Is the statement of a Companion considered a proof regarding trimming the beard?
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The questioner : Shaykh, regarding trimming the beard, is the statement of a Companion considered a proof, or is there a difference between the action of a Companion and the action of the Salaf? Also, regarding the hadith about the hijab of the Muslim woman, you mentioned that the Majus (Zoroastrians) trim their beards, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to differ from them, saying "Let them be..." What is the meaning of this hadith? How do you reconcile this with that?
The Shaykh : First, the statement of a Companion is one thing, and his action, which is considered an explanation of his hadith, is another thing. In my opinion, Ibn 'Umar has no relation to the jurisprudential question of whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not, so we will leave this issue aside for now. However, the action of Ibn 'Umar relates to another issue: is the narrator more knowledgeable about his narration than others, or are others more knowledgeable about it than the narrator? There are many rules, and matters can become confused with one another. For example, is the criterion the narration of the narrator or his opinion? We now have three matters: Is the statement of a Companion considered a proof or not? Is the action of the Companion regarding his hadith considered a proof or not? Is the action of a Companion considered a proof if it contradicts his hadith?
This is a third issue. There is no doubt that the criterion in this third issue is his narration, not his opinion. But the second issue, which is the middle one, is the exact opposite of this: is the criterion the opinion and understanding of the narrator, or the understanding of others regarding his narration? Ibn 'Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow." He narrated the word "let the beards grow." Here the question arises: Is this a general text? Is it an absolute general text such that a Muslim does not trim his beard, even if it grows long and reaches below his navel? If we take the hadith in its absolute sense, the meaning would be that one does not trim it, because "letting it grow" is absolute. Here comes the discussion regarding the previous question. Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we must now observe the following fact, or the following two facts:
The first fact is that he saw the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and heard from him, and he saw his beard. So he knows with certainty whether he used to trim it or not. In other words, he knows with certainty whether the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) applied this hadith in its absolute sense and did not trim anything from his beard, or whether he trimmed something from it without specifying how much. Now, this is the first fact: that Ibn 'Umar heard this hadith and saw the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) who spoke this hadith. The second fact is that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was the most rigorous of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) overall, and the most eager of them all to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by following him in his Sunnah, to a degree beyond what the scholars say is from the Sunnah. That is, the scholars divide the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) into the Sunnah of worship and the Sunnah of custom. The Sunnah of worship is that in which we are commanded to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and we are rewarded for this following. As for the Sunnah of custom, it is a custom for which nothing whatsoever results from doing it or leaving it. Ibn 'Umar, who was eager to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), followed him even in the Sunnahs of custom. Perhaps you know some examples narrated about him in the book al-Targhib by al-Mundhiri, Majma' al-Zawa'id by al-Haythami, and others.
Now, is letting the beard grow from the Sunnahs of worship or from the Sunnahs of custom? There is no doubt that it is from the Sunnahs of worship. Why? Because of the hadith mentioned earlier, and especially because it came in some authentic narrations: "Differ from the Jews and the Christians," and in a narration: "Differ from the Majus (Zoroastrians)." And the other hadith in Sahih Muslim: "Ten things are from the fitrah," which included trimming the mustache and letting the beard grow. So, letting the beard grow is a Sunnah of worship, not a Sunnah of custom.
Now we return to say: Do you think that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who is known for his exaggeration in following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) even in the Sunnahs of custom, would see that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not trim anything from his beard, not even a single hair as they say, and then he would trim what is less than a handful? I consider the claim that "yes, this is possible" to be close to impossible, unless we attribute to Ibn 'Umar that he did not care about following the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this disagreement is established by the consensus of all Muslim scholars. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, he did not act alone in trimming the beard, but Abu Hurayrah and Mujahid followed him in that, and this is narrated in the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Add to that that, to my knowledge, it was not transmitted from any of the Salaf, neither in statement nor in action, that it is not permissible to trim the beard, even though 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both) did trim it. If we know this explanation,
the answer to the brother's question comes: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade cutting the beard as the non-Arabs cut it. And we say that the Hanafi scholars in their fiqh state that it is not permissible to trim the beard as the Maghrebis do. I am doubtful now; they said "as the Maghrebis do" on the day they said this phrase, or they said "as the non-Arabs do," and they say the Sunnah is to trim what is less than a handful, arguing with what we mentioned of the action of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). So, just as we say that "letting it grow" in the hadith is absolute and not intended, and "cutting" in the hadith is absolute and not intended, rather the intended meaning in both matters is the opposite of the absolute. The intended meaning of "letting it grow" is letting grow what is above the handful or what is below the handful, and not what is beneath it. And the intended meaning of the prohibition of cutting is imitating the non-Arabs. If one trims more than what Ibn 'Umar trimmed, that is what I have on this issue.
The questioner : Shaykh, if you permit what is after the beard, what prevents what is below the beard?
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you, it is as if you were not with me. It prevents seeing the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Only in Hajj and 'Umrah, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, this distinction is not authentic.
The questioner : The hadith of Jabir: "We were... for Hajj or 'Umrah" in Sunan Abu Dawud.
The Shaykh : I think it is from Abu al-Zubayr, and I am not certain now. Do not expand too much so that we can make room for other questions. If you have a question, please go ahead.
The Shaykh : First, the statement of a Companion is one thing, and his action, which is considered an explanation of his hadith, is another thing. In my opinion, Ibn 'Umar has no relation to the jurisprudential question of whether the statement of a Companion is a proof or not, so we will leave this issue aside for now. However, the action of Ibn 'Umar relates to another issue: is the narrator more knowledgeable about his narration than others, or are others more knowledgeable about it than the narrator? There are many rules, and matters can become confused with one another. For example, is the criterion the narration of the narrator or his opinion? We now have three matters: Is the statement of a Companion considered a proof or not? Is the action of the Companion regarding his hadith considered a proof or not? Is the action of a Companion considered a proof if it contradicts his hadith?
This is a third issue. There is no doubt that the criterion in this third issue is his narration, not his opinion. But the second issue, which is the middle one, is the exact opposite of this: is the criterion the opinion and understanding of the narrator, or the understanding of others regarding his narration? Ibn 'Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow." He narrated the word "let the beards grow." Here the question arises: Is this a general text? Is it an absolute general text such that a Muslim does not trim his beard, even if it grows long and reaches below his navel? If we take the hadith in its absolute sense, the meaning would be that one does not trim it, because "letting it grow" is absolute. Here comes the discussion regarding the previous question. Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we must now observe the following fact, or the following two facts:
The first fact is that he saw the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and heard from him, and he saw his beard. So he knows with certainty whether he used to trim it or not. In other words, he knows with certainty whether the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) applied this hadith in its absolute sense and did not trim anything from his beard, or whether he trimmed something from it without specifying how much. Now, this is the first fact: that Ibn 'Umar heard this hadith and saw the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) who spoke this hadith. The second fact is that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was the most rigorous of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) overall, and the most eager of them all to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by following him in his Sunnah, to a degree beyond what the scholars say is from the Sunnah. That is, the scholars divide the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) into the Sunnah of worship and the Sunnah of custom. The Sunnah of worship is that in which we are commanded to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and we are rewarded for this following. As for the Sunnah of custom, it is a custom for which nothing whatsoever results from doing it or leaving it. Ibn 'Umar, who was eager to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), followed him even in the Sunnahs of custom. Perhaps you know some examples narrated about him in the book al-Targhib by al-Mundhiri, Majma' al-Zawa'id by al-Haythami, and others.
Now, is letting the beard grow from the Sunnahs of worship or from the Sunnahs of custom? There is no doubt that it is from the Sunnahs of worship. Why? Because of the hadith mentioned earlier, and especially because it came in some authentic narrations: "Differ from the Jews and the Christians," and in a narration: "Differ from the Majus (Zoroastrians)." And the other hadith in Sahih Muslim: "Ten things are from the fitrah," which included trimming the mustache and letting the beard grow. So, letting the beard grow is a Sunnah of worship, not a Sunnah of custom.
Now we return to say: Do you think that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who is known for his exaggeration in following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) even in the Sunnahs of custom, would see that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not trim anything from his beard, not even a single hair as they say, and then he would trim what is less than a handful? I consider the claim that "yes, this is possible" to be close to impossible, unless we attribute to Ibn 'Umar that he did not care about following the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this disagreement is established by the consensus of all Muslim scholars. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, he did not act alone in trimming the beard, but Abu Hurayrah and Mujahid followed him in that, and this is narrated in the Tafsir of Ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Add to that that, to my knowledge, it was not transmitted from any of the Salaf, neither in statement nor in action, that it is not permissible to trim the beard, even though 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both) did trim it. If we know this explanation,
the answer to the brother's question comes: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade cutting the beard as the non-Arabs cut it. And we say that the Hanafi scholars in their fiqh state that it is not permissible to trim the beard as the Maghrebis do. I am doubtful now; they said "as the Maghrebis do" on the day they said this phrase, or they said "as the non-Arabs do," and they say the Sunnah is to trim what is less than a handful, arguing with what we mentioned of the action of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). So, just as we say that "letting it grow" in the hadith is absolute and not intended, and "cutting" in the hadith is absolute and not intended, rather the intended meaning in both matters is the opposite of the absolute. The intended meaning of "letting it grow" is letting grow what is above the handful or what is below the handful, and not what is beneath it. And the intended meaning of the prohibition of cutting is imitating the non-Arabs. If one trims more than what Ibn 'Umar trimmed, that is what I have on this issue.
The questioner : Shaykh, if you permit what is after the beard, what prevents what is below the beard?
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you, it is as if you were not with me. It prevents seeing the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Only in Hajj and 'Umrah, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, this distinction is not authentic.
The questioner : The hadith of Jabir: "We were... for Hajj or 'Umrah" in Sunan Abu Dawud.
The Shaykh : I think it is from Abu al-Zubayr, and I am not certain now. Do not expand too much so that we can make room for other questions. If you have a question, please go ahead.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.