard – yet as someone whose facial hair grows fast ( I used to get the 5 o’clock at 1 o’ clock) – I can pull of Baron Davis’ beard in about 2 days or less.

I think i’m gonna start a club for long bearders. Maybe me and Siraaj can be the founders. Then we’ll make mp3′s about how awesome it is to have a long beard and what short bearders are mssing out on :)

Benefits of long beard:

1. People can’t forget who you are even if they don’t know your name
2. Other Muslims recognize you and say salaam just by seeing the beard (doesn’t happen as much with individuals with shorter beards)
3. Insulation in the winter
4. Feels soft if you take care of it
5. People will always ask you “how long did it take you to grow it?” and “why do you grow your beard like that?” allowing an easy da’wah opportunity without having to approach people
6. You can hold pencils in it and make kids and people laugh
7. Allows you to dispel the myth that bearded people are evil moolahs
8. Hippi’s love you
9. Holds water and provides cooling factor with wind on hot summer days
10. Certain Muslims feel comfortable speaking with you
11. Feels good combing it

Sure, just pull one of these off and your in ;)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/karumbala/windmill-beard.jpg

Beard Champion of the World right here:

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6862/beard2os6.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/3452/beardnu9.jpg

I’ve seen an Egyptian brother with a bigger beard than that (I think)

Walaykumus Salam,

I respectfully disagree with Sh Yasir in that trimming below fist length is okay or makrooh at best. I haven’t heard any classical or contemporary scholar say this. But after his views on participating in elections, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Sh Yasir, I really hope the popularity you have gained in the west does not make you waver from sticking to the Quran and Sunnah. You will face fitan and challenges around you, but if you stick to the truth, even in the most seemingly trivial issues, inshaAllah Allah (swt) will bless you in this dunya and Akhirah. I really and honestly hope you are sincere and only seeking to please Allah (swt).

- Sirat

In the link posted to Q’s & A’s on the beard with Muhammad ash-Sharif he mentions that the opinion he is propagating is that of his teacher, Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtar bin Muhammad al-Amin ash-Shanqiti, the son of Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin [and I assume he means ash-Shanqiti] who he states was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia before Shaykh ‘Abdul-Aziz bin Baz. I had thought that Shaykh Ibrahim Ali ash-Shaykh was the Grand Mufti before Shaykh ‘Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, is this not correct? I would be surprised if Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin ash-Shanqiti was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia since not only was he not “Ali ash-Shaykh” [and I know that neither was Shaykh ‘Abdul-Aziz bin Baaz], but he was not even from Saudi Arabia.

It seems that Muhammad ash-Sharif shares the view of his teacher which is obviously therefore a contemporary view, and Yasir Qadhi didn’t make mention [from what I can remember] of any scholars from the early generations who either trimmed that which was less than a fist length or said it was permissible to do so. This for me at least is a very important issue, because I for one believe that it is important to know how the early generations understood the actions of the generations that came shortly before them, did they understand such actions to be that of restriction on or permissibility of trimming? And at what point in time did the view that it is permissible to trim that which is less than a fist length become a known opinion?

Shaykh Yasir says that all four madhaib say beard is wajib, but doesn’t the shafi’i madhab differ on this issue and say it is makrouh?

Shaykh Yasir, you said that brother in Univ of Madeenah had the longest beard you’ve seen. Take a look at this:

http://media.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/jackpassion.jpg

lol

Fi Aman Allah

as Abu Hatim said:
- I dont’ recall as well Shaykh Muhammad Ash-Shanqeetee being the grand mufti before Shaykh bin Baaz. Very odd statement indeed.
- In fact, I do not recall a single scholar not of saudi descent being grand mufti. Shaykh Bin baaz was pretty much an exceptional case not being form “aal al-shaykh”. But he was still a native saudi.
- Then again, I could be totally off. But in some bio’s i’ve read on him, they do not mention he was grand mufti. How could they miss this?

As-salam Alaykum Bro Sirat,

I think that although you took great care of wording your post in a seemingly courteous manner, it is very clear that it is a ‘vicious attack’ on the character of certain dawah-carriers.

You said:

I usually tend to stay away from these forums and from Almaghrib in general, so I wouldn’t want to get into detailed arguments – it wouldn’t benefit or change anyone.

Then brother why didn’t you follow your own advice/methodology and stay away from making this post? Obviously your post doesn’t benefit or change anyone, so why did you post it?

You say:

I respectfully disagree with Sh Yasir

Followed by the contradiction:

Sh Yasir, I really hope the popularity you have gained in the west does not make you waver from sticking to the Quran and Sunnah. You will face fitan and challenges around you, but if you stick to the truth, even in the most seemingly trivial issues, inshaAllah Allah (swt) will bless you in this dunya and Akhirah. I really and honestly hope you are sincere and only seeking to please Allah (swt).

The only insincerity is yours.

Fi Aman Allah

I have not seen evidence to demonstrate that these teachers have watered themselves down due to popularity

I think the real reason is that the very popular dawah carriers tend to be smarter people, students of knowledge who shine above and beyond the rest. Every year, hundreds of people graduate from Univ of Madeenah and other Saudi schools…but how many of them do we hear about? The fact is that people like Yasir Qadhi are exceptional; he is a truly gifted and intelligent man.

So because these people are so smart, they usually come to realize how the simplistic version of Islam that these ‘exuberant youths’ does not represent true Islam.

The less intelligent dawah-carriers don’t get as famous because they are not exceptional, and because they are not very intelligent, they never expand their religious knowledge like the smarter ones do. Yasir Qadhi has grown by leaps and bounds, and this just shows his intelligence, nothing more. The dumb people are just too dumb to realize this.

Assalaam’aalaikum brothers,

Subhaan allah-I saw this on some other posts (which Amad might remember) and I see this again. With the exception of the noble response of the Sheikh – I found the others who responded to Sirat (whether I agree or not) – to be cliqueish and attacking. Siraaj/Amad – I feel the sheikh is well qualified to defend himself and clarify if required (J-ireserve my comments for i know little to nothing about you) Brothers – please let me be able to say I love you all for the sake of allah (which is sincerely where i started when i first started coming on to MM.org) – do not become the same people who you deride time and again on these boards-you know the ones i speak of. Even the politest of language can conceal the harshest of attacks-i’m sure u realise that.

Ya Sheikh Yasir – a teacher is often reflected in his students – we saw this with what happened in the late 90′s and early 2000′s with certain cliques. I remember when Abu Ameenah and many others would tell us that truth will soon ‘out’ – to have patience and adhere to the middle way and await the time when the scholars would finally speak, and remember the noble manner in which he handled his attackers – people who were far harsher and downright insulting in their attacks – I implore you to advise your students to tone down their responses. I dont want to jump the gun here – but I fear for these brothers and I fear for their increasingly antagonistic stand towards ‘conservative’ (if i could use a better term-I would) salafis, ahl us sunnah / call it what u may.

To the brothers – if it was a point to defend or refute – lets do it with scholarship not acrimony – the one who responds in a noble manner is better than the harsh person (or the one who seems to be attacking).

Wa’assalaam

Abu Moosa

(now-go ahead and refute away)

For the sake of clarifying some previous comments – confusion often occurs when discussing scholars from Mauritania. Many scholars, and people in general, from Mauritania have the name Muhammad and they also have compound names such as Muhammad al-Mukhtaar, Muhammad al-Hassan or Muhammad al-Ameen. You even have cases where all the boy children have the name Muhammad and they distinguish them by Muhammad ath-Thaani or Muhammad II, etc.

Shaykh Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Mukthaar Aal-Mazeed ash-Shanqeeti (hafidhahullah) who teaches in al-Masjid an-Nabawi and also in Jeddah is not the son of Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen b. Muhammad al-Mukhtaar ash-Shanqeeti (rahimahullah), who also taught in al-Masjid an-Nabawi but was never mufti of Saudi Arabia. Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen (rahimahullah) also has children who teach in al-Masjid an-Nabawi.

If you’re not confused yet then in the least it is probably very obvious to you by now that quite a few times opinions and views have been attributed to the Shaykh which he is innocent and free of to the point that there is even a message on his website – http://www.shankeety.net – regarding attributing something to him without verifying it beforehand. I am not necessarily referring to anything being discussed here in this post.

So the Shaykh is the son of Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtaar (rahimahullah) who was a teacher in al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. His father (rahimahullah) was an outstanding scholar as well with an amazing memory like many from Mauritania. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) once said he had memorized the entire history book of Ibn Katheer (rahimahullah) and Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (rahimahullah) included him in a work of his which was an index of scholars of genealogy.

Anyone who visits al-Madeenah should take the opportunity to sit in the class of the Shaykh. He is both a faqeeh and waa’idh, connecting fiqh issues to the heart so that the purpose and goal of ‘ibaadah is kept in mind. Though classes may be on hold at the moment since Hajj is coming, they are usually on Thursday at al-Masjid an-Nabawi on al-Muwatta and on Wednesday in Jeddah at Masjid al-Malik Sa’ood on Sunan at-Tirmidhi (listen here – http://liveislam.net/archive.php?sid=&tid=356). There are also many lectures of his here – http://islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=63.

I know all of this is a bit off topic and I apologize for that but I just wanted to clarify for anyone interested and I hope this is helpful and Allah knows best.

Bismillah. This is a topic that on the surface may seem trivial, but is a serious matter because it is Allah who has created us and has Decreed that we have . First of all, the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, commanded us to “let the beard grow” and did not command us to “grow your beard”. There is a huge difference between “growing you beard” and “letting your beard grow” – it is Allah who grows the beard, not the human. Man can allow the beard to grow by not trimming it down, but cannot “grow” the beard. The length and texture of the beard depend on your genetic makeup. The Prophet’s command is the command of Allah, and in a Mu’min’s mind, there should be no distinction between a “Quranic command” and the Prophet’s command that we get from the authentic Ahadith. The beard is a feature of the adult human male’s face, no matter how hard Hollywood would have us believe otherwise. Allah has made us in the best of forms (Surah Teen).(Unwarrantedly) changing the creation is from Shaitan – “And surely I (Shaitan) will command them and they will change Allah’s creation.” (An-Nisa’: 119). Muslims are commanded in certain cases, and allowed, in others, to change the creation of Allah as demands of Fitrah. By changing Allah’s creation in any other way, we may be committing kufr and shirk. Let’s face it – preserving the beard takes time and energy, and sometimes the bearded man is faced with hostility from men and women who are programmed to consider beardless men as normal. Alhamdu Lillahi ‘ala kulli ‘haal. If trimming the beard were allowed, our Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, whom Allah sent as Rahmatullil ‘alameen, would have allowed us to trim the beard and would have trimmed it himself. A man maintaining his beard in its natural form (untrimmed from the start), is not an unusual burden on him or those who see him, if only our society were used to the concept. The untrimmed beard, especially the beards that have never been mutiliated, are soft, graceful, dignified, and natural looking – sort of like untrimmed eyebrows.

Second, the proof that leaving the beard to grow on its own (sparing it) being a command of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, (and he has used various words to make the command clear that the beard is to be spared, let grown, having mercy on it, lengthening it) is in the most authentic Ahadith and the proof is in the same Ahadith from where circumcision is established as obligatory – it is a ‘demand’ of the fitrah – so the beard should be the first thing that a Muslim man should keep (upon the beard appearing, of course), just as circumcision is performed at an early age. On the other hand, the Ahadith that record the Prophet and a few sahabah trimming their beards, are extremely weak, with fabricators in the musnad, wa-Allahu ‘alam. Since when is taking a weak Ahadith over the strongest Ahadith acceptable to Muslim scholars, when the two Ahadith are contradictory? A’ishah ” reported that Allah’s Messenger sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “There are ten qualities of fitrah: trimming the mustaches, SPARING the beard, siwak (brushing the teeth), inhaling water (to clean the nose) [and rinsing the mouth], cutting the nails, washing the finger knuckles, plucking the armpit hair, shaving the pubic hair, washing the private parts with water, [and circumcision].” [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaybah, and others. The part between square brackets is not in Muslim (Sahah ul-Jami `no. 2222)] This fitrah never changes with time. Allah tells us: “So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. [ar-Rum 30:30]. How can people interpret “spare the beard” in any other way, except letting the beard to grow naturally? The Arabic words are even clearer.

Third, in the authentic Ahadith of Ibn Umar, radi Allah ‘anh, in which he trimmed a few hair of his beard that his fist could not hold, the reason for his action is that he thought the trimming of the beard is a ritual of Hajj, along with shaving the hair on the scalp, which was his personal interpretation of the requirements of Hajj. In this case, it is following a command related to a specific act of worship, even if it contradicts the general command. Ibn Umar himself is one of the narrators of the Qualities of the Fitrah Hadith. A similar example, where we make an exception to the rule, is making tahayyatul masjid after ‘Asr – it is forbidden to make salah between Asr and Maghrib, but it is obligatory to make the two rakahs before sitting in a masjid. We have to remember that even though Ibn Umar used to follow the sunnah, he was not the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and in the Qur’an, Allah has commanded us to obey the command of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. “Whatever the Messenger gives, take it, and whatever he forbids abstain from it.” (Surah al Hashr, 59:7). In other words, whatever instructions and orders the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) gives to the people, he gives them on behalf of Allah. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam,

Fourth, it is a falacy, and a mockery of reality, that if left on its own, the beard will keep on growing down to the ankles or “sweep the floor”. The length of the beard, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, was described as thick. Again, is upto Allah to determine the length to which the beard should grow, not humans. He has made us in the best of forms. If no one else in modern society, look at the beards of the ultra-orthodox jews who have the strength of faith to preserve their religion and let their beards grow naturally, despite opposition from western society. (We do not agree with their letting their moustache grow as well, which we are commanded to trim down).

Lastly, is it not time that we became loyal slaves to Allah, instead of to western ideals of acceptable facial features? Racial bigotry may have forced our forefathers who lived under oppression in lands colonized by western governments, to subject their beards to trimming (which we are commanded to do to our moustaches) and shaving (which we are commanded to do to our pubic hair), but in today’s world, discrimination on the basis of genetic makeup is considered unacceptable. To copy the colonial masters in their dress, language and even their physical features, was a matter of survival – several generations ago, not now. Men mutilated their beards and let their moutaches grow to disgusting lengths, and women wore wigs, plucked hair from their faces, and had their teeth extracted for (attempted) beatification, despite knowing about the curse that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam cast on such women. Alhamdu Lillah, we are free to be Muslims, and men have the right to let their beards grow, in accordance with the command of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, just as women have the right to cover their bodies in public.

We no longer have to follow our forefathers and please the white Christian colonial masters and struggle to look like them. Is it not time that we stopped pretending to be something we can never be? Brothers, trim your MOUSTACHE, not your beard…SPARE your BEARD COMPLETELY! May Allah spare us COMPLETELY from the Torments of this world and the next, because of our sparing our beards from mutilation, completely, aameen.

What gives scholars the authority to contradict the clear commands of Rasool-Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam! How dare they tell us their “opinion” on any matter of Islam, without quoting Allah or Rasool Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and in contradiction with Allah and Rasool Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam! Let’s not be the ones to follow the mistakes of the People of the Book (even though it is a Prophecy of the Prophet that the ummah will follow the Jews and the Christians in everything they do) who allowed their scholars to change their revealed religion…They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him. [At-Tawbah:31]

And who are we to try to ‘improve’ the form that Allah has created us in? Should we not love the face of Rasool-Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who is not reported (in any non-daeef Hadith) to have ever trimmed his beard, and has told us using several various words to let our beards grow?

I think when he said usoli reason he meant this

When the Sacred Texts themselves do not specify limits, we turn to language.

That is absolutely true. Again, I don’t speak on behalf of the shaykh and I look forward to his reply as well.

Here is what I know, in matters of Fiqh its alittle different than aqeedah. With Aqeedah, since its constant and doesn’t change whatever the sahabah believed in is the truth. That is because this deen came to correct the “believe” of humans (i.e. Aqeedah) so the main mission of our prophet was aqeedah. And therefore, he would have never moved on to matters of halal and haram (i.e fiqh) unless he made sure that the aqeedah part is thoroughly understood and implemented by our beloved sahabab.

As for Fiqh, it is not constant. It changes from one country to the other, from one time to the next, from one culture to the other and therefore there are some other rules besides the sahabah’s opinion that govern the verdict (i.e. the halal and the haram part) of fiqhi questions..

Wallahu A’lam

@UMM IBRAHIM

I am sooooo impressed by your post………….. MASHALLAH.
YOU said it in the best possible manner.
THANK YOU
salam

Aslaamua alkaikum,

My dear brothers and sister we need to remain calm and balanced, an take every thing in context and then coment once we have thought about, once we get into emotions its just gets out of control..

Ya Akhi medium sized beard salafi guy Islam is Islam is it not so. is this that which makes it soo beautiful that it trancends everything yet remains constant .. ?
Yes there are some issues that are different from region to region..

But what people are saying is we don;t have any incidents from the sahaba that they trimmed thier beards below the fist .. do we if we do would someone care to bring it ? It would change the dynamics of this dramatically.

Having listened to the audio there is no actual proof in there .. for the shortening of the beard to such an extent… there is not one specific narration…
Now we are differing on this matter we need to refer back to Allah and his messenger .. and the actions of the companions to resolve this matter ..
As Allah says in surah An Nisa

And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad ) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination.

From the hadith from the Prophet we have the command to grow the beard ..

Now then from the actions of ibn umar comes the trimming of the beard which some shayuk allow…
And this also sets the limit on the beard woudln’t you say, ?
Ibn Umar also narrates the hadith about growin it and then we have his action of trimming it and this was someone who loved the prophet so much that he imitated him soo much in every action.
And in hadith the narrator of the hadith knows best the understanding of the hadith.

Now if someone was to bring another narration about trimming the beard to less than a fist… not a general trimming but a specific mention of less than we would have game on !

So can any of our knowledgable brothers do that please ?

Aslamu-alaikum:
A Muslim man said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ENLIGHTNING POST AS WELL>……………………..

why are we arguing about the beard………………. just keep according to the sunnah. SIMPLE>

When people don’t want to do something than they make it complicated.

You know like when the Bani-Israel didn’t want to sacrifice the animal , they kept asking what color, what breed, and what whatever,
and they wanted specifics BECAUSE they really didn’t want to sacrifice.

JUST DO IT>…………………..
salam

MashaAllah akhee AK has pretty much summarized all the important issues from everyone’s posts and raised an excellent point.

A simple question, is there any explicit narration from any of the first three generations where the ulamah allowed to remove hair shorter then the length of the fist?

If there is.. please could someone share?

I have personally also noticed that over the years some of the duaat who have graduated from Madinah are promoting a ‘new type’ of dawah which their own shayookh who taught them disagree with.

Personally, the reason why myself and many of the brothers I know respect many of the duaat in the West is because of who they have studied under and learnt the deen from. Now some of these same duaat openly say, that we do not need to refer to those same ulamah. anymore

Personally I see two extremes..

One extreme of the ghulaat hadaddis..

An some of our brothers and duaat going to the other opposite extreme and co-operating with Ahlul Bidah and presenting this new ‘modern’ salafi dawah.

Allahu musta’aan.

@ Yasir Qadhi

As-salamu ‘alaykum

I am not sure if I have understood this right, so if not please do correct me. It is regarding the principle you spoke of:

The Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] ordered us to leave our beards alone, he didn’t tell us to trim them; rather, he only told us to trim our moustaches, so would I be correct in assuming that if it were not for the actions of some of the sahabah in that they trimmed that which was more than a fist length, those who hold it permissible to trim one’s beard, be it what extends beyond the fist or is less than a fistful, would not have any evidence for their opinion? If so, would we all then have to conclude that it would not be permissible to trim our beards at all?

You mentioned that you do not hold that the action of a Sahabi constitutes a legal ruling in the Shari’ah, but is it not the actions of the sahabah that you base your opinion on? You stated that the actions of some of the Sahabah demonstrate the permissibility of trimming as opposed to highlighting a restriction on what can be trimmed. If I am correct in what I assumed in the above paragraph then it means that to state otherwise must be based on tangible evidence, and in this case the only evidence we have that it is permissible to trim the beard are the actions of some of the Sahabah. If that is the case then whatever opinion one holds with regards to what one can or can’t be trimmed they would be basing it on these actions, would that then not constitute a ruling on the permissibility of trimming based on those actions?

If the action of a Sahabi is not a legal ruling in the Shari’ah then does this not make the opinion of those who say that you can’t trim at all, all the bit stronger, because they are basing their opinion on the fact the Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] told us to leave our beards alone which is a legal ruling in the Shari’ah [right?] and not on the action of a Sahabi which according to some scholars does not constitute a legal ruling in the Shari’ah. So if you hold the opinion that the action of a Sahabi does not constitute a legal ruling in the Shari’ah you would by default not be able to hold the opinion that the action of some of them highlights the permissibility of trimming, right?

I really hope what I have said makes sense because I am not sure if I have managed to convey what I mean in how I have worded it. But essentially what I tried to do was tie the various points I mentioned together so that it could all be understood under one light.

Although I understand how one could argue that the actions of the Sahabah only highlight the permissibility of trimming I feel that the opinion that they demonstrate a restriction is stronger for a number of reasons:

1. The Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] told us to leave our beards alone.
2. Although some of the Sahabah, including one of the narrators of the Prophet’s [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] command trimmed their beards; there is no report [to the best of my knowledge] of any of them ever trimming that which was less than a fistful, had it been permissible to do so then surely there would be at least one report of at least one of them doing so.
3. I haven’t seen any report from any of the Sahabah or their successors that have explicitly stated that they understood the actions of some of the Sahabah to mean one could trim less than what those illustrious Sahabah did, i.e. less than a fistful.
4. Ibn Abi Shaybah reported that the famous successor to the Sahabah, al-Hasan al-Basri said that they did not allow for less than a fistful to be trimmed, which is an explicit report on what can and what can’t be trimmed from a scholar from the first two generations of Islam.

And Allah knows best!

Asalamu Alaikum

The act of unnecessarily modifying the human body, especially the face, should not be taken lightly, because then we may be expressing our dissatisfaction with how Allah has decreed our physical features to be. The beard, once trimmed, loses its natural form that Allah has decreed for us. Allah is Ahsan-ul-Khaliqeen – then why are we trying to make ourselves more “beautiful” than how he has created us?

Questions for Brother Yasir Qadhi. In which compilation of Ahadith is the proof that Sahaba allegedly trimmed their beards? Who all are the Sahabah, and what is the authenticity of the Ahadith is which this action is mentioned? If possible, please describe the situation in which the Ahadith are set, because this is important.

Reading the Hadith of Bukhari (Rahmatullah ‘Alaih) in which Ibn Umar (Radi Allahu ‘Anh) is reported to have cut a few hair from his beard, it is obvious that the occasion was Hajj or Umrah – he reportedly thought that cutting a few hair from the bottom of the beard is part of the masakin (rituals) of Hajj and Umrah. The narrators were very careful to mention that he cut the hair at Hajj and Umrah, which is surely an unusual action – given the crystal clear directives of Rasul Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, to let the beard grow – and that is why this extraordinary act and the occasion at which it used to happen, was mentioned. In Ibn Umar’s case, it was his understanding of the masakin of Hajj, that the beard is also to be trimmed. Also to note is that when Ibn Umar clasped his beard in his fist, it is not mentioned that his fist was in touch with his chin of whether he left a few inches or more between his chin and his fist. This Hadith might as well be describing the scenario in which his beard was down to just above his navel, and he grabbed his beard such that only a millimeter of beard hair were visible below his fist, and cut only that much. The Hadith, from what I can tell reading the translation, does not necessarily give us a definite answer about the length of Ibn Umar’s beard after he trimmed it. It does tell us what his cutting technique was. Again, he trimmed only at Hajj and Umrah, because his understanding was that this is part of the masakin of Hajj and Umrah. This action cannot be traced to Rasool Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

Please clarify what the source of the other Ahadith about sahaba ever trimming their beards is – I am looking for name of the person who authenticated the Ahadith (e.g. Imam Bukhari, or Tirimdhi), and the category of the Ahadith (e.g. Sahih, or Daeef). So far I have seen only vague quotes such as ‘taking from the beard’, which could mean anything from plucking, to cleaning the beard, and no source of the Hadith has been given.

In sharp contrast to the weak argument for ever trimming the beard are the multiple Sahih Ahadith in which all the practicable techniques for reducing the hair are mentioned – trimming, shaving, plucking, and it has been commanded to let the beard grow, have mercy on it, lengthen it, forgive it, which clearly indicates that trimming, shaving, and plucking are not to be done on the beard. Reading the descriptions of the Prophet, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and the khulafa rashideen, one cannot imagine that they ever cut their beards. And why should they, when Allah has made their faces and they were the thankful and sincere slaves of Allah, never seeking faults with Allah’s creation and Allah’s definition of beauty and aesthetics, and when Rasool Allah – Allah’s Prophet – Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, had made clear to them the halal and the haram, regarding the beard, through his words and his actions, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. By trimming the beard, are we trying to claim to have a better aesthetic sense than Allah, who has decreed that men of certain races shall have hair growth on their faces, up to a certain length and width, and of a certain color, and who has sent the Prophets who never cut their beards to demonstrate to us that beards are not to be ever cut? Who are we fooling, when we think that if we trim the beard that the Prophet, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, has instructed us, using various phrases so that there is no doubt in our minds, to let grow, we are not contradicting him?

My Ikhwaan, if we love Rasool Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, we should also take his directives seriously and love the characteristics of his face so that we can be in his company in Jannah, be-idznillah, instead of in the company of Hollywood actors (Sean Connery in Entrapment and in The Rock and Johnathan Frakes “Commander Riker” in “Startrek: the next generation”) wherever they may end up in the next life.

Brother Abu Ammar, Jazakum Allahu Khair for helping us find our Muslim identity as the loyal followers of Allah and Rasool Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. We love you for the sake of Allah, and we love all Muslims for the sake of Allah, however, we expect proof from Qaal Allah and Qaala Rasool Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and its source, when you tell us about Islam. It is not enough to tell us that scholars thought so, because, again, the scholars are not Rusul and the burden to provide the proof from Al-Qur’an and Ahadith, is on the scholars. Without this proof, at best, there is a high probability that ikhtilaaf will exist, not to mention the other major implications (the scholar’s claim to Prophethood being one). Let’s please recognize that the scholars can make mistakes, and even sahaba can make mistakes, however, Rasool Allah, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam is guaranteed to be on the Siraat Al Mustaqeem, and he said only what is the truth, and that too in plain words.

May Allah save us from following Shaitan who wants to distort Allah’s creation, and may we be satisfied with Allah as our Rab, Islam as our Deen and Muhammad as our Nabi, Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, Aameen.

Allahu A’lum.

Brother Abu Ammar, please respond. Jazakum Allahu Khair.

Assalamu alaykum,

Shaykh Yasir, jazak Allahu khayran for a very benficial interview indeed. Can you please coment on the following contention:

The Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded us to let our beards grow in a number of reports. Looking at those reports alone and applying our usul, it seems to me that letting the beard grow would be considered obligatory, and trimming it in any way would be considered unlawful. However, when we look at the actions of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), especially that of Ibn Umar which was tacitly approved by all the Companions around him (amounting to ijma` sukuti) we can safely conclude that it is permissible to trim the beard, but only to the extent that the Companions did it, because the asl here is what was indicated by the command of the Prophet (i.e. to leave the beard alone)?

So we are not basing tahrim of trimming the beard beyond a fistful on the actions of the Companions, but rather we are qualifying the general Prophetic prohibition of trimming the beard by the actions (or silent consensus) of the Companions, but only to the extent that their actions indicate.

Jazak Allahu khayran.

As-salamu ‘alaykum

Dear brother

There was actually more than just one Sahabi who trimmed that which exceeded a fistful from his beard, there were several. However, there are no reports [to the best of my knowledge] of any of them ever trimming that which was less than a fist.

The statements of the Messenger of Allah [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] are the “base” of the whole issue, whereas the actions of some of the Sahabah are known in Usul al-Fiqh as “specifying evidence” that show the exact and correct understanding of the “base evidence”, in this case the clear and explicit statements of the Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam]. It is generally agreed that the ijma’ of the Sahabah is binding upon us, however, when it comes to the actions of some of the Sahabah the scholars differed as to whether or not these actions constitute a proof.

So, if like Br. Yasir Qadhi one does not hold the actions of some of the Sahabah to constitute a legal ruling in the Shari’ah it is irrelevant what some of the Sahabah did or didn’t do, and as such one will not be taking into account the “specifying evidence” when considering the correct stance on any given issue. Rather, one will be basing his/her opinion on the “base evidence”, and with regards to the issue of the beard the “base evidence” is found in the clear and explicit words of the Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam], words such as: “Awfu”, which means “let them grow to their full”, “arkhu”, which means “let them loose untouched”, “waffiru”, which literally means “save them [let them grow to become plentifull]”, and “a’fu”, which means to “set free [ don't touch them].”

If one only takes into account the “base evidence” and disregards the “specifying evidence” he/she can only conclude from the clear and explicit words of the Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] that it is impermissible to trim anything from the beard. If I have understood Br. Yasir Qadhi’s argument correctly then he is not taking into account the “specifying evidence”, and if this is the case I do not understand how one can conclude that it is permissible to trim at all, let alone trim that which is less than a fistful.

In short, if one only takes into account the “base evidence”, then based on the clear and explicit statements of the Prophet [sall-Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] he/she can only conclude that the beard cannot be touched at all. If however one takes into account the “specifying evidence [i.e. the actions of some of the Sahabah that show the exact and correct understanding of the “base evidence”]”, then one can conclude that it is permissible to trim that which they [some of the Sahabah] trimmed, but cannot trim more than what they trimmed, this is because as mentioned a plethora of times already, their actions are the “specifying evidences” that show the exact and correct understanding of the “base evidences”, and since they did not trim less than a fist length their actions show the exact and correct understanding of the issue at hand.

And Allah knows best!

As-salamu ‘alaykum

Dear brother

As for the Sahabah, al-Bukhari reported Ibn ‘Umar’s action and al-Albani mentions a number of authentic reports in his “Ad-Da’ifah” that some of the Sahabah would cut that which EXTENDED beyond a fist-length, namely Ibn ‘Umar, Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Hurayrah, he also mentioned that some of the Salaf would do likewise, namely Malik and Ahmad.

I was not suggesting other than what you have regarding the action of Ibn ‘Umar, so I agree with you on that point. All I am saying [as I mentioned in my last post] is that either one takes the “base evidence” and disregards the “specifying evidence”, thus concluding it is impermissible to trim anything at all from the beard or one takes the “base evidence” and understands it in light of the “specifying evidence”, thus concluding that one can trim something from one’s beard, but that something is only that which EXTENDS beyond a fist-length due to the reasons I mentioned in my last post.

And Allah knows best!

Wa Alaikum Salam

I think we’re getting close to the source of the confusion and ikhtilaf now, be-idthnillah.

Jazaum Allahu Khair for the reference – Ad-Da’ifah. The full title of the book by Al-Albani, Rahmatullah ‘Alaih, is Silsilat Al-Ahadith Ad-Da`ifah wa Al-Mawdu`ah wa Atharuh As-Sayi’ fil Ummah. This is a book of Daeef (weak) and Mawdu’ (fabricated) ahadith, as the title suggests. (Correct me if I’m wrong).

Can someone give us the exact words of the Ahadith in which Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurairah, Malik, and Ahmad allegedly cut their beards, and the classification of each Hadith? The actual meaning may have been lost in translation. The description that he grabbed the beard in a fist and cut the hair that extend beyond that fist, does not tell us the length of the beard after the trimming, because the person may have held the beard away from his chin, with possibly several inches, or even a few feet of hair in between the fist and the chin.

Again, the beard is not a minor or trivial matter, and is a very important part of the Muslim identity. Already we have seen the cultural effects of attacks on it – we have seen shaven imams and the youth regard Muslims with untrimmed “long” beards as weird. We have come to a point in civilization where few people know how long a beard gets if left untrimmed. The Answer: depends on the race and environmental factors, but the beard, if left untrimmed over a lifetime, does not become as long as the shayateen among humans have lied about it becoming. I have seen people from a hairy racial mixture (Arab and Indian) who have never trimmed their beards, and in their thirties their beards are hardly twelve inches long, from their chin. The growth slows down with age and length.

Just to clarify, the purpose of this research and investigation is to uncover the truth and draw the RATIONAL and CORRECT conclusion from the evidence in existence. This investigation is not meant to belittle the efforts of ulama of the past who have held on to the conclusion that the beard can be trimmed as long as it is of fist-length. They will get a reward from their Rab, just for trying. May Allah illuminate the graves of the ulama who’re on the siraat al mustaqeem, aameen.

Jazakum Allahu Khair.

asalamoalekum

@ brother yasir qadhi..

i am a normal muslim guy who is as sinful as anyother human and as good as a muslim as anyother muslim would be.certainly i am not a scholar and an alim but alhamdulilah blessed with an understanding of the religion. i came from pakistan to states for residency (medicine)
.i kept beard when i was 22 and it was the normally found length. but i always knew that fistful is the mos appropriate length.
when i came here i dont know how i came out of that fear of growing it and alhamdulilah now its out of the normally found length.though a lill short of the fist length bc my hair growth is slow but i know that it should be neat and decent and alhamdulilah apart from my family who is against beard nobody ever said it looks bad on me.

but i found a problem when my family gives reference of you and other scholars who are here and they say that if people of those stature can do like this what is the your problem.?
i didnt get any interview and one i got i was questioned about it and the interviewer gave quite a bad remarks about it.which i listened to with smiles becuase i knew he is ignorant about my religion.
i am never afraid of any nonmuslim but when my family say things about it i just…anywaz
brother honestly speaking those people who can become signs for us to present to the ordinary people are becoming problem. what should i say to them because i dont want to short it and go back again to the same length to get out of which it took me 5 years.

its not that brother i am saying it to you its just that i am sick and tired of the beard issue…when i am not saying it to anyone that u should be particular about these sunnahs but they kept on saying me about beard ,if i fold my pants , if i place a topi because they are not particualr about their namaz , no girl do pardah and music and dancing is the common thing.
then they keep on saying these non muslims would not give you job (though may be my link to pakistan and my religious outlook is a problem) but why dont we muslims wana believe nothing is but from ALLAH.

anywaz brother i just wanted to share my feelings with you…yesterday when i came to know that u shortened it from the length i was quite disturbed…anywaz…i have heard your interview and your views but i just want to say one thing
with every passing day things are becoming difficult to follow the proper sunnah,yes our rituals would remain there but the proper way of doing them would be forgotten..you are a scholar and i have no objection about your fiqhi stance about it but may be when i needed you the most i didnt find you there.
may ALLAH bless you for all the good deeds you do..i am not one of those who measure the iman with the length of beard your respect in my heart remains the same and thanks for the beautiful lectures on surah yusuf.

ALLAH hafiz

Dear Yusuf,

Shaykh Muhammad al-Mukhtar bin ash-Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqiti is the son of Shaykh M al-Ameen ash-Shanqiti, the author of Tafsir Adwa’ al-Bayan fi Eydah al-Quran bi al-Quran and the teacher and colleague of Shaykh Bin Baz. I think Ustadh Alshareef was referring to him in his speech. He was among the seniormost scholars in Saudi Arabia.

Salaam …i went through the posts but maybe i missed the point I was looking for …

Can someone tell me of other salaf scholors …of today and of the past who have had the same view about the beard as Shailkh Yassir has.

JAZAKALLAH KHAIR

If there are more important issues in today’s world than growing a beard, then surely its ironic that it is the very fact that Muslims have left the Sunnah of the Messenger (SAW) that they are in the current weakness and crisis? The fard of growing the beard is intricately linked to being a Muslim, an identity.

Fascinating conversation. Very personalized and heartfelt description about the beard.