Muwahideen Publications

A question posed to Ash-Shaykh 'Abdulllaah ibn Mar'ee al-'Adani (hafidhahullaah) concerning the doubt raised by the modernists, and others, that the beard is no longer obligitory in our time because the jews and christians now grow their beards and the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallaam) commanded us to differ from the jews and christians. [Q]: How do we respond to the doubt and the misconception that is brought by some of the modernists who say that the beard is not obligatory to grow but simply recommended because the Messenger (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallaam) recommended or stated in the hadeeth that we must differ and go against the jews and the christians and today the jews and the christians grow beards. [A]: The Shaykh (May Allaah preserve him) responded by saying: What has been commanded in our religion is to grow the beard and let it become long and whether the jews grow their beards or not, is not a reason for us to leave the truth, and if the jews grow their beard then its not a reason for us to leave one of the traits of the fitrah (the natural disposition that Allaah has created us upon). Whoever contemplates the evidences from the book of Allaah and the sunnah of the Messenger(sallaAllaahu 'alayhu wa sallam) will become certain that what is required of the Muslim is to grow and lengthen his beard as found in the hadeeth of Ibn 'Umar (radhi Allaahu 'anhu) that is found in as-saheeh and other ahadeeth. So if the jews come back to the fitrah, to the nature that is untampered with, unmodified, undisturbed, and surely they haven't because not all of them have come back to growing a beard, and they stop shaving and those who have grown beards are not growing them in accordance with the legislation, except for the few and the rare, but if they do this, it is not a reason for us to leave the truth and surely there are many examples of the like in the book of Allaah and the sunnah of the Messenger (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). If every time a person of falsehood, a person of kufr (disbelief) comes back to some item of the truth, are we going to leave it? No, but rather this will be an indication to us that we are upon the truth. This is an indication for the man that is upon the khayr (good) that this is the khayr (good) and this will increase him in reverence of it and love for it and tenacity in adhearing to it, and surely the growing of the beard in accordance with the sunnah of Muhammad (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) is cause for much good in both the dunya (the worldly life) and akhirah (the hereafter). For example, from the benefits that you obtain in yourdeen for growing a beard is the fact that a man who grows his beard in following of the sunnah ofMuhammad (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallaam), is a man who is showing pride in his deen. He is proud of being a Muslim, and so you find such a man showing this pride. You will not find him committing acts that are lowly, committing acts that are shameful, that people of religiousity are not supposed to commit. Whereas the other, who shaves his beard is more hasty, and more likely to be found doing things that are shameful and dispicable. So the beard in this instance proved one more reason to cause him to have shame and humility from Allaah and to stay away from that which is

forbidden and that which is considered dispicable and ugly, and this is but a little of many many benefits. Another example, but this one fom the benefits in the dunya, is that which is spoken about by some of the people of medicine regarding the benefits of growing one's beard, and how it is a cause for protection from a number of diseases and a cause for keeping and preserving one's health, whereas those who shave there beards subject their skin to a number of well known diseases and other types of afflictions and tribulations that are brought on by shaving the beard. So we say indeed all praise is to Allaah who has guided us to this khayr (good) and guided us to this sunnah that contains everthing that is good in it and Allaah has protected us from the evils of leaving it, and it is not befitting for a man to leave that which is good which Allaah has guided him to and take other than it.