Growing a beard in Islam?

Question

I recently learned that it may be required (I say may because it seems to be debated as to whether or not it's MANDATORY as opposed to virtuous) to grow a fist-long beard and that it is haram to shave it. If this is true, what if you cannot grow a beard that long?

Answer 1

Praise be to Allaah.

Shaving the beard is haraam because of the saheeh ahaadeeth that clearly state this, and because of the general application of texts that forbid resembling the kuffaar. One of these reports is the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Be different from the mushrikeen: let your beards grow and trim your moustaches.” According to another report: “Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow.” There are other hadeeth which convey the same meaning, which is to leave the beard as it is and let it grow long, without shaving, plucking or cutting any part of it. Ibn Hazm reported that there was scholarly consensus that it is an obligation (fard) to trim the moustache and let the beard grow. He quoted a number of ahaadeeth as evidence, including the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) quoted above, and the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Arqam in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not remove any of his moustache is not one of us.” (Classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi). Ibn Hazm said in al-Furoo’: “This is the way of our colleagues [i.e., the Hanbalis].”

Is it haraam (to shave it)? Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The Qur’aan, Sunnah and ijmaa’ (scholarly consensus) all indicate that we must differ from the kuffaar in all aspects and not imitate them, because imitating them on the outside will make us imitate them in their bad deeds and habits, and even in beliefs, which will result in befriending them in our hearts, just as loving them in our hearts will lead to imitating them on the outside. Al-Tirmidhi reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “He is not one of us who imitates people other than us. Do not imitate the Jews and Christians.” According to another version: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad) ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab rejected the testimony of the person who plucked his beard. Imaam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in al-Tamheed: “It is forbidden to shave the beard, and no one does this except men who are effeminate” i.e., those who imitate women. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a thick beard (reported by Muslim from Jaabir). It is not permitted to remove any part of the beard because of the general meaning of the texts which forbid doing so.

Answer 2

Yes.... it is..... SAHIH BUKHARI, BOOK 72: Dress Volume 7, Book 72, Number 780: Narrated Nafi': Ibn Umar said, The Prophet said, 'Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.' Whenever Ibn 'Umar performed the Hajj or 'Umra, he used to hold his beard with his hand and cut whatever moustaches. Ibn Umar used to cut his moustache so short that the whiteness of his skin (above the upper lip) was visible, and he used to cut (the hair) between his moustaches and his beard. Book 004, Number 1835: 'Abdullah (b. Umar) reported on the authority of his father that he beard like this from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). SAHIH MUSLIM, BOOK 2: The Book of Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) Book 002, Number 0498: Ibn Umar said: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Trim closely the moustache, and let the beard grow. Book 002, Number 0500: Ibn Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be opon him) said: Act against the polytheists, trim closely the moustache and grow beard. Book 002, Number 0502: 'A'isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be npon 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. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth. Book 030, Number 5783: Anas b. Malik did not like that a person should pick out his white hair from his head or beard, and Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) did not dye, and there was some whiteness in his hair at his chin, on his temples and very little on his head. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Muthanna through the same chain of transmitters.

Answer 3

If u cant grow a beard that long, so be it, Allah doesn't want to make things hard for u, besides that, i find Muslim men WAY MORE attractive with beards, because they try to resemble the prophet and his companions, as opposed to beardless men; i see them more feminine than masculine.
this is an opinion from an authentic believer muslimah

Answer 4

Question: Is it permissible to have a long beard?
Answer: It is better that the length of beard does not exceed the width of a fist.

Question: Some men shave their beard and leave some hair on the chin alone. Is this sufficient according shariah?Answer: French-cut beard is not sufficient as an obligatory precaution.

Question: Is it permissible to shave beard, if one is faced with an unavoidable or a difficult situation?
Answer: A Muslim is allowed to shave his beard, if he is compelled to do so or if he is forced to shave it for medical reasons, etc. It also allowed if he fears harm to his life by not shaving or if growing the beard would put him in difficulty (for example, if it becomes a cause of ridicule and humiliation that is not normally tolerable by a Muslim).

Question: if a person commits harãm by shaving his beard by razor baled on day one, is it permissible for him to do the same on the second, the third, the fourth day and so on?Answer: It is compulsory to refrain from it as a measure of precaution.

Question: Is it permissible to shave the two sides of the face and leave the hair on the chin?
Answer: Shaving the beard is haram based on obligatory precaution, and this includes the hair that grows on the sides of the face. However, there is no problem in shaving the hair that grows on the cheeks.

Question: At times the big companies in Europe discriminate —among those who come to them seeking jobs— between those who shave their beards and those who don’t shave them. If this is true, then is it permissible to be clean shaven in order to get the job?
Answer: Shaving the beard —whose prohibition is based on obligatory precaution— would not become permissible just by the desire to get a job with these companies.

Answer 5

If the prophet tells you to do something does that make it mandatory?
If yes, then the beard is mandatory.
The prophet sws told the companions"Let the beard go(let it grow) and trim the mustache"

Answer 6

not must it shouldnt be a long beard, it can be short and islam teaches cleanliness, so u can always trim it. and yes its mandatory on man to keep a beard

Answer 7

It's mandatory to let it grow, not to have a beard.

Just don't shave it, and let it grow as it grows. Don't worry, nobody grew a beard overnight.

Answer 8

Salam

Sunni is not Fard. I suggest you read your hadith about why it was done.

Not to look like a women is one reason.
Not to look like other religions is another
To show your strength in your deen on your face is another.

Allah SWT said in Al Quran we are the best examples for all mankind. So be an example but don't be extream.

Every 40 days I shave it all off and start over. Its Sunni not fard! Study your deed or don't pray, and you know prayer was established in heaven when he told Al Alameen to make sajud to him for creation of Mankind. So I suggest you begin to read your hadith and quran and understand why it was given as a Sunni and not fard. Besides we live in times where there is over 1 billion muslims. It was also done to distinguish between others at that time when there was very few. Study this!

Answer 9

I'm with http://www.sultan.org/ and immortal verses.
Beard is fard should be practiced. thats the Hijab for the guys, when we sisters have to struggle with our hijabs and niqabs to look different than the kuffar and take all sorts of insults. You brothers should do the same, for God's sake let your beards go and look like muslims.

Answer 10

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him ordered Muslims to grow beards, because he didn't want them to look like the Pagans. It was important back then for Muslims to look different than the Pagans for both security and cultural reasons. By making it easier for Muslims to distinguish each others easily, it would certainly enforce safety and security among them. Also, by making Muslims be different than everyone else, it would certainly help them to give up their old Pagan traditions that they were raised with, especially when they're different than everyone else.

Let us look at what Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said:

Narrated Nafi': "Ibn Umar said, The Prophet said, 'Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.' Whenever Ibn 'Umar performed the Hajj or 'Umra, he used to hold his beard with his hand and cut whatever moustaches. Ibn Umar used to cut his moustache so short that the whiteness of his skin (above the upper lip) was visible, and he used to cut (the hair) between his moustaches and his beard. (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dress, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 780)"

Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle said, 'The Jews and the Christians do not dye (their grey hair), so you shall do the opposite of what they do (i.e. dye your grey hair and beards).' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 668)"

Narrated Muhammad bin Sirin: "I asked Anas, 'Did the Prophet dye his hair?' Anas replied, 'The Prophet did not have except a few grey hairs.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dress, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 782)"

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: "Allah's Apostle said, 'Cut the moustaches short and leave the beard (as it is).' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Dress, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 781)"

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him ordered Muslims to grow beards to solve an issue that existed during his time. Not all of our Prophets Sayings were said to be applied for all times and all places, especially the ones that have to deal with our personal level. The laws for punishments in his Sayings are different. Those definitely have to be applied unless the Islamic State sees otherwise. But I personally think that Sayings that deal on the personal level are NOT QUITE mandatory.