What is the ruling on a father who expelled his son because he let his beard grow? And does the father’s right over him lapse so that he does not return to him because he will be harmed by him?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen. There is a young man who committed to the correct path, so he let his beard grow and shortened his garment. Then, when his father saw him in that state, he expelled him from the house and ordered him not to return until he shaved his beard. He then left the house, and after several years, he returned to the house to greet his family. His uncle and brother forcibly shaved his beard, and he left the house. After that, his uncle promised him that his father was pleased with him, and he returned to the house again after his beard had grown back. When his father saw him, he expelled him, saying: “Do not return until you shave your beard for the second time.” He has been out of the house since then. Does his father’s right over him lapse so that he does not return to his house, given that his father may be harmed by his return? Please issue a ruling, and may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : By Allah, I think these are confused dreams; how can this happen? Is this a real situation?

The questioner : Yes, it happened, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah. There is no doubt that the father is now opposing Allah and His Messenger, if the matter is as you described, because he is opposing Allah and His Messenger. The Messenger commanded letting the beard grow, and this man is ordering what? Shaving the beard?
Second, this father is disobeying Allah and His Messenger by severing the family tie, because his son is among his relatives, and it is obligatory for him to maintain the tie with him. And no severance is greater than this severance: that he orders him to disobey Allah. Therefore, I see that his father has no right over him in this situation, and he is not obligated to maintain the tie with his father as long as he orders him to do what is wrong, except for what is necessitated by dire necessity. For Allah says: As for those who forcibly shaved his beard, their reckoning is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because they transgressed against the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and transgressed against a Muslim man among the servants of Allah who implements the Shari'ah of Allah. My advice to his father and his uncle is that they repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and return to Him, and that they seek forgiveness from this son for what they did to him, before death comes to them. How many a person has become morning and not reached evening, and how many a person has become evening and not reached morning, and these people do not know when death will come to them. So they must repent to Allah. As for the son, he should not return to the house as long as returning to the house results in this harm for him; so he should not return, and he is free from this obligation. Yes.

The questioner : Shaykh, like...

The Shaykh : No, that is not the case.