The Leadership of an Open Sinner
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Fatwa No. ( 1640 )
Q: A man who shaves his beard is the preacher in the Grand Mosque. Do you think we should pray behind him? Clarify, and you will be rewarded.
A: Shaving the beard is forbidden; as narrated by Ahmad and al-Bukhari and Muslim from
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 5892 , and as narrated by Ahmad and Muslim from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Sahih Muslim 260 , and persisting in shaving it is one of the major sins, so it is obligatory to advise the one who shaves it and to disapprove of him, and this becomes more emphasized if he is in a religious leadership position. Accordingly, if he is the imam of a mosque and does not accept advice, he must be removed if that is feasible and it does not lead to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation); otherwise, it is obligatory for those for whom it is feasible to pray behind another from among the righteous people, in order to deter him and disapprove of him, provided that this does not lead to fitnah. If praying behind another is not feasible, it is prescribed to pray behind him to realize the benefit of the congregation. If it is feared that praying behind another will lead to fitnah, one should pray behind him to avert the fitnah and commit to the lesser of two harms. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: A man who shaves his beard is the preacher in the Grand Mosque. Do you think we should pray behind him? Clarify, and you will be rewarded.
A: Shaving the beard is forbidden; as narrated by Ahmad and al-Bukhari and Muslim from
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.
خالفوا المشركين وفروا اللحى وأحفوا الشواربTrim closely the moustache, and grow beard, and thus act against the fire-worshippers.
جزوا الشوارب وأرخوا اللحى خالفوا المجوس
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.