What is the ruling on trimming the beard without shaving it off, citing Allah’s saying: “Fear Allah as much as you are able” and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
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The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. A questioner asks: O honorable Shaykh, the one who trims his beard but does not shave it, and who interprets Allah’s saying: [At-Taghabun 64:16] and the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): , is he correct in this interpretation?
The Shaykh : I wish he would simply say: “I trim my beard,” without citing the verses and the hadith. He says he trims his beard but does not shave it because he is unable to do anything other than trim it, and he says that Allah says:[Al-Baqarah 2:286] I am adding this from my own side to strengthen his evidence, if he has any evidence. And he says: [At-Taghabun 64:16] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: This is, by the will of Allah, good and clever. He cited what as evidence? The Book and the Sunnah. Glory be to Allah! Who is the one who is unable to let his beard grow? Yes, if there is a person who tells you, “If you let your beard grow, your destination is detention or prison,” then in that case, the person is coerced, and whoever is coerced into sin, Allah has lifted the sin from him. But as for a person in a country where if he lets his beard grow, no one says anything to him, then this argument he uses is not correct. So we say, O my brother, fear Allah, restrain yourself, and hold it back from the forbidden. And if you do so, letting the beard grow will be among the easiest things. Yes.
The questioner : Trimming from it.
The Shaykh : It is this trimming from it. I am afraid he trims from it. I say, take from it. He starts by cutting a little bit. If he cuts from this side and shortens it, he says, “This is the length of the cut.” Then he cuts, and who is it that shortens this and lengthens that? Then he says, “Come on, cut this to balance that.” Yes, and the beard remains in this state. Yes, yes, yes.
The questioner : A report.
The Shaykh : The beard. May Allah bless you. From where, I mean, from the prominent bone above the earlobe down to the chin and the cheeks as well. Yes, yes. Well done.
The student: The handful.
The Shaykh : What is this handful?
The questioner : ... What exceeds the handful, it is prescribed to cut it.
The Shaykh : What exceeds the handful, it is prescribed.
The questioner : To cut it.
The Shaykh : Who said this? The one who said this is mistaken. There is no doubt that he is wrong. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: Let the beards grow long and make them full. Let the beards grow. Leave them like this. The words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are clear. We come and say, “It is prescribed that if you grasp a handful, you cut what exceeds the handful.” I believe that a person will not be able to answer Allah on the Day of Resurrection. [Al-Qasas 28:65]
Now, if someone says: “Ibn ‘Umar is sufficient for you in terms of piety and jurisprudence, and he is the narrator of the hadith,” the answer is very easy. First: Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) does not do this in every situation; he only does it when he performs Hajj or ‘Umrah. It seems that he (may Allah be pleased with him) exercised independent legal reasoning and thought that this was of the same kind as shaving the head or shortening the hair. That is one point. Second: Is the criterion what the narrator saw or what he narrated? The criterion is what he narrated. If Ibn ‘Umar exercised independent legal reasoning, his reasoning cannot judge the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What we see is that it is not permissible for a person to cut anything from it. That is to say, if he cuts anything from it, he has contradicted the hadith. Unless it grows to a great length such that it reaches the feet, and if he walks, he stumbles over it, then there is no harm in cutting what causes him harm. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : The neck.
The Shaykh : Not the neck. The neck is not part of the beard. The neck is what is below the jaw; it is not part of the beard.
fear Allah as much as you are able
اتقوا الله ما استطعتمDo as much of what I have commanded you as you are able.
ما أمرتكم به فأتوا منه ما استطعتمThe Shaykh : I wish he would simply say: “I trim my beard,” without citing the verses and the hadith. He says he trims his beard but does not shave it because he is unable to do anything other than trim it, and he says that Allah says:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعهاfear Allah as much as you are able
اتقوا الله ما استطعتمIf I command you to do something, do as much of it as you are able.
إذا أمرتكم بأمر فاتوا منه ما استطعتمThe questioner : Trimming from it.
The Shaykh : It is this trimming from it. I am afraid he trims from it. I say, take from it. He starts by cutting a little bit. If he cuts from this side and shortens it, he says, “This is the length of the cut.” Then he cuts, and who is it that shortens this and lengthens that? Then he says, “Come on, cut this to balance that.” Yes, and the beard remains in this state. Yes, yes, yes.
The questioner : A report.
The Shaykh : The beard. May Allah bless you. From where, I mean, from the prominent bone above the earlobe down to the chin and the cheeks as well. Yes, yes. Well done.
The student: The handful.
The Shaykh : What is this handful?
The questioner : ... What exceeds the handful, it is prescribed to cut it.
The Shaykh : What exceeds the handful, it is prescribed.
The questioner : To cut it.
The Shaykh : Who said this? The one who said this is mistaken. There is no doubt that he is wrong. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says:
Let the beards hang down.
أرخوا اللحىLet the beards grow
اعفوا اللحىLet the beards grow.
وفروا اللحىAnd [mention] the Day He will call them and say, "What did you answer the messengers?"
ويوم يناديهم فيقول ماذا أجبتم المرسلينNow, if someone says: “Ibn ‘Umar is sufficient for you in terms of piety and jurisprudence, and he is the narrator of the hadith
When he performed ‘Umrah or Hajj, he would grasp his beard and cut what exceeded it.
كان إذا اعتمر أو حج قبض على لحيته فقص ما زادThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : The neck.
The Shaykh : Not the neck. The neck is not part of the beard. The neck is what is below the jaw; it is not part of the beard.