What is the ruling on trimming the beard?

The Shaykh : My brother Jamal al-Harithi from Ta'if called me on the phone and mentioned that some of the students in Riyadh are launching a fierce campaign against Al-Albani. He defended him, as he said, to the extent of his knowledge. They only take issue with me because I say that leaving the beard longer than a handful is a religious innovation, and they have been disparaging me. I no longer remember, by Allah, there is a second issue he mentioned to me. The second issue: I say, regarding the hadith that came in Sunan Abu Dawud, what is its name? The one in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted her to lead the people of her house in prayer... No, no, it is Umm Atiyyah, a noble Companion. So it appears, due to a misunderstanding or ill intent, and both may be present, that they attributed to me in a general way that it is permissible for a woman to lead men in prayer. They said, "We know from him that he does not say anything without it being preceded by evidence, so do not think ill of him. I once heard from you about the issue of the beard, but it slipped my mind. He said to me, 'You are referring to the issue in one of your books.' I said, 'By Allah, I do not remember, but later we mentioned the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, so we turned to it and traced it. We provided the volume and page numbers. There are reports from the Salaf, meaning from Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah and others, that they used to trim the beard. The point is that the group has fanaticism, not for the Sunnah. Otherwise, the one who is eager for the Sunnah would be cautious and say, 'Perhaps there is a Sunnah that the man looked into that we have not looked into.'"The Shaykh : I remember that Imam Ahmad said it is permissible for a woman to lead men in prayer sometimes, in a narration from Imam Ahmad regarding that.The Shaykh : This opinion is abandoned among them, and the well-known error is better than the correct opinion that is abandoned among the later generations.

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the tapes we listen to.

The Shaykh : And Ahmad also says to trim, he says to trim. I met with one of them in Ta'if, and later a treatise came out in response to him, do you know the name? The Mu'adhdhin. I knew Khalid. You had a meeting with him.

Another questioner : Yes, he came once.

The Shaykh : Ahmad also says that he takes the position of taking [the beard]. He says he takes the position of taking [it]. I met him once in Ta'if, and later a letter came out refuting me. Do you know the name of the author? The mu'adhdhin told me; I know him, Khalid. You have a meeting with him.

The questioner : Yes, he came once.

The Shaykh : Just once, meaning, what Allah willed, he has a magnificent, magnificent beard, of course according to his own school, but it is contrary to the Sunnah. So I discussed this matter with him, of course he was not convinced. He said that the hadith is general I discussed with him the matter of the general text that has not been acted upon, so it is not permissible to act upon it. Then he did not care about it. He gave me a photocopied copy of a book by Abu Bakr al-Khallal. What is the name of the book? Al-Tarjal, al-Tarjal. And if this book has sound chains from Ibn 'Umar and Abu Hurayrah, and from Imam Ahmad, its text is that the Sunnah is that the beard should be a handful, and whatever exceeds that should be cut. I said, Subhan Allah, he gave me what is an argument against him. Do you want it on my eye too? No, I will not do it like that. Yes, I will put it on you too. Come on, you and your brother are eating.