The ruling on one who mocks and ridicules the one who grows a beard and the one who shortens his garment

Question : Yes, Salim. Some people nowadays mock the beard. They point it out, saying, “Honorable Shaykh, the municipal school.”

Answer : I seek refuge in Allah, may you be in good health. As for the one who mocks, if he mocks the person himself, he does not become a disbeliever. But if he mocks the Sunnah, he is a disbeliever. However, most people who mock do not mock the Sunnah; they mock the person himself. For this reason, if this beard were on another man whom he holds in high esteem, he would not mock him for it. Similarly, regarding shortening the garment and letting it hang below the ankles, you will find, for example, that some people, when they see someone who has raised his garment to the middle of the calf, mock and ridicule him. But if someone he holds in high esteem did so, he would not say anything; rather, he would say, “This is the Sunnah.” This issue is very, very serious. If he mocked out of hatred for this Sunnah, he is a disbeliever. But if he mocked the person, for example, he does not become a disbeliever, but there is no doubt that he is in great danger.