Conditions of covering of the private parts (Satar), wadu, taharat, etc, for salah and, naturally, leading salah are too well emphasized by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in many Ahadith. And, there are no two opinions about them, never were and never will. That’s the reason we don’t see satr, wadu, taharat, etc., mentioned in the Hadith quoted in Q 5174. But not even once RasoolAllah (pbuh) mentioned anything about beard length as one of the requirements for salah or imamat. No doubt, he ordered Muslim males to grow beard and it’s, I believe, Sunnat-e-Muakkadah, but he never fixed any length. Many scholars, including Sayyid Maududi, who’s recognized by most learned men as a scholar of a very high caliber, emphasized on growing beard but don’t see any particular length established by Sharay (Law Giver). What Hadrat Ibn Omar and other Sahaba (RA) practiced are certainly Laiq-e-Tazeem and Laiq-e-Ittaba’, but not Laazim-e-Ittaba’ (obligatory). There’s a vast difference between the two. I hope you appreciate the difference between them.
Your grievance with us seems to be regarding our verdict on the length of
the beard upto a fist length being Waajib.
Firstly, as mentioned in the our previous answer, ‘.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).’
Hence, the general growth of a beard will be Waajib because of the Hadith
quoted by Imaam Bukhari (RA), and as mentioned in our previous relply, ‘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).’
Therefore, the command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) followed
up by his continuous practice emphasizes this obligation. Despite this, if
you still choose to ‘believe’ it to be a ‘Sunnat-e-Muakkadah’, then even in
that instance if one leaves out a Sunnat-e-Muakkadah continuously, he will
also be sinful and rendered a Faasiq for disobeying the command of the noble
Qur’aan, ‘And obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam).’ ‘And whosoever disobeys Allah and His messenger (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam), then he has gone astray into open misguidance.’
Hence, even if the beard was a Sunnat-e-Muakkadah, then too such a person
will be rendered unfit for Imaamat. I don’t think you will be happy with an
Imaam who ‘has gone stray into open misguidance.’
Secondly, the Hadith – as is clear – does not specify any length of the
beard. The words, ‘a’aful lluhay’ in the Hadith commands us to lengthen the
beards, which under normal circumstances will mean, ‘it is Waajib to let the
beard grow’ and is not permissible to trim it at all. But, as mentioned in
the previous answer, because the narrator himself as well as other Sahaaba
(Radhiallaahu Anhum) did trim their beards upto one fist length, the Ulama
have deduced that this means that the Wujoob (obligation) is only upto a
fist’s length. Neither can we say that it is not permissible to trim it at
all – resulting in the accusation of the Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum) of
contradicting the explicit command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam) and especially the narrator himself (Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar
(Radhiallaahu Anhu)) and effectively rendering him/them as Faasiq. Nor can
one claim the permissibility of trimming it upto less than a fist’s length,
for there is no proof for this in Shari’ah.
After understanding the above, know well that any person who commits such
sins which render him a Faasiq cannot be fit for Imaamat even if he is the
most learned/well-versed on the noble Qur’aan. Moreover, the opinion of the
scholar you have mentioned as well as the practice of many others who you
have met in some Islamic countries cannot be considered in front of the Shar
‘ee proofs that we have provided to substantiate our verdict. In fact, we
disagree with your claim that, ‘Sayyid Maududi who’s recognized by most
learned men .’ kindly find attached our view on some of this person’s
views.
And lastly, for your understanding, we have not made the practice of the
mentioned Sahaabi ‘Laazim-e-Ittibaa’, a close examination of what we have
written will reveal this.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Moulana Muhammad ibn Moulana Haroon Abbassommar
FACULTY OF SPECIALTY IN HADITH
CHECKED AND APPROVED CORRECT: Mufti Ebrahim Desai