The response to those who cite the report of Ibn 'Umar regarding taking what exceeds a handful as evidence for shaving the entire beard.

The questioner : We found a person, may Allah honor you and bless you, who shaves his beard with a machine. He is one of our brothers, I think you know him, O Shaykh... May Allah bless you. Is this taking from the beard in an absolute sense, not restricted? I mean, according to the view of Ibn 'Umar, in its absolute form?

The Shaykh : What do you do with it?

The questioner : He said there is no prohibition.

The Shaykh : What does mean?

The questioner : I told him, what does "let the beards grow" mean? "Let the beards hang down." Was it that when Ibn 'Umar performed Hajj or 'Umrah, he would grasp his beard?

The Shaykh : This is a problem, O professor, ignorance, if it is not accompanied by a desire for it!
Ali Hasan : Allahu Akbar, I remember the wordThe Shaykh : Ibn 'Uthaymeen used when he spoke of bad intention and bad purpose stemming from an error in will, or in this sense.

The Shaykh : Correct. Just now, when we spoke about some of the girls, we said—Allahu Akbar—knowledge is light. We said, "What is contrary to analogy, it is not to be analogized." The hadiths are continuous and mass-transmitted regarding the prohibition of image-making and keeping images. The hadith of 'Aishah came, which excludes images of some girls, and we stopped there; we did not abrogate those hadiths. We kept them as a precaution. This is the exact opposite of the issue. Ibn 'Umar, who narrated the hadith of the Messenger of Allah regarding letting the beards grow, did not do so according to his own whim... nor regarding its length, but according to what he understood from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning he did not let it exceed a handful. This companion of yours, whom you say abrogated the entire original text, because the branch brought by Ibn 'Umar did not abrogate the original text; he abrogated both the original text and the branch. What is the cause? Either ignorance, like the one who permits all images and argues with the hadith of 'Aishah. The hadith of 'Aishah is the opposite of all the hadiths. So either we do this, and some of the Shaykhs do this today, we reject the hadiths of 'Aishah and say this was before the prohibition. This is what some scholars say. The hadith of 'Aishah regarding girls' toys. Some scholars say this was before the prohibition of images, and they continue to hold to the generality of the prohibition, even for the play of small children. This is not permissible in their view. Other scholars said, no, we exclude this type of image. We combine what is forbidden, which is the original text, with what is permissible, which is the branch. This is the hadith of Ibn 'Umar. This is the hadith of Ibn 'Umar and the action of Ibn 'Umar. The hadith of Ibn 'Umar forbids shaving the beard. It forbids shaving the beard, but it permits taking what does not exceed a handful. Therefore, we say it is not permissible to take more, because the excess contradicts the absolute letting grow in the verse. This is what you are referring to. So either he is ignorant, or he is malicious, and both may be present. And Allah is the Helper.