Working in the profession of barbering and shaving the beards of customers: What is the ruling?
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Question:
He says: I work as a barber for one of the brothers, and he tells me not to shave the beards of the customers, because shaving the beards is forbidden. I know that I do not work in any profession other than this, and I am unable to change it. The customers desire this from me, and some of the customers are bearded, but they trim it, and they want me to shave their beards so that they are neat, close to being shaved. Is this permissible for me or not, knowing that I am not bearded.
Answer:
This work is forbidden, and it is not permissible for you to do it, even if the owner of the shop orders you to do it; it is not permissible for you to do it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. How is it that the owner of the shop forbids you from that and prevents you from it? This is forbidden, and it is obligatory for you to repent to Allah the Exalted and to leave this work. This is because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has prescribed for us to grow the beards and to honor them, and this is on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in His saying: "Let the beards grow," "Honor the beards," "Let the beards hang down," and "Leave the beards unshaved," in many hadiths in the authentic collections. We were commanded to differ from the Zoroastrians, to differ from the polytheists who shave their beards. So growing the beard, honoring it, and letting it hang down is an obligatory command, and shaving it, cutting it, or taking anything from it is forbidden, because it is disobedience to Allah and disobedience to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for your saying that you are accustomed to this, that is not an excuse. Being accustomed to sin is not an excuse for a person; rather, this indicates a lack of concern for committing what is forbidden. This is not befitting of a Muslim. It is not befitting you, and you are a Muslim, to be careless about what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has forbidden. It is obligatory for you to repent to Allah the Exalted, and to leave this work, and to restrict yourself to the permissible shaving: shaving the heads, and cutting the mustaches, or trimming the mustaches. This is what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made permissible, or prescribed for His servants. And the fact that the customers are angry, or are not pleased, or ask you for this thing, does not make it permissible for you to do it, because there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. So it is not permissible for you to agree with the customers who want their beards shaved or their beards cut, to agree with their desire; because this is a forbidden matter. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
He says: I work as a barber for one of the brothers, and he tells me not to shave the beards of the customers, because shaving the beards is forbidden. I know that I do not work in any profession other than this, and I am unable to change it. The customers desire this from me, and some of the customers are bearded, but they trim it, and they want me to shave their beards so that they are neat, close to being shaved. Is this permissible for me or not, knowing that I am not bearded.
Answer:
This work is forbidden, and it is not permissible for you to do it, even if the owner of the shop orders you to do it; it is not permissible for you to do it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. How is it that the owner of the shop forbids you from that and prevents you from it? This is forbidden, and it is obligatory for you to repent to Allah the Exalted and to leave this work. This is because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has prescribed for us to grow the beards and to honor them, and this is on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in His saying: "Let the beards grow," "Honor the beards," "Let the beards hang down," and "Leave the beards unshaved," in many hadiths in the authentic collections. We were commanded to differ from the Zoroastrians, to differ from the polytheists who shave their beards. So growing the beard, honoring it, and letting it hang down is an obligatory command, and shaving it, cutting it, or taking anything from it is forbidden, because it is disobedience to Allah and disobedience to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for your saying that you are accustomed to this, that is not an excuse. Being accustomed to sin is not an excuse for a person; rather, this indicates a lack of concern for committing what is forbidden. This is not befitting of a Muslim. It is not befitting you, and you are a Muslim, to be careless about what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has forbidden. It is obligatory for you to repent to Allah the Exalted, and to leave this work, and to restrict yourself to the permissible shaving: shaving the heads, and cutting the mustaches, or trimming the mustaches. This is what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has made permissible, or prescribed for His servants. And the fact that the customers are angry, or are not pleased, or ask you for this thing, does not make it permissible for you to do it, because there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator. So it is not permissible for you to agree with the customers who want their beards shaved or their beards cut, to agree with their desire; because this is a forbidden matter. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، يعمل في مهنة الحلاقة ويقوم بقص اللحى للزبائن فما الحكم؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.