What is the ruling on taking what exceeds a handful from the beard?

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. A question was asked of one of the brothers regarding the permissibility of taking from the beard.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : And is keeping the beard that exceeds a handful a religious innovation?

The Shaykh : Yes, we state this constantly and forever: that not taking from the beard at all is an exaggeration in religion, it is an exaggeration in religion, and a distortion of the application of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): . Understanding this issue is related to our Salafi methodology. We do not constantly and forever in all our gatherings and lectures say that it is necessary to understand the Book and the Sunnah as our righteous predecessors did. We do not circle around this condition of the methodology of the righteous predecessors in vain. Rather, I believe that any Muslim, no matter how knowledgeable he is of the Book and the Sunnah, if he does not acknowledge the necessity of understanding these two noble sources according to the methodology of the righteous predecessors, he will not be correct in his knowledge and jurisprudence. This is because there are matters that admit of many directions and meanings, and sometimes they do not appear except through the practical aspect. Also, the Sunnah related to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is divided into three categories: speech, action, and approval. We, who follow that path which is necessary for receiving the understanding of the Book and the Sunnah from our righteous predecessors, this reception from them also falls under that threefold division. That is, it is either their speech, or their action, or their approval. So, first, we find many texts from some of the early predecessors, let alone those who followed them, that they used to take from their beards. This is first, absolutely. And more important than that, they used to take what exceeded a handful. This means that we should take a position regarding them from two positions, and there is no third: either we say they misunderstood the hadith and its application, or we say they hit the mark. And my belief is that if it were one person, this statement could be said, that he erred. But since that is not the case, then it is necessary to say the second possibility, which is that they hit the mark. From the famous texts among scholars, and even students of knowledge, is that 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to take from his beard what exceeded a handful. But some of these students stopped at a text that explicitly states that he did that in Hajj or 'Umrah, so they restricted this action to Hajj or 'Umrah. This benefits us, but I want to mention that there are other narrations that generalize the taking and do not restrict it. This generalization includes what came in the narration restricted to Hajj or restricted to Hajj and 'Umrah. At that time, I say that even with the other restricted narration, it benefits us, because some of the people of knowledge, especially in the present age, who insist on taking the hadith in its generality: , they do not follow Ibn 'Umar, neither in Hajj nor in 'Umrah. So here, one of us must also take a position from two positions: either we say Ibn 'Umar erred in taking from his beard in his Hajj or in his 'Umrah, and these later people hit the mark, or we say the opposite. And the opposite is undoubtedly the correct one, for two reasons. The first reason is that 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar was a noble Companion, and this needs clarification. The second reason: he was a witness. And as was said earlier, the witness sees what the absent one does not see. He was a witness to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and a witness to his noble beard. So I imagine that it is impossible for Ibn 'Umar, who is known for his extreme exaggeration in following his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), even in the Sunnahs that some scholars call, and we follow them in this naming, that he used to follow him (peace be upon him) even in the Sunnahs of custom, not the Sunnahs of worship. A man like Ibn 'Umar reached such an exaggeration in following our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in such matters, and even in what is more amazing than that, which cannot also be attributed to customs, but to incidental matters. For example, he went around in a circle and relieved himself in a place. Why? And perhaps this place, as in some narrations, was a tree, and he relieved himself under it. This is not one of the customary matters; this is an incidental matter, and in travel. And on the contrary, it is established from his father 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that when he performed Hajj in his caliphate and descended at one of those known stations on the traveler's path from Madinah to Makkah, he saw the people taking a side path away from the main road. So he asked, "Where are these people going?" It was said to him, "These people intend to pray at a station where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had descended." So he addressed the people and said: "O people, whoever catches the prayer at one of these stations, let him pray, and whoever does not, then do not follow the stations. For only those who came before you were destroyed by following the traces of their prophets." This is the jurisprudence of 'Umar, not the jurisprudence of Ibn 'Umar. But my intention here is Ibn 'Umar, who used to exaggerate this exaggeration in following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He does not take a single stray hair like this, for example, and then he takes what grew long of the beard. This is almost impossible for this person. Nevertheless, the possibility that he erred is present because he is a human being, not infallible. But we find another companion who did his action and took from his beard, with a sound chain. And this is from the obscure reports among the majority of scholars, unfortunately, let alone students of knowledge, because no eye has seen it in a printed book yet; rather, it is in a manuscript. I have not seen it, and I have reached old age, as you see, and I have reached old age. I did not see it except a few years ago in a photocopy of a manuscript. I did not see this manuscript with my own eyes, but I saw its image. And it is the book *al-Tarjal* by Abu Bakr al-Khallal, who had a special concern for tracking the statements of the Imam of the Sunnah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). So he narrated there the report of Ibn 'Umar, adding to it the report of Abu Hurayrah with a sound chain. Then I saw earlier in a photocopy that is still with me, and this photocopy, praise be to Allah, was printed, so the book became in the hands of students of knowledge. Perhaps they reached this place and stopped at it, or perhaps not. The important thing is that this manuscript, which returned and became printed, is *Shu'ab al-Iman* by Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi, where he also narrated with a sound chain from Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha'i that they used to take from their beards. He says, "They used to take from their beards." There is no doubt that he means the Companions or the great Tabi'un. So these are our predecessors. Also, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari mentioned in his great and magnificent tafsir some reports from Abu Hurayrah, and from Mujahid, in the tafsir of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . What is the verse?
The student : .

The Shaykh In the tafsir of the word *tafth* (disheveling), it was mentioned that the predecessors, among them Abu Hurayrah and Mujahid, used to say that one should take from his hair and beard. So when these Salafi reports were available to me, I became certain that the generality of the hadith mentioned at the beginning of this speech is one of the generalities that should not be taken in this specific detail regarding the absolute letting grow of the beard. I have a long speech, and I do not want to lengthen it more than I have already lengthened it. The spread of innovations among Muslims, old and new, is taking the generalities that the Muslims did not act upon, neither the predecessors in the past nor the successors in the present. Let us give a new example here in this country: a single adhan, which they call the unified adhan. This is undoubtedly a recent innovation that the predecessors did not act upon. Rather, this is a deactivation of an Islamic symbol. I do not know who innovated it, but it undoubtedly fits the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him): . There is no doubt that clinging to some generalities, as those who add to the adhan, either dhikr or salawat upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), cling to generalities that you know. But these generalities were not acted upon by the predecessors. Therefore, we say with the words of the scholars: "Every good is in following the predecessors, and every evil is in following the successors." This is the answer to this question. I do not know, the time is almost over.

The questioner : The question we asked you before Jumu'ah: Was the return of Kuwait due to the supplications of the sincere Kuwaitis, or by seeking the help of the Americans? Please explain in detail what happened, frankly.

The Shaykh : Seeking the help of the...