He says in his letter: “I praise Allah that I let my beard grow and trim my mustache. However, I trim the length of my beard with scissors and do not take anything from it with a razor, neither from the top nor from the bottom.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : He says in his letter: “I praise Allah that I let my beard grow and trim my mustache. However, I trim the length of my beard with scissors and do not take anything from it with a razor, neither from the top nor from the bottom, even though the hair I trim bothers me if I leave it, and I cannot bear to leave it. Please advise us, may Allah guide you?”
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, this brother’s question contains two matters: one praiseworthy and one not praiseworthy. The praiseworthy matter is that he trims his mustache, for trimming the mustache is part of the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) upon which Allah created people to find it pleasing, and it completes purity and cleanliness. It is also something the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. The not praiseworthy matter is that he takes from his beard, for taking from the beard contradicts the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who commanded letting the beard grow and trimming the mustache, in order to differ from the Zoroastrians and the polytheists. If this contradicts the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then it is not befitting for a believer to do it, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ahzab 33:36] Here is a point: some people think that the command to let the beard grow is solely for the purpose of differing from the Zoroastrians and polytheists. They say: “Some of the polytheists today let their beards grow, so letting it grow would not be differing from them.” We say: This is not the only reason for the command to let the beard grow; there is another reason, which is that it is part of the fitrah, as established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
The questioner : Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
The Shaykh : As narrated by Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and he mentioned among them Thus, letting the beard grow is part of the fitrah.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Furthermore, the fact that this act is prescribed for us in order to differ from the polytheists originally does not imply that if they agree with us on it in the end, we should leave it. The reality is that if they let their beards grow, they are the ones imitating us in this state, because the original ruling is that we are commanded to differ from them when the legislation was revealed. However, we do not accept that all polytheists today let their beards grow, as is the reality and the evidence. Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, this brother’s question contains two matters: one praiseworthy and one not praiseworthy. The praiseworthy matter is that he trims his mustache, for trimming the mustache is part of the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) upon which Allah created people to find it pleasing, and it completes purity and cleanliness. It is also something the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. The not praiseworthy matter is that he takes from his beard, for taking from the beard contradicts the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who commanded letting the beard grow and trimming the mustache, in order to differ from the Zoroastrians and the polytheists. If this contradicts the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then it is not befitting for a believer to do it, as Allah the Exalted said:
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلالًا مُبِينًاThe questioner : Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
The Shaykh : As narrated by Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Ten things of the fitrah
عشر من الفطرةLetting the beard grow
إعفاء اللحيةThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Furthermore, the fact that this act is prescribed for us in order to differ from the polytheists originally does not imply that if they agree with us on it in the end, we should leave it. The reality is that if they let their beards grow, they are the ones imitating us in this state, because the original ruling is that we are commanded to differ from them when the legislation was revealed. However, we do not accept that all polytheists today let their beards grow, as is the reality and the evidence. Yes.