The Ruling on Shaving the Beard, Trimming the Mustache, and Cutting the Chin Hair
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
What is the ruling on shaving the hair near the mouth, even if it is part of the beard, out of fear that it will enter the mouth during eating and drinking? And what is the ruling on shortening it?
The Shaykh:
The beard must be grown, honored, left uncut, and let down. As for the mustache, it must be trimmed. The sunnah (recommended practice) is to cut and trim it. If one removes the entire mustache, cuts it, and trims it, that is the sunnah. As for the beard, it must be honored and grown, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah ordered the beards to be grown and the mustaches to be trimmed. So the chin hair below the lower lip is not touched; it follows the beard. The chin hair below the lower lip is not touched. Likewise, the beard is not cut or shaved. As for the mustache, one may remove it; in fact, it is the sunnah to remove it, and it is the wrong to remove it.
The questioner:
Is shaving permissible, O Shaykh? Yes. Is the shaving referred to here regarding the mustache permissible? Shaving. Shaving.
The Shaykh:
Better. Cutting is better. Cutting the mustache is better. Shaving it and trimming it is better.
The questioner:
Applying rings.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
O Shaykh. Yes. Some people put on a small beard only.
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible to shorten it, nor... nor to make it small. It must be grown, but it is better than the one who shaves it. Even if he is sinful, his sin is less than that of the one who shaves it. Yes.
The questioner:
And this is hope. Black, O Shaykh, black.
The Shaykh:
If black is mixed with black, it is not permissible. Pure black is not permissible. But if black is mixed with red, there is no harm.
What is the ruling on shaving the hair near the mouth, even if it is part of the beard, out of fear that it will enter the mouth during eating and drinking? And what is the ruling on shortening it?
The Shaykh:
The beard must be grown, honored, left uncut, and let down. As for the mustache, it must be trimmed. The sunnah (recommended practice) is to cut and trim it. If one removes the entire mustache, cuts it, and trims it, that is the sunnah. As for the beard, it must be honored and grown, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Trim your mustaches and let your beards grow, and be unlike the polytheists.
قصوا الشوارب وأعفوا اللحى خالفوا المشركينCut the mustaches and let the beards grow; differ from the Magians
جزوا الشوارب وأرفوا اللحى خالفوا المجوسThe questioner:
Is shaving permissible, O Shaykh? Yes. Is the shaving referred to here regarding the mustache permissible? Shaving. Shaving.
The Shaykh:
Better. Cutting is better. Cutting the mustache is better. Shaving it and trimming it is better.
The questioner:
Applying rings.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner:
O Shaykh. Yes. Some people put on a small beard only.
The Shaykh:
It is not permissible to shorten it, nor... nor to make it small. It must be grown, but it is better than the one who shaves it. Even if he is sinful, his sin is less than that of the one who shaves it. Yes.
The questioner:
And this is hope. Black, O Shaykh, black.
The Shaykh:
If black is mixed with black, it is not permissible. Pure black is not permissible. But if black is mixed with red, there is no harm.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 43 — archive.org (55:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.