A student’s discussion with the Shaykh regarding the issue of taking from the beard beyond a fistful.

The questioner : We have a hadith from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man with a shaven head and beard, and he said: . He said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to his beard and his head, saying: . This is a very weak hadith, but it has a supporting mursal narration, from Mujahid, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man with a long beard, and he said: . He said: And he saw a man with disheveled hair—meaning unkempt—and he said: . This is a sound mursal narration, reported by Abu Dawud in "Al-Mursalat." So now we have a weak hadith, and we have a mursal hadith which is sound, and this mursal...

The Shaykh : You made a mistake.

The questioner: Go ahead.

The Shaykh : You say: We have a weak hadith.

The questioner: Truly.

The Shaykh : Hmm.

The questioner : Jabir, yes.

The Shaykh : You were correct.

The questioner : Yes, a very weak hadith, and Mujahid, I said—may Allah grant you safety, and may He grant safety to everyone, if Allah wills—it appears from what has been mentioned earlier in this chapter that all the narrations, which are about taking from the beard, are weak, including the very weak one, but there are two sound mursal narrations.

The Shaykh : There are?

The questioner : Two sound mursal narrations.

The Shaykh : Yes.
Abu Malik: Two mursal narrations.

The questioner : Yes?
Abu Malik: There are two narrations.