Untangling
Beards
by
Sr. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.
Two things inspired
this article. First was a letter from an Indian boy of eighteen unable to grow
much on his chin, who was unnaturally terrified of dying. He explained: ‘I am
always so scared because I do not have a beard, and somebody told me that when
you are put in your grave a spike will be pushed through your chin up to your
head as a punishment.’
Secondly, I had read
with interest in a Muslim newspaper the case of a customer service assistant
employed by Virgin West Coast Trains (UK) who had been dismissed from his job
because of the opulence of his beard. Obviously, here was a case of a devout
and serious young Muslim man doing his very best to please Allah by following
the sunnah (example) of the Prophet (pbuh). I saw a photograph of him, a
fervent-looking person with a good eight inches of well-oiled black curls
decorating his chin.
Whether the claim that
it was the beard that had brought about his dismissal was actually true was
something I could not investigate personally. There may have been other causes
– people are not generally dismissed for no good reason, and oft-times the
reason claimed for the dismissal by the dumped employee is not the real reason.
When people have to work together, it is better than they pull together as a
comfortable team, and occasionally certain persons do not and will not ‘fit
in’, and have an ‘attitude’ different from the other staff, and excuses are
found to shift them aside. But to make that suggestion in this case is
certainly not fair, since I do not know anything about the man or his skills or
personality – except for his beard, and
his insistence that he could not prune it to an ‘acceptable’ neatness (ie for
this particular office) because it was his Islamic duty to grow it.
If the command to grow beards had been clearly stated in the Qur’an, then we would have nothing to argue about - but since growing beards is not addressed there, then it is important to see what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said regarding it.
Did the Prophet (pbuh)
himself grow a beard?
Absolutely. He was
always described as having a beard, one long enough for the traditional Bedouin
practice of grabbing hold of it whilst talking to a person. The Companion
Mughirah b. Shuba nearly cut a man’s hand off once for seizing the Prophet’s
(pbuh) beard disrespectfully (Bukhari 3.891).
Ali recorded this
description: ‘Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was neither tall nor short, he had a
large head and beard, the palms of his hands and his feet were calloused,
he had a healthy complexion, he had large joints, the hair on his breast was
long, and when he walked he bent forward as though he were descending a slope.
I have never seen anyone like him before or since.’ (Tirmidhi 1523).
However, the beard
description is ambiguous – did it mean that the Prophet (pbuh) had both a large
head and also a large beard? Or rather that he had a large head, and happened
to have a beard rather than be clean-shaven? Certainly we may deduce that his
beard did not obscure the sight of the hairs on his breast.
What was the
Prophet’s (pbuh) sunnah on cleanliness and personal hygiene?
The Prophet (pbuh) was
very particular about personal hygiene, body odour and pleasing appearance, and
was fastidious in teaching others to keep themselves in as decent and pure a
condition as possible. He gave specific teaching about taharah
(cleanliness), indicating the things he particularly approved as regards
personal grooming. This was presumably the teaching from which the young man in
this case took his authority for clinging to his luxuriant beard despite the
pleas of his employers to be less exuberant with his hirsute attachments.
The ten ‘acts of
fitrah’
‘The acts according to
fitrah (nature) are ten,’ taught the
Prophet (pbuh). ‘Clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow,
using the tooth-stick, snuffing up water in the nose, cutting the nails,
washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the
pubes, and cleaning one's private parts with water.’ This saying was recorded
by the Prophet’s (pbuh) wife Aishah, who realised she had only listed nine, and
added: ‘I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.’
(Muslim 119. In fact, the version in Abu Dawud only mentions 8 acts, and other
hadiths only mention 5).
All of these acts of
cleanliness were important, with no indication that any was more or less
important than the others. We may fairly deduce that even if a Muslim man grew
a mighty beard, if he did not keep his hands and fingernails clean, he would
have failed in his attempts to keep these particular requirements.
Several of these acts
of cleanliness now have the benefits of modern equipment to facilitate the
process – we have toothbrushes and floss (although many claim the old-fashioned
middle-eastern tooth-stick (miswak) to be more efficient), we might have
water-pipes and faucets (taps) or bidets to make washing the privates after
toilet easier. We could perhaps even argue that the paper handkerchief is a
good modern way to keep the nostrils clean, depilatory creams can be used to
remove pubic hair more safely than by use of a razor, and toilet paper is a
useful aid to cleanliness in the loo – although Muslims still maintain that the
use of water is a must, if it is available.
Why
did the Prophet (pbuh) recommend Muslim men to grow beards?
Firstly, the
recommendation is not an order as if for something that was to be seen
virtually as part of a uniform for Muslim men. It came in a collection
of general advices for personal grooming and cleanliness.
Secondly, Muslims
were commanded to be different and distinct from disbelievers, as in
Surah 1, al-Fatihah. They were commanded to pray: ‘Show us the straight path, the path of those who have Your
favour; not (the path) of those who earn Your anger nor of those who go
astray.’ (Surah 1.6-7).
And again: ‘O
Prophet, We have put you on the Right Way (Shari'ah) concerning religion, so
follow it, and do not yield to the desires of ignorant people.’ (Surah
45.18).
The only reason
put forward in the recorded requests about beards was that the Prophet (pbuh)
wanted Muslim men to be seen to be different from others.
Ibn Umar and Nafi
(one of the Prophet’s (pbuh) personal servants) recorded: ‘Do the opposite of
what the pagans (mushrikeen) do; let your beards grow and
cut your moustaches short.’ (Bukhari 7.780, 781). Pagan men were often referred
to under the umbrella title of ‘Romans’ (which could mean Byzantine Christians
or several other things).
The Prophet
(pbuh) certainly preferred men to let their beards grow rather than shave them
off – for that was what the Romans did. Most Romans enjoyed visiting public
bath-houses (with not a few overtones of lust and decadence) where their bodies
were oiled and scraped, and their beards trimmed with iron scissors and their
chins scraped with sharp shell.
The version given
in Fiqh us-Sunnah on the Alim Encyclopedia CD gives Ibn Umar’s text as: ‘Differ
from the polytheists (mushrikeen): let your beards (grow)
and shave (meaning trim) your moustache.’ (Fiqh us-Sunnah 21c) Most pagans, of course, were polytheists
(ie. worshippers of more than one ‘god’); the words pagan and polytheist
are really synonymous.
Abu Hurayrah
recorded the reason being to show a difference between Muslim men and Fire-worshippers
- Persian Magi or Zoroastrians (Muslim
118).
The Prophet
(pbuh) also wished to make a difference between Muslims and the Peoples of the
Book, both Jews and Christians. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As
recorded: ‘He does not belong to us who
imitates other people. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians, for the Jews’
salutation is to make a gesture with the fingers and the Christians’ salutation
is to make a gesture with the palms of the hands.’ (Tirmidhi 1207). This hadith
does not mention beards at all, but many Jewish elders did grow huge bushy
beards, whereas the Prophet (pbuh) preferred Muslim beards to be smart and
trim.[1]
These days, of course, having a beard can no longer distinguish a Muslim from a Christian, Jew, Magian or idol-worshipper, so the main ground for the Prophet (pbuh) recommending one has gone.
The young Railway
man had concluded that it was a fard (a compulsory obligation of Islam) to grow a beard. It was something he was duty bound to do, in
order to please Allah and please the Prophet (pbuh). However, there is a great
difference between something which is sunnah
(the Prophet’s (pbuh) recommended practice) and something which is fard.
Of course many
Muslims are so devout that they regard all the Prophet’s (pbuh) sunnat
as fard, on the grounds of several verses of the Qur’an:
·
‘O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those
charged with authority among you.’ (Surah 4:59)
·
‘O ye who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not away
from him when ye hear (him speak).’ (Surah 8:20).
·
‘Say (ie. Tell the people): ‘If you love Allah, follow me (ie
the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)): Allah will love you and forgive you your sins:
For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ (Surah 3:31)
·
‘So take what the Messenger gives you, and refrain from what he
prohibits you. And fear Allah: for Allah is strict in Punishment.’ (Surah
59:7. See also 8.24).
Imam Ghazzali,
for example, stated: ‘Know that the key to total bliss (saadah) lies in
following the sunnah and in emulating the life of the Messenger (pbuh)
in everything that issues from him, and in all his doings, even
if it concerns the manner of his eating, rising, sleeping, and speaking. I do
not say this in relation to rituals in worship only because there is no way
neglecting the sunnah reported of him in such matters - but what I say includes
every aspect of his daily life.’ (Kitab al Arbain Addin, Cairo 1344, p.
89)………..such as growing beards.
However, scholars
do make a difference between fard
and sunnah on these grounds. If a fard is carried out the Muslim has done good for which he/she will
be rewarded, but if it is missed, then a sin has been committed for which
he/she would be accountable. On the other hand, if a Muslim does something sunnah, he/she will be rewarded for it,
but there is no suggestion or hint of punishment from Allah if it is
omitted, as it is not a compulsory part of Islam. This is a very
important difference.
It needs a strong nerve to keep that thought in mind when taking a look at some of the arguments put forward by those who insist the beard is so much a compulsory part of Islam that a man who dies without one will not go to Paradise.
The Minutiae
Muslim and the Nass-Principle Muslim
Naturally,
Muslims wishing to do their utmost to please Allah make it their business to
copy as closely as possible all the things that the Prophet (pbuh) did, and
spurn all the things he disapproved.
Taking this as
the ground and basis for all devout Muslims, we then find that they subdivide
into two main categories – the ‘Minutiae Muslim’ or the ‘Principle Muslim’ (these
subdivisions being without clear-cut edges and, of course, dividing on into
many more sub-categories). Minutiae Muslims channel their energies into a
devoted imitation of every particular detail of ruled-on behaviour. Principle
(or Nass) Muslims often feel that the details carried out so
fastidiously by the Minutiae Muslims hardly matter – what matters is the purity
and nobility of heart and character.
For example, the Nass
Muslim knows that it is fard for Muslim women to dress modestly – but
how they interpret that is left up to them, from fully covering their entire
selves with black sheeting to adopting the modest dress of the society in which
they live. What matters is not the clothing but that the woman is modest.
A woman could be entirely covered in black, face and all, but still be an
attention-seeker, arrogant, selfish and unkind. The Minutiae Muslim demands
exact definitions of hijab, jilbab, khimar and so on, details of sizes and
lengths, and materials which are more pleasing to Allah than others, and would
sacrifice everything rather than compromise their din (faith). The
Minutiae Muslim carefully draws the implications from each text to justify the
complete dedication of their lives to pleasing Allah in their detailed and
rule-governed ways, warning the Nass Muslim that they are missing the
commands, failing to please Allah, disappointing the Prophet (pbuh) and putting
themselves in danger of Hellfire. The Nass Muslim feels that the
Minutiae Muslims may spend hours in chanted voluntary prayers, extra fasts,
measuring beards and so on – yet still be an unkind and selfish person, and a
family tyrant. Both sides feel that they are right, and they both are
right, and are both insha’Allah doing their best to please Allah.
Alqamah recorded
a case that precisely outlined the arguments of the Minutiae Muslims. Abdullah
b. Mas’ud said: ‘Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing …..in order
to look more beautiful, whereby they change Allah's creation.’ His saying
reached a lady called Umm Yaqub who went (to Ibn Mas’ud) and said: ‘I have been
told that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?’ He replied: ‘Why should I
not curse those whom Allah's Apostle has cursed and who are (cursed) in Allah's
Book?’ Umm Yaqub said: ‘I have read the whole Qur’an, but I did not find in it
what you say.’ He said: ‘Truly, if you have read it (i.e. the Qur’an), you have
found it. Didn’t you read: ‘And whatsoever the Apostle gives you, take it -
and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain
(from it).’ (Surah 59.7) (Bukhari
6.408)
Since I find the
idea of Allah cursing tattooed ladies just as odd as cursing men without beards, I felt a closer look at the text was
necessary. I concluded that Ibn Mas’ud’s argument was typical of the whole ethos
that divides Minutiae Muslims (frequently and unfairly generally labelled
‘extreme’) from those generally labelled ‘moderate’. They would follow through
his logic and accept it at its face value with no qualms. Ibn Mas’ud was one of
the most loved and most learned of the Prophet’s (pbuh) Companions, and a
famous teacher. What alternative could possibly be offered?
Nass Muslims might
comment that the suggestion of the curse given above did not actually come from
the Prophet (pbuh) himself, but from Ibn Mas’ud. They would insist there is no
such cursing in Allah’s book at all, for devout Muslims should have no fear of
any curse unless deliberately doing something haram (forbidden, against
Islamic law), and it is a basic of Islam that anything Allah specifically
ruled as haram was stated very clearly in the Revelation. Things not
ruled as indisputedly halal or haram would fall into the ‘three
middle categories’ of mandub (highly recommended but not compulsory), mubah
(left to the individual conscience), or makruh (disapproved but not
forbidden). The same Ibn Mas’ud, incidentally, recorded the Prophet’s (pbuh)
saying: ‘A believer does not taunt, curse, abuse or talk indecently.’ (Tirmidhi
544).[2]
Some Dire
Warnings used against those who shave their beards
These all follow the same sort of logic as is traditionally used by Minutiae Muslims – logic which a Muslim either finds extremely convincing, or considers to be tragically concentrating on a wrong emphasis.
· The Prophet (pbuh) apparently said: ‘Whoever imitates a people is but one of them.’
This was said to have been recorded by Abu Dawud, and judged to be authentic by al-Albani - but I could not trace it. I did find the hadith recorded by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As that I discussed earlier: ‘He does not belong to us who imitates other people. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians, for the Jews’ salutation is to make a gesture with the fingers and the Christians’ salutation is to make a gesture with the palms of the hands.’ (Tirmidhi 1207). The subject was the way of giving greetings and not beards.
· Ibn Umar recorded: ‘He who imitates the kuffar (non-believers) and dies in that state, will be raised up with them on the Day of Qiyamat (Judgement).’
The implication is that any man who dies beardless is imitating the kuffar and therefore must despair of the mercy of Allah, for he will not go to Paradise. He will be judged with the kuffar, and punished with them, by being sent to Hell. No quote was given for this hadith, and I could not trace it. In fact, it says nothing at all about beards.
·
Allah stated: ‘And when the true believers are called to Allah and
His Messenger (pbuh) that He may pass judgement upon them, their only
reply is 'We hear and obey.’ Such men
shall surely prosper.’ (Surah 24:51).
If this is the only
reply to be heard, it must surely therefore imply that no-one will be present
who did not hear and obey, which includes obedience to the command to grow a
fist-length beard. Ergo, no beard, no Heaven. Of course, if it suddenly became
fashionable for the kuffar to grow beards, as happens from time to time
during the progress of history, then the shaved Muslim would have to imitate
them in some other way to earn Allah’s condemnation – ways that would almost
certainly be much more significant!
·
‘Anyone who is hostile to (wa man yushaaqiq ar-rasul - opposes, contends
with, cuts himself off from) the
Messenger after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path
other than that of the believers, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen
and cast him into Hell; which is an evil refuge.’ (Surah 4:115).
These two
passages can no doubt be utilised to support the arguments for making beards
compulsory, but it does seem ridiculous to side-step from all the highly
important aspects of Islam’s belief and practices and fritter away our energies
over facial hair. To me, the distinguishing marks of kuffar (those who
have no belief in God or the Hereafter) are their selfishness, cruelty,
immorality, dishonesty, arrogance, and so on – whether or not they have beards
seems of little significance.
Beard-rulings according to the Great Mediaeval Imams of Jurisprudence
Imam Shafi
stated: ‘To shave the beard is haram.’ (Shari Minhaj dar Shara Fasl
Aqueeqa).
Maliki
Sheikh Ahmad Nafarawi Maliki in the commentary of Imam Abu Zayed's booklet states: ‘to shave the beard is without doubt haram according to all Imams.’
The ‘Tamheed’ (a commentary of Imam Malik’s Muwatta) states that to shave the beard is haram, and among males the only ones to resort to this practice (of shaving) are hermaphrodites (ie. effeminate, or persons who possess both male and female features and characteristics).’
The Durre-Mukhtar
states: ‘No one has called it permissible to trim it (the beard) less than
fist-length as is being done by some westernized Muslims and
hermaphrodites.’(Vol. 2, p. 155).
Al-Khanie’a
Hanbali Fatawa Kitab states: ‘to grow the beard is essential and to
shave it is haram.’ In the
Hanbali books ‘Sharahul Muntahaa’ and ‘Sharr Manzoomatul
Aadab’, it is softened a little to: ‘The most accepted view is that
it is haram to shave the beard.’
Shaikh Ibn
Taymiya categorically stated that the shaving of the beard was haram.
Allama Qurtubi stated: ‘The shaving of the beard, to pull out all the
hair of the beard and to trim the beard short are all not permissible.’
All the Salafi
ulama agreed that shaving the beard was haram (prohibited) and go
much further in pointing up the consequences. ‘To shave off the beard is
unlawful (haram) and one who shaves his beard is legally speaking an
unrighteous fellow (fasiq); hence, it is not permissible
to appoint such a man as an Imam. To say tarawih (the extra night
prayers of Ramadan) behind such an Imam is makruh-e-tahrimi (near
prohibition)" (Shami Vol.1, p.523) They would not allow such a one to
lead the prayers, his evidence
would not be valid (his witness would not be accepted), and he would not
have the right to vote or be voted for.
It is even
forbidden (haram) for a man to cut off another's beard.’
Maulana Meeruti
related the story of Mirza Qateel. Learning of his sufic talks an
Iranian was impressed, became an admirer, and eagerly undertook a special
journey to meet him. When he reached him, he found him shaving his beard. He
was astounded and said: ‘Aaghaa! (Sir), you are shaving your beard!’ The Mirza
replied (referring to the sufi concept that you could do what you
pleased with your outer self, but you should not hurt the hearts of the
creation of Allah): ‘Yes. I am shaving my own hair, but I am not shaving
anyone’s heart.’ The Iranian without hesitation exclaimed: ‘O! But you are definitely
shaving the heart of our Prophet (pbuh). What do you mean that you are not
hurting the heart of any person, when you are piercing the heart of our Prophet
(pbuh)?’ On hearing this the Mirza went into a trance, and dropped unconscious.
When he regained his senses he recited the following: ‘May Allah reward you,
you have opened my eyes; and have made a personal union with the King of all
Souls.’ (Durre-Mukhtar Vol. 5, p. 359).
Here, I think, we
have it. Since having a beard can no longer distinguish a Muslim from a
Christian, Jew, Magian or idol-worshipper, the real leverage left to
beard-supporters to persuade Muslim men not to shave off their beards is
emotional pressure – it is not because it is fard, or because there was
an order given by Allah, but because the Prophet (pbuh) liked to see a beard,
and it must hurt his feelings whenever a Muslim man shaves his off.
The short or
shaved moustache is sometimes interpreted as being another fard
(necessity) for a Muslim man. Some keep their beards but cut off their
moustaches completely; others shave above their upper lips so that there is a
rather odd white line of skin left between moustache and lip. Ibn Umar
apparently used to do this, cutting his moustache so short that the whiteness
of his skin above his upper lip was visible; he also cut the hair between his
moustaches and his beard. (Bukhari 7.780).
Yahya said that
he had heard Malik say: ‘One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip
appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one
mutilates oneself.’ (Muwatta 49.4)
Zayd ibn Arqam
narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘He who does not take something off his
moustache is not one of us.’ (Tirmidhi 1170).
Mughirah ibn
Shu'bah recorded: ‘My moustache was long, so he said, ‘I shall clip it for you
over a miswak (tooth-stick),’ or, ‘Clip it over a miswak.’
(Tirmidhi 1128). The miswak was a twig about the size of today’s
pencils. That suggests to me that once clipped the moustache would lie neatly
along the line of the upper lip.
This is, of course, in complete contrast to the Muslim man who grows sideways hair of extraordinary length, which is then waxed and tweaked and curled into amazing bristly shapes. I once saw a photograph of such a man whose moustache was about a metre long, each side! What the Prophet (pbuh) almost certainly intended was that his followers should be clean and neat, and not seeking to copy those whose moustachios were exaggerated as a result of self-aggrandisement, trying to indicate their pomp and rank.
On the other hand, a man’s long spindly wisps should not be an attempt to give the impression of a self-abasing ascetic scholarliness they might not possess. There are no specific texts, but in general we may be sure that ‘Allah does not love the proud boaster’ (Surah 57.23).
How long should the
beard be?
Far from encouraging
his followers to cultivate elaborate ‘facial furniture’, the Prophet (pbuh)
actually disliked beards that were too long, shaggy, dirty, greasy, unkempt or
generally out of control. He regarded the beard rather as a feature of manly
dignity, and not something with which to show off, compete, cause raised
eyebrows, or use to try to suggest superiority over other males.
‘The beard should not
be cut so short that it appears like a shaved beard, but neither should it be
left so long that it becomes untidy,’ he said (The Alim Encyclopedia of Islam,
Fiqh us-Sunnah 1.22).
What the Prophet
(pbuh) almost certainly intended was to indicate that his followers should be
clean and neat and smart, and not sport bushes resting contentedly upon their
chests as if to provide sanctuary for small birds, or a means of soaking up the
remains of recent feastings.
Whenever Ibn Umar
made the Hajj or umrah, he would hold his beard with his hand and whatever exceeded
that he would cut off. He did this, because this was the practice of the
Prophet, whom he was at great pains to emulate.
Wrong emphasis?
Strangely, the
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan taught correctly that Muslim men were to be
encouraged not to shave their beards, but they held men to be at fault if their
beards did not grow longer than what could be covered by the grasp of
the fist. I understand that the Hanafi school of thought teaches that to
shorten the beard less than a fist length is actually haram.
This seems to be
the very opposite of what the Prophet (pbuh) taught and practised himself. His
Companions were not told that they were to be considered sinful if they did not
grow beards longer than what their hand could grasp, but rather that any
beard-hair that protruded beyond that limit should be cut.
In defence of the
longer specimen, Jabir recorded: ‘We used to grow long beards and only
during Hajj and umrah did we trim them to the required length (i.e. fist
length).’ In other words, this hadith indicates that Muslim men could see nothing
wrong in growing their beards for any length they cared to throughout the year,
and that cutting them to the length of a fist’s grasp was only required for hajj
or umrah.
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) always used to take something off the side and the bottom of his beard (Tirmidhi 1171).
Nafi recorded
that if Abdullah ibn Umar intended to do hajj after he had finished his
fast of Ramadan (ie. two months and ten days later), he would not cut his hair
or beard at all until he had done the hajj.’ (Muwatta 20.195).
However, this was
not the Prophet’s (pbuh) sunnah as far as we know, and Imam Malik added
that: ‘It is not compulsory for other people to do the same.’
Modern standards of
neatness?
It is unfortunate for
the bearded if the present trend in modern offices suggests that neatness is
generally synonymous with a nice neat shave. I also heard that teachers in
Indonesia were requested not to grow beards since they frightened the young
children! Before scoffing at this, we should perhaps remember that our Prophet
(pbuh) himself likened men with bushy unkempt beards to shaytans!
It was recorded
that on one occasion a man came to the Prophet (pbuh) with very unkempt hair
and an untidy beard. The Prophet (pbuh) would not speak to him but pointed to
him, as if ordering him to straighten his hair and beard. He did so, came back,
and was approved. ‘Isn’t that better
than coming with hair unkempt, as if you were a devil?’ the Prophet (pbuh)
observed (Muwatta 51.7, Fiqh us-Sunnah 1.22a)
Neatness and grooming is vital. The Prophet (pbuh) certainly would not have approved of laziness, Muslim men going round with a fuzz of stubble simply there because they couldn’t be bothered to shave. I would also suppose that he would not have approved either of the modern trendy western ‘designer-stubble’ look, which is supposed to be sexually attractive to the ladies![3]
The Prophet (pbuh)
also did not approve of the fashion of growing long beards and then tying them
or plaiting them. One saw many examples of this kind of style in the ‘hippy
sixties’, and in numerous films about Red Indians, the ‘wilder’ Indian Indians,
and occasionally religious pictures of Jesus and various saints. Ruwayfi ibn
Thabit recorded that he said: ‘You may live for a long time after I am gone,
Ruwayfi, so, tell people that if anyone ties his beard…..Muhammad has nothing
to do with him.’ (Abu Dawud 23)
In 628 CE the
ruler of Yemen, appointed by the Persian Emperor Khusraw Parvez (Kisra or
Chosroes), sent two envoys to summon the Messenger (pbuh) to come to him. When
they came into his presence, the Prophet (pbuh) saw that they had shaved their
beards and grown (long?) moustaches. The Prophet (pbuh) did not like this look
and said: ‘Woe be to you, who told you to do this?’ They replied: ‘Our lord!’
(referring to Kisra.) The Messenger (pbuh) then said: ‘But my Lord, may
He be exalted and glorified, has commanded me to leave alone my beard and to
trim my moustache.’ I could not find
this hadith to check it.
Some hadiths used
incorrectly
I have seen
several hadiths put forward as a proof that the Prophet (pbuh) rejected all
those who shaved off their beards, and would like to examine them.
·
Abu Darda recorded that the Prophet (pbuh) stated: ‘I have no
connection with one who shaves, shouts and tears his clothing.’
The reference
given was Muslim 501, but on checking, this was incorrect. I found instead the
reference in Abu Dawud 1372, a saying recorded by Yazid ibn Aws who visited Abu
Musa while he was on his deathbed. Abu Musa’s wife began to weep, and the dying
man rebuked her gently: ‘Did you not hear what the Apostle of Allah (pbuh)
said?’ She said: ‘Yes.’ Yazid then noted that: ‘She then kept silence.’ After
Abu Musa had passed away, Yazid met the woman and asked her: ‘What did Abu Musa
mean when he said to you: ‘Did you not hear what the Apostle of Allah (pbuh)
said?’ and then you kept silence?’ She replied: ‘The Apostle of Allah (pbuh)
said: ‘He who shaves (his head), shouts and tears his clothing does not belong
to us.’ (Abu Dawud 1372).
The bracketed
words ‘his head’ were an explanatory note from this translator to make clear
that in this case the saying had nothing whatsoever to do with men shaving
their beards. In fact, taking the full text it is obvious that it refers to
the traditional actions of pre-Islamic histrionic grief or ritual mourning,
which became disapproved in Islam as showing a lack of faith and acceptance of
the will of Allah, and had nothing to do with shaving beards.
Another of the
Prophet’s (pbuh) sayings commonly cited by people to suggest that beardless
Muslim males will be in trouble with Allah is this one recorded by Abu Sa’id
Al-Khudri:
· ‘From the East will come some people who will recite the Qur'an (ie. nominally accept the faith) but it will not go beyond their throats, and they will leave the faith just as an arrow passes clean through game; they will never come back to it unless the arrow comes back to the bow’ (all by itself - i.e. meaning, it would be impossible). The people asked, ‘What will their signs be?’ He said, ‘Their sign will be the habit of shaving.’ (and the words ‘of their beards’ are commonly added as an explanatory note). (Bukhari 9.651).
Even if we assume that in this saying the Prophet (pbuh) was talking about shaving beards, it does not indicate that the shaving of beards was prohibited for all Muslim men, for all time. It only warns that there will come a time when a certain group of people who temporarily called themselves Muslims will fall away from the faith, because the faith had not reached their hearts, and that these particular people had the habit of shaving. The word ‘beards’ is not specifically mentioned at all.
The passage almost certainly refers to Persian Magians or Zoroastrians, some of whom did nominally accept Islam, but retained several practices that were not allowed in Islam, including marriages within the Islamically forbidden degrees (See Bukhari 4.384).
Another version of the same hadith makes it clear that the shaving actually does not refer to the beard at all, but the (Magian) habit of having bald heads! Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Soon disagreement and dissension will appear in my people; there will be people who will be good in speech and bad in work. They recite the Qur’an, but it does not pass their collar-bones. They will swerve from the religion as an arrow goes through the animal shot at. They will not return to it till the arrow comes back to its notch. They are worst of the people and animals. Happy is the one who kills them and they kill him. They call to the book of Allah, but they have nothing to do with it. He who fights against them will be nearer to Allah than them (the rest of the people)’. The people asked: What is their sign? He replied: They shave the head.’ (Abu Dawud 2217).
There was also a long hadith recorded in Bukhari 4.558 (from Ibn Abbas), 5.638 and 9.527 (both from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri) in which the Prophet (pbuh) used many of the same expressions, and implied that the persons referred to would be descendants of a rather arrogant man who criticized the Prophet (pbuh) over his distribution of a nugget of gold to four particular chiefs he did not approve of. As it happens, the offensive man who criticized the Prophet (pbuh) was himself reported to have had a shaven head and a very bushy beard!
Therefore it is
quite wrong logic to suggest that the first or any of these passages mean that
every single Muslim who does not have a beard will be a disbeliever, or one who
has renounced Islam.
Shaving Confusion - most of the references to shaving or cutting hair refer in fact to shaving the head and not the beard.
·
Ibn Umar narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Shave it all or leave
it all.’ (Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i). The Prophet
(pbuh) greatly disliked the fashion of shaving part of it and leaving part of
it. They were referring to the hair of the head and not shaving beards.
·
Nafa related from Ibn Umar that
the Messenger of Allah prohibited qiza’. Nafa asked, ‘What is qiza’
?’ He said: ‘It is to shave off part of the hair of a youth and to leave part.’
(Bukhari and Muslim.) (Fiqh us-Sunnah 22a)
Cutting one’s
hair off is permissible, and so is letting it grow if one treats it with
respect and takes care of it.
·
Abdullah ibn Abbas narrated: ‘The Prophet (peace be upon him) raised
his voice in talbiyah for hajj. When he came (to Makkah) he went
round the House (the Ka’bah) and ran between as-Safa and al-Marwah.’ The
narrator Ibn Shawkar said: ‘He did not shave his hair, nor did he take off his ihram
– because he had animals for sacrifice. But he commanded those who did not
bring sacrificial animals with them to go round the Ka’bah, to run between Safa
and Marwah, to shave their hair, and then put off their ihram.’ The
narrator Ibn Mani added: ‘Or shave their heads, then take off their
ihram.’ Abu Dawud 721. See also Bukhari 2.704 etc. Here, the shaving definitely
referred to their heads and not beards.
‘One should make
sure that his moustache is not so long that food particles, drink and dirt
accumulate in it. Zayd ibn Arqam recorded that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:
‘He who does not take something off his moustache is not one of us.’ Ahmad,
Tirmidhi and Nasa'i transmitted it.’ (Tirmidhi 1170, and Fiqh us-Sunnah 1.21c).
It was such facial hair as attracted unhealthy accumulations that was the
emphasis of the hadith, not a command to any particular style.
· It is wrong to change Allah's creation without permission, but Shaytan ‘will tempt them (his devotees) until they do change what Allah has created.’ (Surah 4:119).
The suggestion is that men who shave off their beards have fallen for one of the wiles of the Devil - to make men ‘change what Allah has created.’ Personally, I feel that this verse has far more to do rather more important things like genetic tampering, artificial breeding of species that should not be bred together, and so on. I cannot see how shaving a beard is any different from cutting the fingernails or freezing off a corn.
· The daily recitation of a band of angels of Allah is: ‘Holy is the Being who adorned men with beards and women with braids.’ (Takmela e Bahr al Raiq, Vol. 3, p. 331)
I have no way of finding this. I have seen no proof for this statement, and since Allah does not adorn women with braids but they choose to fashion their hair in that manner of their own free choice, it seems an odd saying. Many women do not have braids at all, and many men – such as native Americans or many Indonesians, do not grow beards.
·
Since ancient times, Unani doctors have agreed that the beard is not
only an adornment for men but it protects the throat and chest. (Maulana
Meeruti). (Well, it does keep it warm, I guess! – Ruqaiyyah)
·
A lengthy beard stops harmful germs from reaching the throat and chest.
Western medical men have now reached a similar conclusion.
·
By continually shaving, the veins of the sight are affected, resulting
in failing eyesight.
·
If men shaved for seven generations, the men in the eighth generation
would have no beards. This means that the sperm gets weaker in every
generation, until in the eighth this quality is completely destroyed.
·
The beard and moustache give the strength of manhood to the human face,
a steadfast character, individual integrity and exclusive identity.
· A man’s survival and safety are due to this brave appearance.
· These are the only hairs that differentiate the male from the female. The hair on all the other parts of the body are common between males and females.
Conclusions
At the end of the
day, there are three opinions about shaving off one’s beard.
·
That it is haram - on the basis of the Prophet’s command to be
different from non-Muslims.
·
That it is makruh (disapproved but not forbidden) to shave the
beard or drastically cut or shorten it, but mustahab (commendable) to
remove something from its length and breadth if it becomes too big.[4]
·
That it is permitted – arguing that it was not a command of Allah at
all but a personal preference of the Prophet (pbuh) which was not related to
religious practice, and hence need not be followed by all Muslim men for all
time.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi concluded that
the second opinion is probably nearer the truth and more moderate (The
Lawful and Prohibited in Islam, p.96).
After all, the Prophet (pbuh) also commanded his Companions to dye the
grey hair in their beards in order to be different from the Jews and
Christians, but it is known that many of the sahabah did not do
that – which surely indicates that this sort of command is for behaviour that
was commendable rather than obligatory.
My conclusion is
that my Indian correspondent should sleep with no anxiety or fear of Allah
because of his meagre beard; and that those Muslims who believe God will order
a spike to be driven through the chins of the beardless after their deaths have
a very strange interpretation of ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim.
May Allah bless
us all and bring us to the truth. Wasalaam, Ruqaiyyah.
[1] The Prophet (pbuh) also disapproved of men or boys fashioning their hair into sidelocks, which were and still are a Jewish characteristic. Al-Hajjaj ibn Hassan recorded that he visited Anas ibn Malik. His sister al-Mughirah said: ‘He was a boy in those days and had two locks of hair.’ Anas patted his head and invoked blessings on him, and said: ‘Shave them off (i.e. the locks) or clip them, for this is the fashion of the Jews.’ (Abu Dawud 1957). Abdullah ibn Umar records that a boy had had all the hair shaved off the his head except these two locks left dangling: ‘The Prophet (pbuh) saw a boy with part of his head shaved and part left unshaven. He forbade them to do that, saying: ‘Shave it all or leave it all.’ (Abu Dawud 1955)
[2] For some comments on the subject of cursing, please see my separate article. Another example of the hadith put up in pro-beard arguments is: ‘Allah curses those men who imitate women, and He curses those women who imitate men.’ (Tabarani). I was not able to find this hadith anywhere in the major collections. The argument is that the Messenger (pbuh) strongly discouraged men from imitating women and vice versa in aspects such as manner of speaking, walking, moving, dressing, etc. Men were not to wear gold jewellery, silk clothing, or garments with fancy designs. Since the beard is a major distinction between men and women, and shaving it removes this distinction, it is thus a means of imitating women.
[3] Anas ibn Malik narrated: ‘A time limit has been prescribed for us for clipping the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking hair under the armpits, and shaving the pubes, that it should not be neglected far more than forty nights.’ (Muslim 117). However, Fiqh us-Sunnah 21c mentioned that it was preferred to cut the pubic hairs, pluck out the underarm hairs, cut the nails and trim the moustache on a weekly basis, the practice which is most hygienic. If some unnecessary hair was left on the body for a longer period of time, it might disturb the person. One could leave this action for forty days, but no longer. Said Anas: ‘The time period for us to trim the moustache, cut the nails, pluck out the underarm hairs and cut the pubic hairs was forty nights.’ (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and others). (Fiqh us-Sunnah 1.21c).