in fatwa #13473 you mentioned
“According to the research of the present day Ulamaa, it is not Waajib to keep a beard, since they regard it to be from the Sunan-e-‘Aadiyah (habitual practices). This is why they do not regard shaving the beard as Fisq (sin).”
however in a fatwa issued in year 2004 fatwa id#11494 you state “It is Waajib (compulsory) for a Muslim male to grow a beard. It is also Waajib to let the beard grow a fist length. It is prohibited to cut or shave the beard. He who does so is a Faasiq (sinner) and to shorten it less than a fist length is Makruh Tahrimi (near Haraam). “
is it that the ruling has changed in one year research? this is really confusing please clarify this matter.
If you clearly read our answer to Q,13471, you will realise that we clearly said that the research of our ‘Ulama is that the beard is wajib.
However, as the questioner was asking about performing salah behind Somali Shafi Imams, we mentioned that it would not be correct to classify them as Faasiq, as according to them trimming the beard is mukruh and not haram.
We never said that we agreed with them, all we said is that as they have their proofs for what they are saying and it is the viewpoint of some ulama, thus for us to classify them as faasiq would not be correct.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Husain Kadodia
FATWA DEPT.
Imaam Bukhari (Radhiallaahu Anhu) reports on the authority of Naafi’ who narrates from Abdullah ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘Oppose the Mushrikeen (polytheists); lengthen the beard and trim the moustache.’
Naafi’ further states, ‘And ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) during Hajj or Umrah used to hold on to his beard with his fist and cut off whatever was in excess of that.’ (Bukhari vol.2 pg.875; Kitaab-ul-Libaas)
Through this Hadith, the verdict of the growing of the beard being Waajib (obligatory) is deduced. That is because any explicit command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) will be regarded as Waajib, if there is no apparent, clear reason/proof which states that that particular command is for Istihbaab (preference). This is an established fact in Usool-ul-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence).
Furthermore, such has also been reported from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Radhiallaahu Anhu) and other Taabi’een. (Tamheed of ibn Abdul-Barr and Fathul Baari). Therefore, the meaning of our statement that you question is, ‘If any person has trimmed his beard up to less than one fist, then his beard will not be a Shar’ee beard.’
To grow a beard is the sunnah of Nabi (saw) and the sunnah of all Anbiya (as). Nabi (saw) mentioned, ‘Lenghten the beard and shorten the moustache’. Aisha (ra) narrates that Rasulullah (saw) said, 10 things are from the fitra…to trim the moustache and lengthen the beard.’ (Muslim)
There are numerous Ahadeeth with regards to the beard. A lot of emphasis has been laid upon the keeping of the beard. It is therefore a wajib/sunnah muakkadah and cannot be left out. (It is a sin to leave a sunnah muakkadah) The Wujoob is further emphasized by the fact that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) did practice on this in his entire life. Know well that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) did not trim his beard in his life (there is no Sahih Hadith which proves otherwise). However, because the narrator himself (Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) did trim his beard up to a fist’s length, this implies that the Wujoob of keeping a beard is up to a fist length only.