Shaving one’s beard for fear of persecution

[nevesirth]

Question:
A while ago, Allaah guided me and I came back to Islam, praise be to Allaah. I let my beard grow, along with two other brothers, and this sunnah reached some of my family members too. At home we were able to create an Islamic atmosphere and all the sisters in the house put on Islamic dress. We adhered to the Qur’aan and Sunnah as much as possible. Then there was some trouble in our country, and the people turned against those who have beards and started to harass them. They think that everyone who has a beard wants to kill people and shed their blood, but we, as Muslims, have no desire whatsoever to kill people whom our Lord has forbidden us to kill. My father, my mother and my family have started urging me to shave my beard. My mother says that my father is angry with me, but I am afraid to do anything that goes against what the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, and I am afraid to commit a sin.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly, may Allaah reward you with good for following the guidance of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and for calling your family to do likewise.

Secondly, shaving the beard is haraam, and letting it grow is obligatory, as you know. Obedience to the Creator takes precedence over obedience to any created being, even the closest of relatives. There can be no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience to the Creator, and obedience to any other created being should only be with regard to what is good (ma’roof). What you describe of your father being angry and upset because you are letting your beard grow is only because he loves you and is afraid that what has happened to others may happen to you too. But what happened to others was, in most cases, because of provocation on their part, not just because they let their beards grow; it also happened to some of those who shave their beards. You must be steadfast in your adherence to the truth, and continue to let your beard grow in obedience to Allaah and in order to earn His pleasure, even if His creatures are angry. You must also avoid the sources of trouble, and put your trust in Allaah, hoping that He will provide a way out for you. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “… And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allaah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed, Allaah has set a measure for all things” [al-Talaaq 65:2-3] and, “…and whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him. That is the Command of Allaah, which He has sent down to you, and whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will remit his sins from him and will enlarge his reward.” [al-Talaaq 65:5].

We advise you to honour and respect your parents, and to explain to them with all good manners and politeness why you cannot do their bidding in this case.



Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/151



http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=1185&ln=eng&txt=beards

 

[Woodrow]

 

[snakelegs]

aren't both honoring your parents and saving a life fard?

 

[sevgi]

i didnt know that shaving the beard was haraam...or in other words, that growing it was obligatory....

i thought it was just sunnah...was this practice 'termed' haram by our prophet or via the quraan...coz if its just an interpretation, it shudnt be labelled 'haraam'...it should be makrooh...

i dnt get it..sori...im new to these strict ideologies. i think im too liberal for such practices...i dno...maybe its coz of my context...

that question is sort of overrated?isnt it common sense that islam is not a religion to make life harder for ourselves...i mean, if ur life and ur family are in danger coz of the prophets sunnah...the shave it off...our prophet loves u more than ur beard...

i dno...maybe i'll get attacked for this post coz i seem to not understand...but its ramadan and woodrow will just delete any attacking or derogatory posts anyway

we love u woodrow...eace:

 

[Woodrow]

Perhaps some people can offer some verification as to if it is fard or Sunnah.

It is basically impossible for people of my race to grow a beard. we have very sparse facial hair, it will only grow a short length and then fall out on it's own. The best I can do for a beard is have a short variable colored one for a very short period of time. I do nave one growing now, I have not shaved regular in my entire life. Right now my beard makes me look like a shedding calico cat. It is about 1/2 inch long, multi colored and falling out in clumps. It may last like that for a week or 2 longer and then not grow back for years. I am a mixture of Mongolian, Chinese and Caucasian ancestry. My dominate nationality is Lietuva Lipkas (Lithuanian Tatar)

Oddly, my Mustache grows like crazy, But I understand a mustache is haraam so I do shave that now. I used you keep one, made me look like a pale Fu-Manchu

 

[sevgi]

wow.....

lithuaninan tatar..i have so many turkish tatar friends...

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...

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...

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

it just doesnt fit my idea of islam and i think the scholars who preech on these topics focus on their own context...

 

[Isambard]

Dunno why you would ahve to justify it to anyone.

Whenever someone critisizes my beard, I tell them their lack of one makes them look like a girl.

(Note: this wont work if the person critisizing the beard is female)

 

[Woodrow]

Dunno why you would ahve to justify it to anyone.

Whenever someone critisizes my beard, I tell them their lack of one makes them look like a girl.

(Note: this wont work if the person critisizing the beard is female)

I doubt if there is any need to find justification of growing a beard. The question here is is there justification for a Muslim not to grow a beard under some condition.

 

[NobleMuslimUK]

If we look at history some sort of facial hair was a sign of manhood, a beard of some kind, for the muslim men its the one part of the muslim identity to have a beard just like for the muslim women its the hijab/niqab. During the Ottoman empire in the courts a mans testimony was not accepted if he didnt have a beard.
I know we dont understand the wisdom behind this command, that doesnt give us the excuse to criticise the ruling. The sufi scholars have made the view famous that having a beard is optional, but if we look carefully at the hadith concerning this sunnah its and order from the Prophet PBUH. Now you dont wanna be among those on the day of judgement seeking the intercession of the Prophet PBUH and get turned away because you didnt take this sunnah seriously.

Allah swt knows best.

 

[sevgi]

If we look at history some sort of facial hair was a sign of manhood, a beard of some kind, for the muslim men its the one part of the muslim identity to have a beard just like for the muslim women its the hijab/niqab. During the Ottoman empire in the courts a mans testimony was not accepted if he didnt have a beard.
I know we dont understand the wisdom behind this command, that doesnt give us the excuse to criticise the ruling. The sufi scholars have made the view famous that having a beard is optional, but if we look carefully at the hadith concerning this sunnah its and order from the Prophet PBUH. Now you dont wanna be among those on the day of judgement seeking the intercession of the Prophet PBUH and get turned away because you didnt take this sunnah seriously.

Allah swt knows best.

well..

this isnt a problem for me coz im a girl...but it still intruiges me...

maybe u could share such hadith bro? coz there are a lot of sceptics and a lot of commonsense against it...

is it really a ruling? if yes, then why do the sufi scholars which everyone respects so much interpret otherwise?

i think we have to be very careful in these feilds...terming something as haram when it is not is in all actality haram in itself...

peace.

 

[snakelegs]

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?

 

[NobleMuslimUK]

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?

Obeying parents doesnt override obeying Allah and the Prophet PBUH.
I will bring more to the table about the beard issue later Inshallah.

 

[Abdul-Raouf]

keeping beard is sunnah or wajib? ---> im not answering that directly ....

But

Shaving ur beard leads to imitating a women.... which is Haraam

so u shouldn shave... >> which means a muslim man should grow beard...wateva the situation is..dont worry ... ALLAH will reward u in the hereafter...

 

[NoName55]

Obeying parents doesnt override obeying Allah and the Prophet PBUH.
I will bring more to the table about the beard issue later Inshallah.

is consumption of pork haraam under any circumstance?

(do not become nasty like the original poster, and I will make it all clear by the end of thread)

 

[sevgi]

keeping beard is sunnah or wajib? ---> im not answering that directly ....

But

Shaving ur beard leads to imitating a women.... which is Haraam

so u shouldn shave... >> which means a muslim man should grow beard...wateva the situation is..dont worry about persecution...

lol....how can shaving be imitating women...no matter how much u shave...its never gona look like a girls...

besides that...then...wearing that dress thingy that men wear..that white robe is also feminine...its a dress for Gods sake...

and im not provoking argument...im merely putting my thoughts forward...

 

[sevgi]

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?

i agree...

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?

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

if it is haraam..which i doubt with every inch of logic i have,...then it is upto the individual to set his grounds straight...

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

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

if it is sunnah...it is absolutely up to u...if falls into takwa...

its that simple...
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....
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...

 

[Abdul-Raouf]

Originally Posted by Abdul-Raouf
keeping beard is sunnah or wajib? ---> im not answering that directly ....

But

Shaving ur beard leads to imitating a women.... which is Haraam

so u shouldn shave... >> which means a muslim man should grow beard...wateva the situation is..dont worry ... ALLAH will reward u in the hereafter...

lol....how can shaving be imitating women...no matter how much u shave...its never gona look like a girls...

besides that...then...wearing that dress thingy that men wear..that white robe is also feminine...its a dress for Gods sake...

and im not provoking argument...im merely putting my thoughts forward...

Whateva ur thought might be...im not bothered...

i truely believe.. beard is special to man...
and shavin it leads imitatin women.....

 

[sevgi]

Whateva ur thought might be...im not bothered...

i truely believe.. beard is special to man...
and shavin it leads imitatin women.....

thats fine...awesome...
and thats what i would argue as being takwa...
mahsallah...

but it is wrong to label such acts as haraam...or obligatory...

i believe it is purely sunnah...and thus contextual...

it falls under takwa then...

bro noname55...i know u hate me and probably want to slit my throat and throw me into the closest river...

but...i really think u have a good point...dnt give up...dnt get angry so quickly..yes some posts are 'opinionated'....but that is their choice...u shudnt give up...

we are here to get the truth out there....

peace.

 

[جوري]

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...

 

[guyabano]

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?

Btw, when Muslims with big beards must do Photos for ID Cards, must they shave or not?