Ruling on Shaving the Beard in the Case of a Military Officer

From 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, may Allah guide him, amen.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. After that:
Your letter dated 4/8/1395 AH has arrived, may Allah guide you. The questions it contained were known, and here is their text and answer:
First: What is the ruling on shaving the beard for a soldier who is ordered to do so? And what is the ruling of one who says that the one who shaves his beard is a *mukhannath* (effeminate)?

And the answer: Shaving the beard is not permissible, nor is cutting it short; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . It is obligatory for the Muslim to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in everything; because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah al-Nisa: 59].
And the ones in authority are: the rulers and the scholars. It is obligatory to obey them in what they order, as long as it does not contradict the Shari'ah. If what they order contradicts the Shari'ah, obedience to them in that matter is not obligatory; because of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
And our government, praise be to Allah, does not order the soldier or anyone else to shave the beard. Rather, that happens from some officials and others. So it is not permissible to obey them in that. It is obligatory to address them in the best manner, and to clarify to them that obedience to Allah and His Messenger takes precedence over obedience to anyone else.
As for the saying of some preachers: that the one who shaves his beard is a *mukhannath* (effeminate), this is a statement made by some of the early scholars, and its meaning is one who imitates women; because *takhannuth* (effeminacy) is: imitating women. It does not mean that he is a *sodomit* as some of the common people think today. What a preacher or anyone else should do is avoid this phrase because it is misleading. If he mentions it, it is obligatory to clarify its meaning so that the listeners understand his intent, and so that nothing with bad consequences occurs between him and them. And because the purpose of preaching and reminding is to guide the listeners and direct them to good, not to repel them from the truth and provoke their anger.

Second: What is the ruling on smoking? Is it of the same kind as shaving the beard?

And the answer: Smoking is among the forbidden things; because it is among the impurities that Allah has forbidden, and because it includes many harms. The evidence for its prohibition is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surah al-Ma'idah: 4] and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) describing His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): [Surah al-A'raf: 157]. The scholars have explained the good things as being the nourishing and beneficial foods and drinks that have no harm in them. It is known that smoking does not have this description; rather, it is among the harmful, forbidden impurities. It is greater than shaving the beard in some aspects, and shaving the beard is greater than it in other aspects; because shaving the beard is an apparent sin that people see on the face of its owner; and because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to let the beard grow, let it hang down, and preserve it, and to trim the mustache and shave it.
As for smoking, its owner may conceal it and people may not know about it, so it is not like shaving the beard. But it is more harmful to the body, mind, and wealth than shaving the beard. And because it harms those who are not accustomed to it, it is an evil that harms its owner and harms others with its foul smell.
In summary: smoking and shaving the beard are both evil, harmful to society, and a cause of great corruption, along with the apparent contradiction of the Islamic Shari'ah, and along with the economic harms involved, and because it may also lead to the children of the one who does it, his family, and his friends imitating him in this sin.