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Q & A --> Ablutions and Customs of Nature --> he Ruling for Shaving the Beard and Shortening one’s Garments

Question : A question was asked about the ruling for those who say that shaving the beard and shortening the thawb is considered from al-qushur.

Fatwa in Brief: The consensus of the scholars (ijma‘) is that it is obligatory to grow one’s beard. It was also mentioned that wearing one’s trousers above the ankle, out of arrogance or for any other reason, is illegal.

Shaykh Ibn Baz, al-Da‘wa Magazine, no.1607

Response:

Trimming or shortening one’s beard is not illegal according to all [four] Imams. Growing the beard is described as obligatory, or recommended. Likewise, the scholars disagreed over whether a Muslim man can shave his beard off; some considered this haram, while others did not. Regarding the length of one’s trousers, if someone wears long trousers out of arrogance, then he breaks Muslim law. If he does not do so, then he does not break the law.

Commentary:

In the hadith collection of al-Tirmidhi, there is a tradition attributed to ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb. In this, ‘Amr reports that his father learnt from his own father [i.e. ‘Amr’s grandfather], “that the Prophet (upon him be peace) used to remove something from the width and length of his beard”.[1] A group of the Companions used to trim and shorten their beards. No one should think that the Companions acted leniently regarding their religion, or contrary to the demands of the Sunna. The scholars disagreed upon considering the hadiths on growing the beard as obligatory or recommended.

After mentioning a great number of traditions ascribed to the Prophet and to his Companions, Shaykh al-Albani finally ruled: “I have talked at length on this subject, appealing to the texts of the pious predecessors and the Imams, because most people [incorrectly] believe that trimming one’s beard runs counter to the meaning of the hadith [in which the Prophet says] ‘grow your beards’.[2]

Regarding the subject of shortening one’s trousers above the ankle, Bukhari includes a tradition in which the Prophet (upon him be peace) states: “When you eat, drink, give charity and wear clothes, let no extravagance or pride intrude upon your actions”.

This indicates that what renders an action prohibited is that it involves extravagance, and thus suggests arrogance. If neither condition exists, however, there is no harm in doing so. Abu Bakr (r.a.) said “O Messenger of God, my waist-wrap (izar) trails unless I take extreme care of it”. The Prophet (upon him be peace) said, “You are not like those who do this out of arrogance”. Arrogance is vilified, even for those who roll their clothes up. As for those who wear good clothes – thanking God for them and not scorning those who cannot afford such clothes – there is no harm in doing so, even if these clothes are very precious. In Sahih Muslim, one hadith shows that the Prophet (upon him be peace) said: “a person will not enter heaven if s/he has a smallest tiny weight of arrogance in their heart”. To which a man replied: ‘[but what if] a person likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?’ The Prophet (upon him be peace) replied: ‘God the Exalted is beautiful, and He loves beauty. Arrogance [in contrast] is ridiculing and rejecting the Truth, and despising people’”.

Dr. Ahmad ‘Id


[1] Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, 2988.

[2] Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani, al-Silsila al-Da‘ifa, Part V, p. 375 and following.