The Ruling on Shaving the Beard and the Ruling on One Who Prays Without It
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The Shaykh : It is the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Mishkat al-Masabih 35Hasan (Zubair `Aliza'i).
In this hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) denied faith to the one who has no trustworthiness, who does not deliver trusts to their rightful owners. He means the complete faith that, if its possessor achieves it, is glad tidings for him, for he is among the people of Paradise. But if it falls short of that, he deserves to enter the Fire. As for whether he will enter it or not, that is a matter for Allah, and his reckoning is with Allah.
Therefore, we say that shaving the beard is a major sin. Although it is not a condition for the validity of the prayer, some people may imagine that being a condition for the validity of the prayer is a great matter, when in fact the opposite is correct. Being a condition for the completeness of faith is more serious than being a condition for the validity of the prayer.
For example, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If a person prayed with the upper half of his body uncovered, which is known to all people except those with knowledge of hadith, there is nothing wrong with him because he covered his 'awrah. But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) draws attention to the fact that there is something else in prayer that befits it, which is to cover the upper part of his body as well, as he said: But if this man went out walking in the street with the upper part of his body uncovered, there is absolutely no problem with that from the Islamic perspective. As for custom, if you, a man, go out with the upper part of your body uncovered, and it is not your 'awrah, people will criticize you, even women. But if they go out with the lower part of their bodies uncovered, there is no problem; that is the fashion.
The important point is that this uncovering outside of prayer is not a problem. So if there is a general ruling concerning the Muslim outside of prayer that it is not permissible for him to be beardless, then this ruling is more serious than being a condition for the prayer. That is to say, if it were not permissible for a Muslim to walk with the upper part of his body uncovered, that would be more serious and stronger in ruling than what is the case now: it is not permissible to pray like that, but it is permissible to walk like that.
Therefore, we must be mindful of matters and place them in their proper context. Shaving the beard is not specific to prayer; rather, it is a sin outside of prayer and inside of prayer. But if a person prays while beardless, his prayer is valid, just as his faith is valid, but his faith is incomplete and his prayer is incomplete, naturally.
He who is not trustworthy has no faith, and he who does not keep his covenant has no religion.
لا إيمان لمن لا أمانة له ولا دين لمن لا عهد لهIn this hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) denied faith to the one who has no trustworthiness, who does not deliver trusts to their rightful owners. He means the complete faith that, if its possessor achieves it, is glad tidings for him, for he is among the people of Paradise. But if it falls short of that, he deserves to enter the Fire. As for whether he will enter it or not, that is a matter for Allah, and his reckoning is with Allah.
Therefore, we say that shaving the beard is a major sin. Although it is not a condition for the validity of the prayer, some people may imagine that being a condition for the validity of the prayer is a great matter, when in fact the opposite is correct. Being a condition for the completeness of faith is more serious than being a condition for the validity of the prayer.
For example, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
None of you should pray while there is nothing on his shoulders of his garment.
لا يصلين أحدكم وليس على عاتقيه من ثوبه شيءWhoever finds an izar and a rida, let him wear the izar and the rida, for Allah has more right to adorn oneself for Him.
من وجد إزاراً ورداءً فليتزر وليرتدي فإن الله أحق أن يتزين لهThe important point is that this uncovering outside of prayer is not a problem. So if there is a general ruling concerning the Muslim outside of prayer that it is not permissible for him to be beardless, then this ruling is more serious than being a condition for the prayer. That is to say, if it were not permissible for a Muslim to walk with the upper part of his body uncovered, that would be more serious and stronger in ruling than what is the case now: it is not permissible to pray like that, but it is permissible to walk like that.
Therefore, we must be mindful of matters and place them in their proper context. Shaving the beard is not specific to prayer; rather, it is a sin outside of prayer and inside of prayer. But if a person prays while beardless, his prayer is valid, just as his faith is valid, but his faith is incomplete and his prayer is incomplete, naturally.