The beard?

[User29123]

Salam,

Some people say having the beard is compulsory in Islam some say it is a sunnah What is actually required, having it or not? Can I shave? Some also say if you do Hajj then when you come back you need to grow a beard? Is this true?

[Abz2000]

a very controversial topic,

the Prophet (pbuh) advised his followers to be different to the people of the book so as to create a distinction.
"the jews and christians grow their moustaches and trim their beards, so grow your beards and trim your moustaches"
to me it looks like advice to be different and unique so as to have a social identity.
i grew a full beard when i began to study Islam despite it not suiting me, i continued to study for a few years and when i pondered on the verses, i came to the concluion that the Prophet (pbuh) was telling them to be different, and it was not the beard itself that would carry them to paradise, but the fact that they felt unique and part of the Muslim community which would have an effect on themselves and others,
now when i go through stamford hill - i see many Jews with long beards, and i also see many reverends with long beards, so is it unique?
it is true that we are more likely to say "peace" when passing a brother with a beard on the street as we recognise them as Muslim,
i now have a trimmed one (number 2) and youths and elders on the street recognise me as Muslim and often say "peace", the trimmed one is now also a sort of trademark (i think it was zarkawi ....shhh)
again - my view is not the only view and there are many with different views, but i sincerely believe that the advice was not regarding the holiness of the beard, but of the differentiation - otherwise there would have been no need to mention the people of the book, and the emphasis in the hadith seems to be on the differentiation as that is mentioned first, and the solution for the differentiation was the lengthening of the beard - and not vice versa.
there are many young Muslim men in their late 20's early 30's with trimmed beards in london and we almost always recognise each other as Muslim due to that. so i would say that the purpose is fulfilled though the method is different - and not harmful.
again - my view only - but i will say that a beard definitely has a touch of manhood to it

[AabiruSabeel]

:sl:

There have been many threads on the topic beard previously. Please check:

http://www.islamicboard.com/health-s...his-beard.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/miscella...ing-beard.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/worship-...rd-islaam.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/islamic-...quick-vid.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/new-musl...row-beard.html

[Abz2000]

when the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions returned from the siege at the trench after Almighty God had turned away the disbelievers with a hurricane, he was instructed to go and attack the "allies" who had betrayed them and almost handed Medina to the Pagans. he told the people:

"let none of you pray the Middle prayer ('Asr) until he has reached Quraydhah"
so they all set off.
along the way - it was beginning to get dark - so one group of the companions stopped to pray, when asked and reminded of the instruction, they replied, the Prophet meant - make haste to Quraydhah, he didn't mean you are released from the duty to pray, when news of this came to the Prophet (pbuh) he did not criticise any of the two groups. This is related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim, from Ibn 'Umar.4 So this differing was in a matter related to rulings and actions, not in the important usool (fundamantels) itself."
it shows that they were sincere and not trying to disobey the Prophet pbuh's wishes or pervert them out of context.
it also showed that the Prophet actually wanted them to get to Quraydhah as soon as possible.
bearing in mind that many of the companions were illiterate and none of them had degrees in the Islamic university of cairo - one thing they did have was indomitable faith and clean hearts. and an understanding of the spirit of the Prophet (pbuh), this is something that has been ignored by some of the most educated scholars, and the Prophet (pbuh) has informed us that we must go back to the Quran and sunnah in times of difference.
again - i will emphasise that my opinion is one of many, but i am happy for anyone to look into the context and argue their point.


this is the rebuke given to the Jews when they left the spirit of the book and went along with the opinions of scribes alone.

12. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:


12And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

(IQRA = READ,
MA-AN BI QARIN = I AM NOT LEARNED
- FIRST ENCOUNTER AND WORD REVEALED TO THE PROPHET PBUH,
AND FIRST REPLY GIVEN)

13Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me,
but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:
for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
ISAIAH 29:11-14

what a wonder - an illiterate man took the world by STORM and now the scholars and thinkers of the world spend lifetimes studying his teachings.
with
almost one quarter of the globe already in his following.
no - he was not a student at al-azhar either - but he was chosen by Almighty God to show them a wonder.
so much so that abul hakam (father of wisdom) is now called abu Jahl (father of ignorance) forever more - for taking on that man whom we follow.

Therefore He did do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:
for the wisdom of their "wise men" perished, and the understanding of their prudent men was hid.



Like most scholars in Najd at the time, Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab was a follower of Ibn Hanbal's school of jurisprudence
but "was opposed to any of the schools (Madh'hab) being taken as an absolute and unquestioned authority," and condemned taqlid.

Taqlid or taklid (Arabic تَقْليد taqlīd) is an Arabic term in Islamic legal terminology connoting "imitation", that is; following the decisions of a religious authority without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision, such as accepting and following the verdict of scholars ofjurisprudence (fiqh) without demanding an explanation of the processes by which they arrive at it, hence adherence to one of the classical schools (madhhab) of jurisprudence.

ie - he was a thinker, and he would go back to the hadith and look at them - not with the intention of twisting them - but in order to sincerely look at the spirit of the teachings.
and that is what the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) did.

BEAR IN MIND - NO SCHOLAR OR DOCTOR WILL BE ABLE TO BEAR YOUR BURDEN ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT.
JUST LIKE THE PRIESTS OR RABBIS WILL NOT BEAR THE BURDENS OF THEIR FOLLOWERS ON THAT DAY.
- SO ASK ALL OF THEIR OPINIONS, BE SINCERE, EXHAUST YOURSELF IN STUDY, AND THINK WITH THE BRAIN ALMIGHTY GOD GAVE YOU.
DON'T GO BY MY OPINION - USE YOUR INTELLECT AS THE QURAN COMMANDS YOU - AND THINK FOR YOURSELF.

PEACE

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[AabiruSabeel]

^Was that meant for some other thread? :><:

[Abz2000]

no brother, i was just venting on the fact that we are following the previous nations step by step even in taking our scholars as those to whom we are answerable, despite none of them being willing or able to carry our burdens on that day,
i was also showing that the companions of the prophet (pbuh) would use their common sense to interpret his words in the light of truth, and it feels sad to see many get angry and say you are rejecting the four scholars - when Allah (swt) told us to obey Him and His messenger, and to follow the best of the word. there is no priesthood in Islam, each human has the ability to study and use reason.
my nxt door neighbour is a catholic - and when i ask him questions on the discrepancies, mistakes, errors, or ask him to make sense of the trinity, he tells me about the nicene creed which was 200 years after Prophet Jesus, and he will repeat the statements in it word by word without giving any valid common sense explanation that a normal person would understand, it is almost as if he believes that the words of the creed writers is gospel, he doesn't pay much attention to the torah or gospel in his debates as he feels that these require the interpretation of higher authorities, and that normal people should go by the word of the higher authorities without thinking for themselves:

31. They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One Allah. there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).
Quran 9:31

we must sometimes stop and think which direction we are heading in, and i see us going down the same road.
i have had debates regarding this issue on the youtube comments boards and received the same type of logic i got from my neighbour, "who are you to interpret these sayings? that is for the scholars and we must follow"
ask them: "which scholar", the one under the authority of the Caliph? or either of the scholars with opposing points of view? or is it only scholars of a certain time?
produce your proof if you are truthful.

a man told me the current bible was the unquestionable word of Almighty God without error - i asked: "which version?" he didn't answer and looked at me with disdain as if i was someone trying to shake his faith rather than someone making him think. for himself
a man tells me obeying the scholar without question is obeying the Messenger, and then God, i ask: "which one?"
choose any he says and you'll be ok - even if it's the opposite of the other scholar i could have chosen? "ummmm yeah", look don't think too much.
question is - which one will bear the burden for my mistakes if i don't think?.......................
only the scholar under the current Caliph would have that sort of authority - as we would be required to hear and obey, regardless of differing viewpoints.
so let us strive to establish it, or let us continue to differ
peace

a topic i feel very passionate about as you can see.... apologies if i come across as belligerent, just passionate though
and don't get me wromg - i don't say we should reject the scholars - but that they were not immune to fault and their words should be studied carefully and the best of it should be followed,
peace