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Keeping Beard or Not

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by ShariahBoard.org

What do the ulamah kiram say in the light of the Islamic Shari‘ah about a person who states that it is mandatory to keep a beard and it is haram to trim / cut it to a length which is less than the length of one’s fist? Another person states, that not keeping a beard or trimming it to a length smaller than one’s fist is no doubt a sin, but it is not considered haram to do so, his reasoning for his statement is that millions of Muslims are practicing in this fashion.

Which of the statements is true?

الجواب وبالله التوفيق      

The person who stated that it is haramto trim one’s beard is correct. This is due to the fact that keeping a beard is considered wajib(mandatory), and leaving an act which is considered wajibis considered haram.Rasulullah Sallallaho Alyhi Wasallam said:

خالفوا المشرکین اوفروا اللحی (متفق علیہ

(و فی الدرالمختار ، یحرم علی الرجل قطع لحیتہ والسنۃ فیہا القبضہ  (ص ۴۰۷، ج۶، کتاب الحظروالإباحۃ فصل فی البیع

In order to consider an act as haram, it is not mandatory that it is explicitly mentioned as haram in the Quran or hadith. Instead, the wujoob(mandate) of an act becomes the proof on the impermissibility of its opposition. For example, praying salah is mandatory, not praying salah will be considered haram. Just because many people are engaged in a sin, does not minimize the gravity and severity of the sin. Despite the prevalence of such a sin, it will still be considered haram. Otherwise, none of the sins will be considered haram, as a large number of people can be found who are engaged and indulged in different sins.

واللہ اعلم  بالصواب

This answer was collected from Shariahboard.org. It was established under the supervision of the eminent faqih of our era, Hazrat Shah Mufti Mohammed Navalur Rahman damat barakatuhum.

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