It is reported in a hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said
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The Shaykh : ... So all these wordings must be interpreted in light of the hadith of al-Mughirah ibn Shu’bah, because it is an action of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and a clarification. At that point, none of them means cutting off the entire mustache, but rather trimming its edge, trimming the edge of the mustache, not the mustache itself. This is supported by a verbal hadith, namely his saying (peace be upon him) Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2761Sahih (Darussalam) Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2761Sahih (Darussalam) meaning part of his mustache. This part was also clarified in the hadith of al-Mughirah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is trimming the mustache. This is further supported by the fact that the intention is not to uproot the root of the mustache, but rather its edge. What is established in the Muwatta of Malik is that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, when he was angry, would twist his mustache, meaning the two sides, and twist them. This means that he did not uproot the root of the mustaches such that no hair remained that could be held, let alone twisted. Yes, and the Companions were of two views on this: one view, as we say, was taking from the edge, and the other view was taking all of it, like a shorn sheep, meaning that the skin would be visible for some of them. Since the Companions differed, and some of them agreed with this reconciliation between the verbal and action hadiths, along with his sayingJami` at-Tirmidhi 2761Sahih (Darussalam), we, in this situation, choose the practice of those who agreed with this reconciliation between the hadiths, and we do not choose uprooting the entire mustache, because this is contrary to the practice of the Messenger (peace be upon him) with that man, who was al-Mughirah himself, as in some of the authentic narrations.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and then something else comes to us that we can take as a guide, which is that Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), the Imam of the City of Emigration, undoubtedly lived in an environment filled with the Tabi’un (the generation after the Companions) who had witnessed the Companions. He considered shaving the mustache to be mutilation. Malik says “Shaving the mustache is mutilation”. This is a wonderful and beautiful meaning that agrees with this reconciliation between these hadiths. So this is the answer to this question.
The questioner : Yes.
Whoever does not take from his mustache, then he is not from us.
من لم يأخذ من شاربه فليس مناWhoever does not take from his mustache
من لم يأخذ من شاربهThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is trimming the mustache. This is further supported by the fact that the intention is not to uproot the root of the mustache, but rather its edge. What is established in the Muwatta of Malik is that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, when he was angry, would twist his mustache, meaning the two sides, and twist them. This means that he did not uproot the root of the mustaches such that no hair remained that could be held, let alone twisted. Yes, and the Companions were of two views on this: one view, as we say, was taking from the edge, and the other view was taking all of it, like a shorn sheep, meaning that the skin would be visible for some of them. Since the Companions differed, and some of them agreed with this reconciliation between the verbal and action hadiths, along with his saying
Whoever does not take from his mustache, then he is not from us.
من لم يأخذ من شاربه فليس مناThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and then something else comes to us that we can take as a guide, which is that Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), the Imam of the City of Emigration, undoubtedly lived in an environment filled with the Tabi’un (the generation after the Companions) who had witnessed the Companions. He considered shaving the mustache to be mutilation. Malik says “Shaving the mustache is mutilation”. This is a wonderful and beautiful meaning that agrees with this reconciliation between these hadiths. So this is the answer to this question.
The questioner : Yes.