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:

Assalamalikum
Dear brother can u confirm the below hadith declared by Malik that

Shaving of moustaches is bidah and the one who shaves his moustaches should be beaten.

Quick reply is appreciated.

Thank You

Khudahafiz

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Answer:

Shaving moustache prohibited

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 49.3

Yahya related from Malik from Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi from his father that Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah (saws), "There are five things from the ‘fitra’ (nature): cutting the nails, trimming the moustache, removing the hair from the armpit, shaving the pubic region and circumcision."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4437 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas

The Prophet (saws) used to clip or take something off his moustache, and Prophet Ibraheem, the ‘Khaleel’ (intimate friend) of the Compassionate One, used to do the same!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4438 Narrated by Zayd ibn Arqam

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who does not take something off his moustache is not one of us."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.780 Narrated by Nafi

Abdullah Ibn Umar said that the Prophet (saws) said, "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.". 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.

The Arabic term used for ‘shaving’ is ‘halaq’; while the term to cut or trim in Arabic is ‘Qass’ or ‘Ahfu’…..and in all the guidance regarding the moustache the term used in the hadith is either ‘Qass’ or ‘Ahfu’ (meaning cut or trim) and never ‘Halaq’ (shave).

The scholars and jurists in Islam are almost unanimous in their opinion that the Sunnah is to cut or trim the moustache, rather than shave it completely.

Your Statement: Shaving of moustaches is bidah and the one who shaves his moustaches should be beaten.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 49.4

Yahya said that he had heard Imam Malik say, "One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut if off completely so that one mutilates oneself."

Although the opinion of Imam Malik is strictly against the shaving of one’s moustache, to the best of our knowledge we have not come across anything in his statements which prescribes beating or flogging as punishment for one who happens to shave their moustache. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

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