And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
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The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of the siwak and the characteristics of the fitrah:
"From 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 261a. The narrator said: I forgot the tenth, unless it is rinsing the mouth.
Waqi'—who is one of its narrators—said: 'Cutting off the water' means istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself). Muslim narrated it. And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 15Sahih (Darussalam) It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
These are the remaining characteristics of the fitrah. The hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) has already been mentioned, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 5891, and we mentioned that the four things other than circumcision should not be left for more than forty days, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) set that time limit.
As for the hadith of 'Aishah, it indicates that the fitrah consists of ten characteristics, some of which were mentioned in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, and some of which are mentioned in the hadith of 'Aishah but not in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah. Among these is letting the beard grow: it is part of the fitrah. In the hadith of Ibn 'Umar:. And regarding the beard, the scholars of language said: "It is the hair of the face and the cheeks", meaning the moustache and the hair of the cheeks; all of this is part of the beard. As for the mustache, the discussion of it has already passed. So letting the beard grow means leaving it hanging down, allowing it to grow freely, and leaving it as it is. This is part of the fitrah upon which Allah created people, and it is pleasing, and it is a sign of manhood, indeed a beauty of manhood. Therefore, it is not permissible for a person to shave his beard. If he does so, he has opposed the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), disobeyed his command, and fallen into imitating the polytheists and the Zoroastrians, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . The people did not know this: meaning, the people did not know about shaving the beard. Rather, some of the unjust rulers, when they wanted to punish a person, would shave his beard. This is forbidden for them, because it is not permissible to punish with something that is forbidden. But my intention is that they considered shaving the beard a mutilation, a punishment, and a torment.
After the disbelievers occupied the lands of the Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, and introduced this bad custom to the Muslims, which is shaving the beard, people stopped caring about shaving it. In fact, the one who let his beard grow was considered strange in some Islamic lands. This is undoubtedly a disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And whoever disobeys the Messenger has disobeyed Allah, and whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.
If a person is afflicted with one of his relatives who shaves his beard, it is obligatory for him to advise him and clarify the truth to him. As for boycotting him, that is according to what is beneficial. If boycotting him leads to him abandoning the sin, then let him boycott him. But if it does not lead to that, or if it only increases the severity of the matter, then he should not boycott him, because boycotting is a medicine that is used where it is beneficial. And if it is not beneficial, then the original ruling is that boycotting a believer is forbidden, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 2560a. And what was added in this hadith is sniffing water: sniffing water is part of the fitrah, because it is cleaning and removing harm from what is in the nose, so it is purification. Sniffing water is done in wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and outside of wudu'. Whenever you need to clean your nose, sniff water and clean your nose.
This varies according to people: some people do not need this except in wudu', and some people need it frequently.
Among these is also rinsing the mouth, because it is part of the fitrah, as it involves cleaning the mouth. The mouth needs cleaning because food, grease, and the like pass through it, so it needs cleaning. Thus, rinsing the mouth is one of the characteristics of the fitrah.
Among these is also istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself), as Waqi' explained it. Waqi' explained "cutting off the water" as istinja', because istinja' is cleaning, purification, and removing harm.
Among these is also washing the joints. The scholars said that the joints are the pads of the fingers. The pads of the fingers on the inside need more cleaning than the outside, because the outside is wiped and there is nothing on it that needs more cleaning.
In this hadith, there is evidence that letting the beard grow, despite it being a difference from the polytheists, is one of the characteristics of the fitrah. This refutes the doubt of some who say: "Some of the disbelievers today let their beards grow. Should we not befittingly oppose them and shave our beards?" Look, and I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, we say: Their letting their beards grow is following the fitrah, and we are commanded to follow the fitrah. If they resemble us in the fitrah, we do not prevent them, and it does not require us to deviate from the fitrah just because they agreed with us in it. Just as if they agreed with us in trimming the nails, we would not say: "Let us stop trimming the nails," but rather we would trim them. And so with the rest of the fitrah: if the disbelievers agree with us in it, we do not deviate from it. And Allah grants success.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of the siwak and the characteristics of the fitrah:
"From 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Ten are the acts according to fitra: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes and cleaning one's private parts with water.
عشرٌ من الفطرة : قص الشارب، وإعفاء اللحية، والسواك، واستنشاق الماء، وقص الأظفار، وغسل البراجم، ونتف الإبط، وحلق العانة، وانتقاص الماءWaqi'—who is one of its narrators—said: 'Cutting off the water' means istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself). Muslim narrated it. And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:
Trim the mustache and let the beard grow.
أحفوا الشوارب وأعفوا اللحىThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
These are the remaining characteristics of the fitrah. The hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) has already been mentioned, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the moustaches short, clipping the nails, and depilating the hair of the armpits.
الفطرة خمس : الختان والاستحداد وقص الشارب وتقليم الأظفار ونتف الآباطAs for the hadith of 'Aishah, it indicates that the fitrah consists of ten characteristics, some of which were mentioned in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, and some of which are mentioned in the hadith of 'Aishah but not in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah. Among these is letting the beard grow: it is part of the fitrah. In the hadith of Ibn 'Umar:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded letting the beards grow
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أمر بإعفاء اللحىOppose the Zoroastrians or the polytheists, let the beards grow, and trim the mustaches
خالفوا المجوس أو المشركين وفِّروا اللحى وحفوا الشواربAfter the disbelievers occupied the lands of the Muslims in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, and introduced this bad custom to the Muslims, which is shaving the beard, people stopped caring about shaving it. In fact, the one who let his beard grow was considered strange in some Islamic lands. This is undoubtedly a disobedience to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And whoever disobeys the Messenger has disobeyed Allah, and whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.
If a person is afflicted with one of his relatives who shaves his beard, it is obligatory for him to advise him and clarify the truth to him. As for boycotting him, that is according to what is beneficial. If boycotting him leads to him abandoning the sin, then let him boycott him. But if it does not lead to that, or if it only increases the severity of the matter, then he should not boycott him, because boycotting is a medicine that is used where it is beneficial. And if it is not beneficial, then the original ruling is that boycotting a believer is forbidden, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
It is not permissible for a Muslim to have estranged relations with his brother beyond three nights, the one turning one way and the other turning the other way when they meet; the better of the two is one who is the first to give a greeting.
لا يحل للمؤمن أن يهجر أخاه فوق ثلاث ، يلتقيان فيعرض هذا ويعرض هذا وخيرهما الذي يبدأ بالسلامThis varies according to people: some people do not need this except in wudu', and some people need it frequently.
Among these is also rinsing the mouth, because it is part of the fitrah, as it involves cleaning the mouth. The mouth needs cleaning because food, grease, and the like pass through it, so it needs cleaning. Thus, rinsing the mouth is one of the characteristics of the fitrah.
Among these is also istinja' (cleaning oneself after relieving oneself), as Waqi' explained it. Waqi' explained "cutting off the water" as istinja', because istinja' is cleaning, purification, and removing harm.
Among these is also washing the joints. The scholars said that the joints are the pads of the fingers. The pads of the fingers on the inside need more cleaning than the outside, because the outside is wiped and there is nothing on it that needs more cleaning.
In this hadith, there is evidence that letting the beard grow, despite it being a difference from the polytheists, is one of the characteristics of the fitrah. This refutes the doubt of some who say: "Some of the disbelievers today let their beards grow. Should we not befittingly oppose them and shave our beards?" Look, and I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, we say: Their letting their beards grow is following the fitrah, and we are commanded to follow the fitrah. If they resemble us in the fitrah, we do not prevent them, and it does not require us to deviate from the fitrah just because they agreed with us in it. Just as if they agreed with us in trimming the nails, we would not say: "Let us stop trimming the nails," but rather we would trim them. And so with the rest of the fitrah: if the disbelievers agree with us in it, we do not deviate from it. And Allah grants success.