It is reported in a hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "The fitrah (innate natural disposition) consists of five things.

The questioner : A questioner says: It is reported in a hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said and he mentioned trimming the mustache. It is also reported in a hadith of al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man with a long mustache, so he called for a miswak and a razor, and trimmed the man's mustache to the width of the miswak. It is also reported in a hadith of Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said . It is also reported in a hadith of Anas to the same effect, adding . And it is reported in a hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said . What is the correct reconciliation between these different wordings? And how is the difficulty regarding the meaning of Anas's hadith resolved, given that we see today that the Jews have trimmed their mustaches and let their beards grow? Please rule on this for us, and may Allah guide you.

The Shaykh : The answer is clear by referring to a rule that I also consider one of the general principles of Islamic jurisprudence, which is interpreting verbal texts with practical evidence, interpreting verbal texts with practical hadiths. This is because some of the sacred texts, like this one, are susceptible to more than one meaning, so the Lawgiver inspired our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to clarify these verbal texts through his action. ... Thus, verbal hadiths are explained by practical hadiths, and this is among the meanings of the saying of Allah the Exalted . His clarification (peace and blessings be upon him) is mostly by action, though sometimes it is by speech, but it is specific speech that does not allow for various interpretations. An example of this is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) , which specifies what amount justifies cutting off the hand, whereas the verse is absolute: . Whether one steals a quarter of a dinar, an eighth of a dinar, a qirsh, or a fils, the term in language is "thief." If it were not for this hadith, it would be obligatory to apply the verse in its absolute and comprehensive sense. However, the clarification of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was observed to be mostly by action, even in this verse regarding the thief and the female thief, "cut off their hands." The hand is the whole hand, but sometimes the word "hand" is used to mean the palm, sometimes to mean the forearm, and sometimes to mean the upper arm along with the forearm, and so on. From where is the hand cut? We have no clarification from his speech (peace and blessings be upon him), but we have clarification from his action, at the wrist. And so it is with many of the rulings of the Shari'ah. Verbal hadiths come in a general, absolute, or comprehensive form, and the Sunnah comes to clarify them.
These statements that appear in the hadiths, "Trim the mustache" or "Trimming the mustaches," and the command to "cut the mustache" and the like, we also find another hadith...