All the people ask me to shave my beard

Question

Peace be upon you!

I am a Moroccan young man. I am 24 years old, religious, and a little bit shy. I prefer to stay away from the people. My problem is: After I had grown old, all my family and friends told me to shave my beard; what should I do?

Answer

All praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon his family, his Companions, and those who follow him.

Praise be to Allah who guided you to let your beard grew, following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) because a true believer who fears Allah, seeks His Reward, and fears His Punishment is motivated by his faith to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Indeed, in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad peace be upon him) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day, and remembers Allâh much." [Surat Al Ahzab: 21].

We ask Allah to make you firm to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), as we invoke Him to keep us away from sedition, whether apparent or hidden.

As for the persistence of your relatives and friends on shaving your beard, you should tell them to fear Allah and stop that. You should also remind them of Allah and tell them that growing a beard is obligatory on every Muslim because it is the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Sunnah of all Prophets before him. We were commanded to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and follow his Sunnah, moreover the Ayahs and Hadiths in this regard are countless. Of which: Allah's Saying: "And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)." [Surat Al Hashr: 7].

And Allah's Saying: "Obey Allâh and obey the Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him)." [Surat An-Nur: 54].

Then, Allah threatened those who do against the Sunnah of the Prophet by saying: "But if you turn away, he (Messenger Muhammad peace be upon him) is only responsible for the duty placed on him (i.e. to convey Allâh's Message) and you for that placed on you." [Surat An-Nur: 54].

The threat for disagreement is a proof on obligation. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad peace be upon him) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah - legal ways- orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant) should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them." [Surat An-Nur: 63]. Allah also says: "It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allâh and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision." [Surat Al Ahzab: 36].

The matters which have no choice are obligatory.

The best words are the words of Shaykh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyah in "Majmu` Al Fatawa" (1 / 80) who said: Islam is based on two principles:

1- To worship Allah alone without attributing any partners with Him.

2- To worship Him according to the instructions which the Prophet (peace be upon him) came with, we should not worship Him by whims and heresies. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Then We have put you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) on a (plain) way of (Our) commandment [like the one which We commanded Our Messengers before you (i.e. legal ways and laws of the Islâmic Monotheism)]. So follow you that (Islâmic Monotheism and its laws), and follow not the desires of those who know not. * Verily, they can avail you nothing against Allâh (if He wants to punish you). Verily, the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers) are Auliyâ' (protectors, helpers) of one another, but Allâh is the Walî (Helper, Protector) of the Muttaqûn (the pious)." [Surat Al Jathiyah: 18 - 19].

Allah (Exalted be He) says: "Or have they partners (with Allâh - false gods) who have instituted for them a religion which Allâh has not ordained? And had it not been for a decisive Word (gone forth already), the matter would have been judged between them. And verily, for the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers) there is a painful torment." [Surat Ash-Shura: 21].

No one should worship Allah except by the Shari`ah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) including obligations and recommended matters, not to worship Him by heresies as was authentically proven in the Hadith of Al `Irbad ibn Sariyah. At-Tirmidhy said about this Hadith: It is a good and authentic Hadith. It was reported in Sahih Muslim that he was saying in his sermon: "The best speech is the speech of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the worst of matters are innovations, and every innovation in religion is an error."

So, do not pay attention to their speech, and it is not permissible for you under any circumstances to listen to their speech or leave anything of religion out of shyness of anyone because the pleasure of Allah takes priority over the pleasure of anyone else. Moreover, loving Allah and loving what He loves takes priority over anything else.

Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Say (O Muhammad peace be upon him to mankind): "If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."" [Surat Al `Imran: 31].

Likewise, there is no obedience for any creature as long as it results in disobeying the Creator as was authentically proven from the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Dear valued brother, you have to advance the ruling and command of Allah and the command of His Messenger (peace be upon him) and his Sunnah over anything else even if she is your wife. We ask Allah to grant you, her, us, and all Muslims good following to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Growing beard is one of the confirmed Shari`ah matters. It was reported in Sahih Al Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and others on the authority of Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Cut the moustaches short, keep the beards, and do the opposite of what the pagans do." [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim]. And his saying: "Trim closely the moustache, and grow the beard, and thus act against the fire-worshippers." [Reported by Ahmad and Muslim]. Furthermore, the Hadiths which were reported in Al Bukhari and Muslim about this matter are numerous. The command that was reported in the Hadith entails obligation according to the views of the fundamentalists and jurists.

The sayings and the actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) confirmed this matter, moreover it was the guidance of all Prophets, the action of the Companions, and the Followers. Therefore, Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm (May Allah bestow mercy on his soul) reported consensus about the prohibition of shaving it, where he said: "Scholars have agreed that shaving the beard is not permissible." Shaykh Al Islam, Ibn Taymiyah admitted that in his book "Naqf Maratib Al Ijma`".

Imam Ibn `Abdul-bar said in his book "At-Tamhid": It is prohibited to shave the beard and such an act is done by effeminate men.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to have thick beard hair as in the narration of Muslim on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) and in another narration "he was of thick beard."