Shaving the beard results in a series of Islamic violations, among which are the following:
1. Disobedience to Allah
Shaving the beard is an act of disobedience to Allah, as is expressed in the
words of His Messenger (saw):
Abu Hurayrah (ra), reported that the ruler of Yemen,
appointed by the Persian emperor Kisra, sent two envoys
to the Messenger (saw). When they came into the Prophets (saw)
presence, he noticed that they had shaved their beards and let
their moustaches grow big. Hating their ugly appearance,
The Prophet (saw) turned his face away and said,
“Woe be to you, who told you to do so?”
They replied:“Our lord (Kisra) did!”
The Messenger (saw) responded:“But my Lord, exalted and
glorified be He, has commanded me to spare my beard
and trim my moustache.” [Recorded by Ibn Jarir at-Tabari, Ibn
Sa’d, and Ibn Bishran. Verified to be hasan (good) by al-Albani (Fiqh
us-Sirah by al-Ghazali p. 359)]
2. Disobedience to the Messenger (saw)
Shaving the beard is an act of disobedience to the Messenger (saw) who
commanded the men to spare their beards in many hadiths.
Ibn Umar (ra), reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Closely trim the moustache, and spare the beard.”
[Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others].
Obeying the Messenger (saw) is equivalent to obeying Allah:
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah; and
as for those who turn away: We have not sent you as a
guardian over them.” [An-Nisa 4:80]
3. Deviation from the Guidance of the Messenger (saw)
There is no doubt that Allah’s Messenger (saw) is the best example of a man, both
in his appearance and actions.
Allah says:
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of
Allah an excellent pattern – for anyone whose hope is
in Allah and the Last Day, and who remembers Allah
often.” [An-Nisa’ 4:80]
And Jabir (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Verily, the best guidance is Muhammad’s guidance.”
[Recorded by Muslim].
Jabir Bin Samurah (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) “had a large beard.”
[Recorded by Muslim].
Shaving the beard clearly exhibits a deviation from his
appearance and guidance.
4. Deviation from the Way of Believers
One must strive to follow the ways of the believers and identify with them.
This is an obligation expressed by Allah:
“Whoever opposes the Messenger, after guidance has
become clear to him, and follows other than the way
of the ‘Believers’, We will give him what he has
chosen and let him into Hell: What an evil
destination!” [an-Nisa 4:115]
Note: The description ‘Believers’ in the ayah applies first and foremost to the
Sahabah [the Prophet’s (saw) noble companions – Radiallahu Ta’ala Anhum Ajmaeen]
All of the prophets (alaihimus-salatu-as-salaam), the Sahabah (the Prophet’s
(saw) companions RA), the great ‘ulama’, and the righteous Salaf (early Muslims)
of this Ummah (Nation) grew their beards. There is no report of a single one of
them selectively shaving his beard.
For example, Allah tells us that Harun (as) addressed his brother Musa (as) as follows:
He said, “O son of my mother! Do not hold me by my beard or head.” [Ta-Ha 20:94]
Furthermore, there are authentic reports indicating that the Rightly Guided
Successors, as well as other sahabah and tabi’un had large beards.
Abu Bakr (ra) had a thick beard [Qut ul-Qulub 4:9], Umar (ra) had a big beard [Al-Isabah 2:511], Uthman (ra) had a large beard [Al-Isabah 2:455], and Ali’s (ra) beard was so wide as to span the distance between his shoulders [At-Tabaqat (3:25) by Ibn Sa’d],
Therefore, shaving the beard exhibits a clear deviation from the way of the
believers.
5. Imitation of the Kufaar (Disbelievers)
The Muslims have been commanded to be different and distinct from the Kufaar (disbelievers).
In Surat ul-Fatihah, we are commanded to ask Allah to guide us away from the ways of the disbelievers:
“Guide us to the Straight Path – The path of those
upon whom You have bestowed Your favor, not of
those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who
are astray.” [Al-Fatihah 1:6~7]
Also, Allah prohibits His Messenger (saw) from following the desires of the
ignorant. And indeed, anyone who is not on the True Guidance is ignorant.
Allah says:
“Do not follow the whims of those who have no
knowledge (of Islam).” [Al-Jathiyah 45:18]
The Prophet (saw) has indicated that a person who imitates a certain people will
be counted (in Islam) as being one of them. Ibn Umar (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“I have been sent, close to the Last Hour, with the
sword (to fight for the truth) – until Allah is worshipped
alone without partners. My sustenance has been allotted
under the shade of my spear. Humility and defeat have
been allocated to whoever strays from my command. And
whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Recorded by
Abu Dawud and others. Verifies to be authentic by al-Albani (Irwa ulghalil
no. 1269)]
How terrible it would be for a person whom Allah has favored with Islam to
find himself resurrected on the Day of Judgment among non-Muslims – simply
because he liked to imitate them.
In several hadiths, Allah’s Messenger (saw) has linked sparing the beard to
being different from the followers of other religions.
Abu Hurayrah (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:
“Cut the moustaches and grow your beards. Be different
from the ‘Magians’.” [Recorded by Muslim and Others]
Note: ‘Magians’ – Followers of an ancient Persian religion.
Abu Umamah (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Cut your moustaches and leave your beards alone. Be
different from the people of the scripture.” [Recorded by
Muslim]
Ibn Umar (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Be different from the ‘mushrikin’; trim your moustaches
and save your beards.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Note: ‘mushrikin’ – Those who join others with Allah in worship.
Therefore, shaving the beard is an act of imitation of the disbelievers, and
should be extremely abhorred. It conflicts with many fundamentals of Islam,
and yet many Muslim men do it in compliance with the practices of the
disbelievers! Verily, Allah’s Messenger (saw) foretold the truth, as was
reported by Abu Said al-Khudri (ra), when he (saw), said:
“You will follow the example of those who preceded you,
hand-span for hand-span, and arm-length for
arm-length. Even if they entered into a lizard’s hole,
you would surely enter it!”
He (saw) was asked, “Do you mean the Jews and
Christians?” He (saw) replied, “Who else are the (previous)
people?” [Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim and others].
6. Changing Allah’s Creation Without Permission
Except for cases that are expressly indicated in Islam, it is prohibited to
change the way that Allah has created things. Changing Allah’s creation
without permission involves obeying Satan who, as Allah tells us, had said:
“They actually call upon none but rebellious Satan,
whom Allah has cursed. And he had said (to Allah), “I
will surely take from among Your servants a specific
portion. I will mislead them, give them false
promises, command them so they will slit the ears of
cattle, and command them so they will change the
creation of Allah.” Certainly, whoever takes Satan as
an ally instead of Allah is in tremendous loss.” [an-Nisa 4:117~119]
Allah has honored the human beings and fashioned them in the best form:
“Verily, We have created the human being in the best
of stature.” [At-Tin 95:4]
Changing this without permission is indeed an act of great atrocity and
deviation that deserves punishment.
The Messenger (saw) declared that the women who change what Allah has
created (such as removing their facial hair, wearing wigs, filing their teeth, or
tattooing their bodies) seeking by that to improve their appearance, are
accursed by Allah.
Ibn Mas’ud (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) said:
“Allah curses those (women) who tattoo (for others) and
those who get tattoos, those who pluck the facial hair
(for others) and those who have their facial hair
plucked, those who connect their hair with other (fake)
hair, and those who file their teeth for beauty – they
all change Allah’s creation.” [al-Bukhari and Muslim]
This hadith mentions women in particular because they normally seek to
beautify themselves more than men. But the warning applies to both genders,
because the condition for the curse is declared: changing Allah’s creation.
Thus the curse applies to anyone who satisfies such condition.
Shaving the beard falls under this warning, as it is much worse than ‘nams’
(removal of facial hair) practiced by some women.
At-Tahanawi said:
“It is established that changing Allah’s creation is a
cause for the curse, and that whatever Allah’s
Messenger (saw) prohibits is prohibited by Allah.” [Bayan ul- Quran]
Waliyy Ullah ad-Dahlawi said:
“Cutting it is the way of the Magians, and involves
changing Allah’s creation.” [Bayan ul-Quran]
7. Imitation of Women
The beard presents a major distinction between men and women. Shaving it
removes this distinction, and is thus a means of imitating women. Any act
that involves imitation of the opposite gender makes a person liable for the
curse of Allah and His Messenger (saw).
Ibn Abbas (ra) reported:
“Allah’s Messenger (saw) has cursed the men who imitate
the women; and the women who imitate the men.”
[Recorded by al-Bukhari and others].
Al-Kandahlawi said:
“No one can have doubt that complete imitation of
women arises from shaving the beard. This imitation is
stronger than that of imitating their clothing and other
matters, because the beard is the foremost and
greatest distinction between men and women. This is
possible to observe by all people, and is not denied
except by one who wants to deceive himself, follow his
whims, and be effeminate after Allah has favored him
with the good appearance of a man.” [Wujub i’fa il-Lihyah 31-32]
8. Contradicting the Pure Fitrah
The Messenger (saw) indicated that a child is born with a pure nature, which may
subsequently be blurred by self-indulgence or unfavorable environmental
influence.
Abu Hurayrah (ra) and al-Aswad Bin Sari (ra) reported that Allah’s
Messenger (saw) said: “Every child is born with the pure fitrah (nature) – until
he becomes able to express himself. It is his parents
who then turn him into a Jew, a Christian, a Magian, or
a pagan.” [al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Furthermore, Allah’s Messenger (saw) mentioned ten qualities as indicative of a
good, clean nature. Two of these qualities are to trim the moustaches and to
grow the beard.
A’ishah (ra) reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) 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 says:
“The pure nature according to which Allah has
created the people. There is no change in Allah’s
creation.” [ar-Rum 30:30]
In the footsteps of the disbelievers, many Muslims fitrah is now very
deformed. They find a clean-shaven man more handsome and masculine than
one with a beard – exactly the opposite to what the Messenger (saw) declared in in the above hadith!
9. Ridiculing the Din
With the deformed fitrah that many contemporary Muslims have, they
approve of the ways of the disbelievers and disapprove of the guidance of
Allah’s Messenger (saw)! They adorn themselves with closely shaved beards, and
are ashamed of attending important functions or meetings with even a slight
beard. They admire the shiny look of a clean shaved man, and congratulate
one who just had a nice shave! They command their relatives, children, and
subordinates to shave their beards, declaring that the beard is a sign of being
messy, backward, and lazy! They ridicule the beard and anyone who grows it!
By doing this, they redicule an established part of the religion of Islam,
which is a major sin. If they do not know that, they are most ignorant about their din, and if they do it knowingly, they could fall into a definite act of kufr (disbelief) – in Allah we seek refuge.
Seifeddine-M
