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Is keeping beard Fard?

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Is keeping beard a "Fard" on every muslim or just a Sunnah? If so where is it mentioned in the Holy Quran? Or the proper Hadeeth of our Prophet emphasizing that?  

 

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Answer:

 

Is keeping beard Fard?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Keeping a beard cannot be considered an obligatory command of the Prophet (saws), but rather it was his Sunnah, and the Sunnah of the all the Prophets before him.

 

Growing a beard was considered normal and natural for a man at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saws), whether he was a believer or not. Even the enemies of Islam like Abu Jahl and Abu Lahb had beards! And because every man naturally grew a beard, it was not necessary for the Prophet (saws) to give an explicit command exhorting the believers to grow a beard.

 

The only specific saying of the Prophet (saws) regarding the keeping of beards arose when he saw that the pagans used to grow both their beards and their mustaches long; thus he (saws) said to the believers:

 

Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Lengthen your beards and cut the mustaches short.

 

It was only a couple of centuries ago, when the western culture and ideology became dominant over the world and muslim lands, that it became a fashion to be clean shaven. And as with any dominant culture, people are always ready to adopt its actions, whether they are of virtue, or of vice! But Islam has its own culture, and growing a beard is part of the Islamic culture.

 

The question is why should a believer, who professes to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and who professes to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), want to grow a beard?

The answer is simple. Today, you might have seen many youngsters copy the fashion of sport-stars, Hollywood-stars or anybody else whom they love. If you notice today, many hot Hollywood stars and sport stars are sporting a "goatie" beard! And true to fashion, you see a lot of people around today who keep "goatie" beards!!! As Muslim, our role model should always be the Prophet (saws). We love to copy everything he did ... he had a beard, and if indeed, we want to follow the Messenger of Allah (saws), we should strive to grow a beard.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:There is indeed the best model for you in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remember Allah much.

 

In another narration, the Prophet of Allah said in narrating a prophecy of times to come:

 

There will emerge from the East some people who will recite the Quran, but it will not exceed their throats, and who will go out of the deen of Islam as an arrow passes through the game. They will never come back to it unless the arrow comes back to the middle of the bow by itself (i.e. impossible!). The companions asked, "What will their signs be?". The Prophet (saws) said: "Their sign will be the habit of shaving off of their beards".

 

Thus the keeping of beards is a Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) and every muslim must strive to keep a beard, if his model is indeed the Prophet of Allah (saws). He will get his due reward from Allah, Insha Allah, if he keeps the beard to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

 

But if a believer does not want to sport a beard for whatever reason, the other believers should not make an issue out of it. What is important in Islam and in the sight of Allah, is that one truly believes and does good righteous deeds. And when that happens, it is expected that the beard will follow soon after!

 

The beard is nothing more than a sign that the believer truly wants to follow a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws). There are many people who have long beards, but do deeds against the commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws). And there are many people who are amongst the best believers, but do not have beards! Allah will not decide the recipient of His Mercy and His Forgiveness from the appearance of the individual; but rather He will decide whether the person believed and did righteous deeds, as he was commanded by Allah and His Messenger (saws).

 

The only place in the Quran where the issue of beard is mentioned is from the incident when Hadrat Moosa came back from his meeting with Allah Subhanah, and found his people worshipping a golden calf. He then grabbed the beard of his brother Prophet Haroon in anger demanding to know why had he not stopped the Bani Israel from taking the calf as a deity for worship.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 20 Surah Ta Ha Ayaat 94:... And Haroon said, "O son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard nor pull the hair of my head."

 

Following are the list of hadiths regarding the beard:

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.780 Narrated by Nafi

Ibn Umar said: The Prophet said, "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short."

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4053 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Zayd ibn Aslam said: Ibn Umar used to dye his beard with yellow colour so much so that his clothes were filled (dyed) with yellowness. He was asked: Why do you dye with yellow colour? He replied: I saw the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) dyeing with yellow colour, and nothing was dearer to him than it. He would dye all his clothes with it, even his turban.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 145 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) performed ablution, he took a handful of water, and, putting it under his chin, made it go through his beard, saying: Thus did my Lord command me.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 52 Narrated by Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Ten are the acts according to fitrah (nature): clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the arm-pits, shaving the pubes, and cleansing one's private parts (after easing or urinating) with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 36 Narrated by Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: You may live for a long time after I am gone, Ruwayfi', so, tell people that if anyone ties his beard or wears round his neck a string to ward off the evil eye, or cleanses himself with animal dung or bone, Muhammad has nothing to do with him.

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.651 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri

The Prophet said, "There will emerge from the East some people who will recite the Qur'an but it will not exceed their throats and who will go out of (renounce) the religion (Islam) as an arrow passes through the game, and they will never come back to it unless the arrow, comes back to the middle of the bow (by itself) (i.e., impossible). The people asked, "What will their signs be?" He said, "Their sign will be the habit of shaving (of their beards).

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your Brother in Islam,

 

 

Burhan

 


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