Saturday | 20 April 2024 | 11 Shawaal 1445

Fatwa Answer

Question ID: 1170 Category: Beliefs
Clean-Shaven khatib

As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,

Can a clean-shaven man give the khutbah? What is the hukm on this? What have classical ulema said about this? And what hadith do we have on this topic of shaving the beard?

Jazak Allahu khayran!

الجواب وباللہ التوفیق

 1. Growing beard is “wajib” and is “sunnat” of all the Holy Prophets (AS), and shaving it, is “haram”.

Below are some “ahadeeth” regarding this:

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: " خَالِفُوا المُشْرِكِينَ: وَفِّرُوا اللِّحَى، وَأَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ (صحیح بخاری : کتاب اللباس ،باب تقلیم الاظفار ،۵۸۹۲)

Hazrat Ibn Omar (RA) narrates that our Prophet (SAW) said: “Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Grow beards and trim moustaches”.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «جُزُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ، وَأَرْخُوا اللِّحَى خَالِفُوا الْمَجُوسَ» (صحیح مسلم ،کتاب الطہارۃ ،۲۶۰)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (RA) said that Our Beloved Prophet (SAW) said: “trim moustaches and grow beards and oppose the Zoroasters (Majoos)”. 

دخلا علی رسول اﷲ ﷺ وقد حلقا لحاھما وأعفیا شواربھما فکرہ النظر الیھما وقال، ویلکما من أمر کما بھذا؟ قالا امرنا ربنا یعنیان کسری، فقال رسول اﷲ ﷺ ولکن ربی أمرنی بإعفاء لحیتی وقص شاربی۔ وفی البدایۃ والنھایۃ(البدایۃ والنہایۃ: ۴/۲۷۰)

Two men came to the Holy Prophet (SAW) with their beards shaved and moustaches grown. The Prophet (SAW) looked at them in dislike and said: “May you die; who ordered you to do so?”. They said: “our god, the Kisraa”. The Prophet (SAW) said: “but my Allah has ordered me to grow beard and trim moustache”.

In view of these warnings, shaving beard is a resemblance of pagans as known through above “ahadeeth”. It has been ordained to avoid likeness of the pagans, so as not to be raised on the day of judgment among the people of other nations.

 عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ» (ابو داود :کتاب اللباس، ۴۰۳۱)

Also, shaving of beard constitutes a change in Allah’s creation, which is forbidden in “Shariah” as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. 

لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ (الروم : ۳۰)

وأما الأخذ منھا وھی دون ذلک کما یفعلہ بعض المغاربۃ ومخنثۃ الرجال فلم یبحہ أحد۔(رد المحتار : ۲/۴۱۸) 

Note, that shaving beard or trimming it less than the fist measure is illegal.

  1. For a person (with shaved beard) to give “Khutbah”, is “Makrooh” but the “khutbah” will however be accepted. In order to perform this great religious duty, the masjid management is required to search for a pious, follower of “sunnah” and a committed to “Shariah” “Imam” to replace the current leader.

أما الفاسق فقد عللوا کراہۃ تقدیمہ بأنہ لا یہتم لأمر دینہ وبأن في تقدیمہ للإمامۃ تعظمہ وقد وجب علیہم إہانتہ شرعا۔ (درمختار مع الشامي ۲؍۲۹۸-۲۹۹)

فقط واللہ اعلم بالصواب     

Question ID: 1170 Category: Beliefs