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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asalamolikum, I have a question about beard is shave forbidden in islam as one of my friend said that it is not sin or forbiden in islam if one wishes he can keep if not he can do shave, another question is that Is sunnah nimaz not important as farz is. Can we just pray only farz and sunnah sometimes. As some of my friends said that sunnah is not neccessary.

Please reply as soon as possible.

May Allah wish all Muslims to follow right path of Islam (Aameen)

May Allah give you rewards for this great effort. 

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Answer:

Beard in Islam

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.

Your Question: I have a question about beard is shave forbidden in islam as one of my friend said that it is not sin or forbiden in islam if one wishes he can keep if not he can do shave,

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:

Ibn 'Umar related that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Differ from the polytheists: let your beards (grow), and trim your moustache."

Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

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 Muslims, 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:

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

The Prophet (saws) said: “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 an encouraged and preferred 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).

Your Question: another question is that Is sunnah nimaz not important as farz is. Can we just pray only farz and sunnah sometimes. As some of my friends said that sunnah is not neccessary.

Prayer (or any rite of worship in Islam) can be classified into three categories:

Fard prayers: These are the five obligatory prayers at their appointed times of the day. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there will be a severe accounting and punishment.

Nafl prayers: These are the voluntary or supererogatory prayers. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin.

Sunnah prayers: These are the Nafl or voluntary prayers which were prayed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus they become his (saw’s) Sunnah for us. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin. The most that can be said of one who does not pray the Sunnah prayers is that he lost a great opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 863 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: T’he first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will Say to the Angels - though He knows better: “Look into the (obligatory) prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly.” If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect. If it is defective, The Lord will say: “See there are some optional (Sunnah or Nafl) prayers offered by My servant.” If there are optional prayers to his credit, He will say: “Compensate the deficit in the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant.” Then all the actions will be considered similarly.’

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan