There Are No Trivial Matters in the Religion
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Q: What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding one who says that shaving the beard and shortening the garment are trivial matters and not the fundamentals of the religion, or one who mocks those who do these things?
A: This statement is dangerous and a great abomination. There are no trivial matters in the religion; rather, it is all substance, goodness, and reform. It is divided into fundamentals and branches. The issue of the beard and shortening the garments is among the branches, not the fundamentals. However, it is not permissible to call any of the matters of the religion trivial. It is feared that one who says such a thing in a way that belittles and mocks may thereby apostatize from his religion, due to the saying of Allah, the Exalted: [Surah al-Tawbah: 65-66].
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who commanded to let the beard grow, to let it hang down, to maintain it, and to trim the mustache and keep it short. Therefore, it is obligatory to obey him and to revere his commands and prohibitions in all matters.
Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm mentioned the consensus of the scholars that letting the beard grow and trimming the mustache is an obligatory duty. There is no doubt that happiness, salvation, honor, dignity, and a good outcome lie in obeying Allah and His Messenger, and that destruction, loss, and a bad outcome lie in disobeying Allah and His Messenger. Likewise, raising the garments above the ankles is an obligatory duty, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 5331Sahih (Darussalam) narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih. And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 4087Sahih (Al-Albani) narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And he said (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 2085a agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Therefore, it is obligatory for the Muslim man to fear Allah, and to raise his garments, whether they are a shirt, a wrap, trousers, or a coat, so that they do not go below the ankles. It is better for them to be between the middle of the lower leg and the ankles. If letting the garment hang down is done out of arrogance, the sin is greater. If it is done out of negligence rather than arrogance, it is an abomination, and its doer is sinful according to the stronger of the two opinions of the scholars, but his sin is less than the sin of the arrogant one. There is no doubt that letting the garment hang down is a means to arrogance, even if its doer claims that he did not do it out of arrogance. And because the warning in the hadiths is general, it is not permissible to be lax in this matter.
As for the story of al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and his saying to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "My wrap hangs down unless I attend to it," and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You are not one who does it out of arrogance," this is regarding one whose situation is like the situation of al-Siddiq in the hanging down of the wrap without arrogance, and who nonetheless attends to it and strives to keep it in check. As for one who lets his garments hang down intentionally, the warning encompasses him, and he is not like al-Siddiq.
In letting the garments hang down, in addition to the aforementioned warning, there is extravagance and exposing them to dirt and ritual impurity, and imitating women, all of which the Muslim must protect himself from.
And Allah is the guarantor of success and the guide to the straight path.
A: This statement is dangerous and a great abomination. There are no trivial matters in the religion; rather, it is all substance, goodness, and reform. It is divided into fundamentals and branches. The issue of the beard and shortening the garments is among the branches, not the fundamentals. However, it is not permissible to call any of the matters of the religion trivial. It is feared that one who says such a thing in a way that belittles and mocks may thereby apostatize from his religion, due to the saying of Allah, the Exalted:
(65) And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only conversing and playing." Say, "Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?" (66) Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief. If We pardon one faction of you - We will punish another faction because they were criminals.
قُلْ أَبِاللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ * لا تَعْتَذِرُوا قَدْ كَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْThe Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who commanded to let the beard grow, to let it hang down, to maintain it, and to trim the mustache and keep it short. Therefore, it is obligatory to obey him and to revere his commands and prohibitions in all matters.
Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm mentioned the consensus of the scholars that letting the beard grow and trimming the mustache is an obligatory duty. There is no doubt that happiness, salvation, honor, dignity, and a good outcome lie in obeying Allah and His Messenger, and that destruction, loss, and a bad outcome lie in disobeying Allah and His Messenger. Likewise, raising the garments above the ankles is an obligatory duty, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whatever of the Izar comes below the ankles is in the Fire.
ما أسفل من الكعبين من الإزار فهو في النارNarrated Abu Dharr: The Prophet (ﷺ) as saying: There are three to whom Allah will not speak and at whom He will not look on the Day of Resurrection, and whom He will not declare pure, and they will have a painful punishment. I asked: Who are they, Messenger of Allah, they are losers and disappointed ? He repeated it three times. I asked: Who are they. Messenger of Allah, they are losers and disappointed ? He replied: The one who wears a trailing robe, the one who takes account of what he gives, and the one who produces a ready sale of a commodity by false swearing.
ثلاثة لا يكلمهم الله ولا ينظر إليهم يوم القيامة ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم: المسبل إزاره، والمنان فيما أعطى، والمنفق سلعته بالحلف الكاذبAllah will not look upon him who trails his garment out of pride.
لا ينظر الله إلى من جر ثوبه خيلاءTherefore, it is obligatory for the Muslim man to fear Allah, and to raise his garments, whether they are a shirt, a wrap, trousers, or a coat, so that they do not go below the ankles. It is better for them to be between the middle of the lower leg and the ankles. If letting the garment hang down is done out of arrogance, the sin is greater. If it is done out of negligence rather than arrogance, it is an abomination, and its doer is sinful according to the stronger of the two opinions of the scholars, but his sin is less than the sin of the arrogant one. There is no doubt that letting the garment hang down is a means to arrogance, even if its doer claims that he did not do it out of arrogance. And because the warning in the hadiths is general, it is not permissible to be lax in this matter.
As for the story of al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and his saying to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "My wrap hangs down unless I attend to it," and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You are not one who does it out of arrogance," this is regarding one whose situation is like the situation of al-Siddiq in the hanging down of the wrap without arrogance, and who nonetheless attends to it and strives to keep it in check. As for one who lets his garments hang down intentionally, the warning encompasses him, and he is not like al-Siddiq.
In letting the garments hang down, in addition to the aforementioned warning, there is extravagance and exposing them to dirt and ritual impurity, and imitating women, all of which the Muslim must protect himself from.
And Allah is the guarantor of success and the guide to the straight path.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.