What is the ruling on shaving the beard and trimming it?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner: ... ... Shaving the beards; the ruling ... ?

The Shaykh: Shaving the beard?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Yes, shaving the beard is undoubtedly one of the major sins, not merely one of the forbidden acts. This is because it involves violating several texts. First is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . It is not permissible to disobey the command issued by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as stated in the words of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): . This is the first point. Second, as reported in "Sahih al-Bukhari" from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Abbas, he said: . There is no doubt that imitating the opposite sex is only in what appears on the outside. For this reason, it is forbidden for a man to imitate a woman, whether in clothing or otherwise, just as it is forbidden for a woman to imitate a man, also, in clothing or otherwise. Regarding the issue of shaving the beard, there is no doubt that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), when He differentiated between men and women in His creation, pointed to this in His saying (the Exalted) regarding the male and the female: . So He made what?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: . So our Lord, when He mentioned what He mentioned in this verse, He did not do so in vain, but rather to draw attention to the fact that among His signs is that He created the male and the female. He differentiated them by things, some of which are apparent and some hidden. Among the apparent things is that Allah distinguished the man with a beard and distinguished the women without one. No person of intellect and understanding doubts that if a woman were to take a borrowed beard and stick it to her cheeks, everyone who sees her would not hesitate to say that she has imitated men. Knowing that she did nothing but take something like a wig; this borrowed beard is famous among the British, the English. A class of them called the lords; it was their tradition—and perhaps it still is—that when they entered parliament while beardless, they would put on these borrowed beards. So the woman who puts on a borrowed beard, no person doubts that she has imitated the man. Do you think that the opposite is not closer to imitation if the man comes to his beard, which Allah made obligatory upon him as an obligation, and compelled him to it by compulsion, because He created him male, making him a male with a beard? When this male comes and throws his beard to the ground, has he not imitated the woman who has no beard? There is no doubt that this is a realized and actual matter. Therefore, the curse mentioned directly in "Sahih al-Bukhari" covers it: .
Then comes the third point: Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned in the Noble Quran, in the story of His cursing Iblis until the Day of Judgment because of his whispering to Adam (peace be upon him), that when Iblis fell into being expelled from the mercy of Allah, he wanted to establish his foundation and confirm his front lock for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), so he said: . So the one who shaves his beard is obeying Satan and disobeying the Most Merciful; because Satan said: . So he also contradicted the Noble verse which informs that the function of the accursed Iblis, the enemy of mankind, is to command him to change the creation of Allah. For this reason, finally, came the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
So we take from this hadith what relates to the previous verse: . The Messenger here cursed these categories of women with the explanation ; so they, in their changing of the creation of Allah, obeyed Satan and disobeyed the Most Merciful. Someone might say: Here, men have no relation to the hadith. We say: Yes, they have every relation, and that is by the following explanation:
We all know that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for His perfect wisdom, when He differentiated between women and men, made for women some rulings that are specific to them, other than the cosmic ruling, where He made them without a beard. So He permitted for them, for example, silk, and permitted for them a type of gold, while He forbade this and that for men. With this distinction of the female sex from the male by His (Exalted) permitting for them what is forbidden for them, He therefore forbade for them something with the cause of changing the creation of Allah. So there is no doubt that this thing forbidden for them with the same cause is forbidden for men a fortiori. So now we return to the hadith: ; meaning: the pluckers. As for plucking here, we hear from many people of knowledge and virtue that they differ; some limit plucking to the eyebrows only, and some add the cheeks to the eyebrows, and then nothing beyond that. The correct view is that the matter is broader than all of that, such that it includes plucking in any place on the woman's body, except what the Lawgiver has excluded, such as plucking the armpits; for that is from the sunnahs of fitrah. This is a statement we mention now in passing, and we do not dwell on it much. But the point is: if the Wise Lawgiver has forbidden the woman to take from her eyebrow or eyebrows, do you not think that it is forbidden for men a fortiori? The answer is: Yes; for what I mentioned earlier; that this is a change of the creation of Allah, and the hadith met the verse regarding those who change the creation of Allah. If Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has forbidden them to change even a slight change in their eyebrows because it is a change of the creation of Allah, then the man is a fortiori not permitted to take from his eyebrows; because it is also a change of the creation of Allah. Add to that that the Lawgiver permitted for women what He did not permit for men. So if He has forbidden this for them, it is a fortiori that He forbids it for men, as we mentioned.
So all these categories mentioned in the hadith are a change of the creation of Allah. For example, a woman's skin might be white on her arm, so she does not like the whiteness of her Lord, so she takes tattooing and brands the skin. This is beauty; which is a change of the creation of Allah! So these categories were cursed. Do you not think that the man who takes from his cheeks is cursed a fortiori?
Then finally: Is not the man who takes his entire beard and throws it to the ground cursed a fortiori? If the woman who takes a fine line here from her eyebrow is cursed because she changed the creation of Allah, what is said regarding the man who takes his entire beard? There is no doubt that this is from the major sins. And therefore, we remind whoever is afflicted with something of that to repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and not to take from his beard, not even from the cheeks; because the hair growing on the cheeks is from the beard, as came in the language.
Perhaps this is enough. Now the time—what Allah willed!—is eleven thirty. What is your opinion, Abu Abd al-Rahman?

The questioner : May Allah keep you safe.

The Shaykh : May Allah keep you in health.