Is it obligatory to have a beard. my facial hair is KILLING me...

[anonymous]

I have tried to let my hair on my face grow so that I look more mature, more of a man, but it is bothering me a lot. It feels so gross and is driving me crazy....It is not full, just been 2 weeks.

I do not like beards/mustaches anyway. Hate the body hair I have on my body too, it drives me crazy, I look like a big fat bear with all this hair on me :cry:

[Futuwwa]

There's nothing wrong about cutting off the body hair you have elsewhere than on your head. Even those who think growing a beard is fard should agree on that.

[syed_z]

Asalaam O Alaikum....

I would like to know how old are you ?

And your body hair that makes you feel gross is it because your friends and gathering you hang out with have the same attitude towards their body hair etc ?

Thanks.

[Scimitar]

SHEESH, Muslims these days... it's only hair. Grow up.

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[anonymous]

In my 20's and no it's not anyone else views, it's mine..

[Scimitar]

Bro, each hair of yours is a blessing from Allah. Your body is on loan to you from HE. How can we complain about it? Especially for cosmetic reasons? I could understand if it was a sister speaking, but we men, we men are supposed to be the embodiment of masculinity - of which, hair is an sure sign :)7

Learn to like it, break the mould of modernity and enter into a classical world view, it withstands the test of time. :)

[anonymous]

I really do not understand the point of sunnah. It seems like it's asking us to abandon our own personalities and be like someone else, which seems so fake.

[Scimitar]

How does body hair affect your decisions? It doesn't. So you personality remains unaffected young man.

...Even if growing facial hair did affect your personality - we can safely assume that it affected those personalities positively. Let's take a look at historical figures from the Muslim world - who had beards. Case closed.

Open case: personalities from the non Muslim world who had beards. Abe Lincoln, comes to mind. Case closed.

First of all, growin a beard does not affect ones personality, but we notice that the men of Islam who had beards, also had exceptional character and recognised the importance of masculinity - which is a blend of strength and gentleness.

[Hulk]

I really do not understand the point of sunnah. It seems like it's asking us to abandon our own personalities and be like someone else, which seems so fake.

Please do not judge something based on your ignorance. Saying such a thing is terrible adab, just because you're under "anonymous" doesn't mean its fine to forget adab.

You refer to the Prophet(pbuh) as merely "someone else"? He is the Messenger of God, sent to all of mankind to bring them to guidance. And you refer to him as merely "someone else"?

This is the Prophet, we love him more than any other human being. We want to follow his sunnah because we love him. It is part of our nature to want to imitate those we love.

At the end of the day, no one can force you to reflect on this love. If you still "don't understand the point", then there's nothing I can do about it.

[Scimitar]

Good point bro Hulk.

I ask anon, who does he wish to model himself on? A pop star? rap star? some famous personality? This is reflective in all cultures, where the people adopt the popular fashions of the famous.

So why should it be any different for Muslims? We have plenty of role models, and the best of which is the noble Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

If you do not wish to keep a beard, fair enough - but please do not try to justify it with weak or unsound logic.

[Hulk]

Sorry, perhaps I got a bit emotional there for a second. I just find it sad when things like that are uttered.. You are right brother scimitar, there is no better example to follow than our beloved Prophet. We want to follow his ways not only because he we love him and following his sunnah makes us feel close to him but he is also the best of examples..

I think the story of Bilal narrated in this video really shows just how dear the Prophet(pbuh) is to the muslims.

[Jalal~]

:wa:

maybe peer pressure is getting to him from his close friends? my muslim friends joked more about my beard than the non-muslims did, lol.
but Allah doesn't burden a soul with something it cannot bear. So logically, this would mean that anon already has the strength needed to overcome his emotions/problems with the beard.

Just think about all the reward you get for every second that beard is on your face. If you stick to it, and take care of it (like combing it every day) then Insha Allah, it will look fabulous. My beard was the same way, it looked terrible at the beginning, but once you let it grow out, put some shampoo and conditioner on it every so often, comb it, then it'll be just fine. Everytime i got bored doing homework, i would just take my comb and start grooming the little hair i had on my beard, lol. It's not all over the place anymore. This is just a test for you anon, and your solution to achieving victory would be to have patience.

[GuestFellow]

:wa:

Wow your great counselors. >_<

Anyway...time to address the main issue.

Okay is your beard/body hair causing any medical problems? Does it make you itchy? Or do you dislike it due to appearance? It could be a combination of both.

The good news is that you can remove your body hair. As for your facial hair, your supposed to grow it, as most Islamic scholars say. If you have a medical condition, then you may not have to grow it. Speak to your local Imam if your beard is causing some sort of medical problem. I suspect that's the only basis you are allowed to remove it, but check with your Imam.

If you dislike hair due to appearance, I think it is probably due to the media. It is fashionable to shave, so don't let mainstream media come into the way of your duties...

[anonymous]

Its not peer pressure......I just do not like facial hair. Feels disgusting.

[Scimitar]

When you say it feels disgusting, is it causing you any skin irritation that is medically known? If so, there may be a validated reason for you not to grow a beard until you can medicate.

Or is it more a case of "OOOH, I have faicial hairs... gross" ??? because that is just a little bit, uhm, you know - weak.

[anonymous]

Sorry,I never meant to disrespect the prophet, just a bad choice of words is all. This is the first time I have ever let my facial hair grow out...so it is new to me.

My first reason for growing it out was that I felt it would make me look more mature/more of a man..

If I am weak because I am bothered by facial hair then ok I am weak

[GuestFellow]

Its not peer pressure......I just do not like facial hair. Feels disgusting.

I'm saying are you exposed to something that makes you feel that your facial hair is disgusting? What is so disgusting about the facial hair? Something must have made you feel like that. Did someone say something negative about you?

If you purely dislike it and it is not due to external factors, then you have two options. Shave it or keep it. You decide. If you want to shave it, keep in mind, most Islamic scholars are against this. It is not permissible. No one will/should judge you, except Allah.

Ask yourself what do you want and choose. You are aware of all the views now.

[GuestFellow]

Sorry,I never meant to disrespect the prophet, just a bad choice of words is all. This is the first time I have ever let my facial hair grow out...so it is new to me.

My first reason for growing it out was that I felt it would make me look more mature/more of a man..

If I am weak because I am bothered by facial hair then ok I am weak

Facial hair does not make a person strong/weak. :/ That's silly playground talk. Facial hair does not make you a man either. Your a man for other reasons...

[ardianto]

I really do not understand the point of sunnah. It seems like it's asking us to abandon our own personalities and be like someone else, which seems so fake.

Assalamualaikum

I do not blame the OP if he does not understand the point of sunnah. People teach Islam in various ways. There are people who teach Islam through "understanding", there are people who teach Islam through "indoctrination", there are people who teach Islam softly and peacefully, there are people who teach Islam in hard way that cause fear in the heart.

People among the OP taught him Islam through "indoctrination", not through "understanding". It made the OP feel forced to follow sunnah without he understand why he should follow sunnah. I have found some similar cases.

[Woodrow]

Assalamualaikum

I do not blame the OP if he does not understand the point of sunnah. People teach Islam in various ways. There are people who teach Islam through "understanding", there are people who teach Islam through "indoctrination", there are people who teach Islam softly and peacefully, there are people who teach Islam in hard way that cause fear in the heart.

People among the OP taught him Islam through "indoctrination", not through "understanding". It made the OP feel forced to follow sunnah without he understand why he should follow sunnah. I have found some similar cases.

I agree. too much teaching without understanding often stops a person from learning.

As for the young man and his beard. He has to search for a reason to desire having one. When he discovers the reason to have a beard the desire to to have it will be there. But it is something he will have to find and not have pushed on him.