Muhammad al-Jibaly
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 18 | Size: 1 MB
A concise treatise on the beard according to the Quran and Sunnah.book is part of a series titled, “Enter into Islaam Completely”, which deals with various issues that are of importance for Muslims, but are underplayed or even slighted by many. When one of these issues is brought up, you often hear the objection, “This is merely an issue of peel! Let us only deal with the important issues of the core!” Classifying the teachings of Islaam into “core” and “peel” is a bid’ah that affects the hearts of the common people in a most detrimental way, and leads them to belittling many of the acts of worship and traits of the Islamic character, thereby approving wrong acts and rejecting good ones based on a crooked scale that they have developed. Allah commands the believers to adhere to Islaam in its totality; He says: “O you who believe! Enter into Islaam completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Verily, he is to you a clear enemy.” The true way to guidance and prosperity is through correcting our apparent deeds by complete adherence to the Sunnah, and our hearts by sincerity and continued watchfulness of Allah. May He grant us guidance and facilitation.
Definition
The Arabic word for beard is lihyah. It derives from lahy (jaw) and lahyan (the two jaws). Thus, a beard is defined as the hair that grows on the cheeks and jaws- [Al-Qamus ul-Muhit by al-Fayruzabadi, and Lisan ul-Arab by Ibn Manzur]. It includes the hair that grows on the temples, underneath the lower lip, the hair of the chin, and the hair that grows on the lower side of the jaws.
Ruling
Growing the beard is wajib (mandatory) for all males who are capable of doing so. As will be presented below, there is ample evidence for this in the Sunnah, and it is the unanimous opinion of the ‘ulama’ of Islam.
Position of the Scholars
All the ‘ulama’ (scholars) of as-Salaf us-Salih (the Righteous early Muslims), including the Four Imams, agree that shaving the beard is haram (prohibited). They consider shaving it an impermissible mutilation, as has been reported from Umar Bin Abdul Aziz- [At-Tarikh by Ibn Asakir]. They considered the man who shaved his beard effeminate. Many of them would not accept his testimony or allow him to lead the prayers. Continue reading
