Shaving one’s beard for fear of persecution

[nevesirth]

I tend to agree with the essence of what you are But, it makes me wonder as to how not having one could be Haraam , when it does not seem to be a ruling that can apply to all people.

i dont think not aving a beard is haraam, from wht i understand, its shaving of the beards thts haraam.

 

[Malaikah]

but back to the beard..see...i mean...islam is universal...u cant say it is obligatory to grow one when it is parctically imposiible for all people to grow one...

The idea is not that it is obligatory to grow the beard, but rather that it is forbidden to shave the beard. I think that answers your question inshaallah.

i dno...some guys cant due to their professions. these professions are important in islam...u cant make them quit their jobs in order to grow a beard..whats more important??? i dno...i think it definietly depends on context and is thsu merely sunnah...i dno...

The vast vast majority of scholars of Islam have said that it is haram to shave the beard. If the brother can get a job somewhere else without needing to shave, then why can't he just quit? If the case is such that it would be impossible to get any job at all with a beard, then obviously now we will have a problem for which one would need to seek a specific answer as to whether this person can shave his beard or not.

Like you said, you can't generalise these things, and need to get a specific fatwa for your own circumstances.

like what would happen if the prime minister of turkey decided to grow one? coz its obligatory???

See, now I think that is a great case were to shaving the beard would appear permissible (not saying it is permissible, I am in no position to do so). With the beard he might be kicked out, with out the beard he has the potential to do great good for the Muslim in Turkey.

as i stated earlier...what does Allah and our prophet care for more: your facial hair or ur life and what u will do for ur family?

Alternatively, what matters more for you: obeying Allah or obeying your parents. Obeying Allah comes first. We can't just mould Islam to suite our needs. Islam teaches us to obey our paretns only as long as they do not tell us to do something that Allah Himself has made haram.

the claim that it is haraam falls into an idea of faith...

It is not faith at all. It is based on evidence from the Quran and sunnah and what the scholars have said.

islam is not a religion of force, oppression, or to make life or living, or keeping ur life hard...

What is so forceful about beard being compulsory?!

Just getting a few odd stares here and there or a little prejudice from people for having a beard is no where near enough reason for a person to do something haram. As for losing a job, okay it is regrettable, but if he can find another job then why should he sin and shave?

in islam we are even permitted to eat pork if we are on the verge of death...and pork is a no doubt haraam...

Correct, but I do not see anyone putting a gun to the heads of men with beards.

these airmchair scholars need to open their minds..get out nd about...drop outta their masjids for a minute and see what average brothers in western contexts live thru....

Sister, just because you disagree, doesn't mean you should slander our scholars now and call them armchair scholars. I know heaps of brothers living in the west who have beards, and what they go through is nothing compared to what Muslim women go through for wearing hijab! Would you suggest that Muslim women should now stop wearing hijab because they live in the west?

brothers with a purpose...who need to work..who need to venture into 'nonislamic' realms are the true fighters...
sitting in ur masjid and growing a beard is no struggle...
thats why they attack great scholars like fethullah gulen...no beard...so narrow...

You are implying that anyone who has a beard only sits around at the mosque all day! The 'true fighters' are the brothers who work with a beard! The true fighters are the Muslim who love their religion more than they love the luxuries of this life. They understand that success if through Islam, and they don't sin for minor reasons. They take the best of both worlds- they make a living, and at the same time do it the halal way without compromising their religion.

What is the struggle in working without a beard? By shaving you have removed a major part of that struggle. :?

 

[Malaikah]

going back to the OP
isn't it fard to obey your parents and to save a life? (personal safety issue)
if so, wouldn't this over-ride the sunnah of keeping a beard?

If it actually is sunnah (meaning not compulsory) then yes. But it is compulsory to let the beard grow and not shave. The general rulings are that you must obey your parents in everything expect if they ask you to do something forbidden.

As for saving a life, the general ruling here is that you can sinning becomes permissible in life/death situations. For example, if you starving to death and there is nothing to eat other than pig, then in that case it is permissible for you to eat only as much pig as you need to survive. And because the pig is permissible to eat in that case, then it actually becomes compulsory for you to eat it, because if you don't, you will die.

This throuw up a good question. If a Muslima has a natural beard grow, means, too much Testosteron in her blood, must she let it grow too?

No, it only applies to men. Muslim women are allowed to remove any facial hair except for their eyebrows.

 

[snakelegs]

If it actually is sunnah (meaning not compulsory) then yes. But it is compulsory to let the beard grow and not shave. The general rulings are that you must obey your parents in everything expect if they ask you to do something forbidden.

As for saving a life, the general ruling here is that you can sinning becomes permissible in life/death situations. For example, if you starving to death and there is nothing to eat other than pig, then in that case it is permissible for you to eat only as much pig as you need to survive. And because the pig is permissible to eat in that case, then it actually becomes compulsory for you to eat it, because if you don't, you will die.

so are you saying that it is fard (not sunnah) to have a beard?

 

[Malaikah]

naturally there are also men out there who canNOT grow beards, also due to various pathologies... neither with intent to imitate the opposite gender...

No, it doesn't change anything, because the prohibition is on shaving. As long as that guy doesn't shave the few hairs he has, he should be fine inshaallah.

I notice this a point raised by many Muslims on this forum. I advice you not to take such critical approaches to understand fiqh rulings, because you might be mocking or disagreeing with something that is actually a part of Islam, while you are ignorant of it.

 

[Malaikah]

so are you saying that it is fard (not sunnah) to have a beard?

According to the vast majority of scholars of Islam, yes it is compulsory to leave the beard as it is (I do not know if it is fard or wajib- but either way both translate into English as meaning obligatory).

A minority of scholars have said that it is sunnah, not compulsory.

 

[snakelegs]

thanks, malaikah. :sunny:

 

[ahsan28]

so are you saying that it is fard (not sunnah) to have a beard?

Hi snakelegs, no its not.

 

[Malaikah]

say in case of a gas attack, the man who cant seal it out, is Allah going to send him aid? in what form? have you ever been in a situation like that?

some idiot is going to come along and say Gas is illegal or worse that man is a shaheed.

what good did that man do to serve islam and his team by failing to protect himself. by being brave or willing to die does not mean be stupid throw you life away risk you team, bring defeat upon you people.

Are you talking about the case of man going along in his ordinary day to day life? Why would be fear a gas attack?

Or are you talking about the case of man who has an occupation which would require him to wear a gas mask and that mask would not work if he had a beard?

If you mean that latter then I think it is worth asking a shaykh scholar about it and whether is comes under the case of need, in which case the need overrides the ruling.

If you mean the first case, I don't see how someone can justify shaving for fear of a gas attack, especially since there is an almost zero % chance of that happening. But I think you mean the second case, in which case you mention a fair point, however the ruling would apply to him only, not to some guy working at the local supermarket (for example).

 

[NoName55]

read the thread^^^ and posts carefully before reply and you will see it is a Muslim soldier

and if you read properly Sr. Ambrosia post is clearly about an afflicted lady

and furthermore original post implies that it is haram under any circumstances whether it is for escaping persecution or whatever.
further posts by other Google scholars say that one must keep it even at pain of death

Allah does not pull the knowledge abruptly from the hearts of people, but he takes away the knowledge by taking [the lives of] the true scholars. When no `ulamaa are left, people will take ignorant persons for leaders. Those will give them fatwa without knowledge. By doing this, they will stray and lead others astray as well.

all the `ulamaa of Salaf, including the Four Imams, agreed that shaving the beard is haram, all I am arguing for is there are excption in cases of dire need (you cant get any dire than dying)​

 

[nevesirth]

its clear here that keeping a beard is fard, not having a beard is not haram because some people cant grow one, what will constitute haram would be shaving the beards just for convinience

 

[ahsan28]

One should be able to differentiate between fard and sunnah. Plz don't mix it. Otherwise few will get up and say that white long skirt being worn by Arabs as their traditional dress is also compulsory and not wearing that dress is also haram. Plz have mercy on us

 

[NoName55]

Allah does not pull the knowledge abruptly from the hearts of people, but he takes away the knowledge by taking [the lives of] the `ulamaa (scholars). When no `ulamaa are left, people will take ignorant persons for leaders. Those will give them fatwa without knowledge. By doing this, they will stray and lead others astray as well.

 

[Abdul-Raouf]

i dont think not aving a beard is haraam, from wht i understand, its shaving of the beards thts haraam.

Yup thats what im saying in my posts.........

 

[Malaikah]

One should be able to differentiate between fard and sunnah. Plz don't mix it. Otherwise few will get up and say that white long skirt being worn by Arabs as their traditional dress is also compulsory and not wearing that dress is also haram. Plz have mercy on us

I am not confusing anything. I know exactly what I am saying. The majority of scholars of Islam said that beard is obligatory.

 

[snakelegs]

Hi snakelegs, no its not.

:giggling: actually, this is what i thought to begin with!

One should be able to differentiate between fard and sunnah. Plz don't mix it. Otherwise few will get up and say that white long skirt being worn by Arabs as their traditional dress is also compulsory and not wearing that dress is also haram. Plz have mercy on us

:thumbs_up

i think i'll bow out of this thread now, before i get dizzy. :hiding:

 

[Abdul-Raouf]

what about all the bearded ladies out there?

this is a condition called 'hirsutism'-- happens in a number of pathologies, endocrine in origin... I just threw that in there to add more variables to the formula.. I have no answer either way.. and I am not looking to make a fatwa or bother anyone during the most holiest of months, but naturally curious if that changes the views of anyone on board?... naturally there are also men out there who canNOT grow beards, also due to various pathologies... neither with intent to imitate the opposite gender...

Sister here in this thread..we are talkin about men who can grow beard(mean for whom beard is growin).......and about him shaving his growing beard... and my posts are related to those categories of men....

 

[NoName55]

all the `ulamaa of Salaf, including the Four Imams, agreed that shaving the beard is haram (but not at pain of death or torture/persecution)

 

[nocturne]

I think the chinese have a hard time growing beard.

Anyway, back to the topic, i am not sure in which country its dangerous to keep beard.

But here in my country, i am required to do national service whereby we are not to have beard, even a little as shown in the above picture.

 

[ahsan28]

I am not confusing anything. I know exactly what I am saying. The majority of scholars of Islam said that beard is obligatory.

Sis, my post wasn't directed at your post. I was giving my general comments. Millions of Muslims don't keep beards and we must have consideration for them as well. Majority of the scholars still doesn't constitute 100%.