аЯрЁБсџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџџьЅС Book (The Holy Quran)
The Sunnah (Narrations of our Prophet and the Imams as)
Ijma (consensus)
Aql (Intellect)
One of the necessities for any person who is religious, his religion also being a heavenly one (and not man made) accompanied by its rules and regulations and which the intellectual does not cross and the believer not disobey, It will become obligatory upon the ignorant to learn those rules and regulations, and where they see that they are incapable of understanding or comprehending a certain rule or regulation of Shariah, they have to turn to a scholar of high aptitude, so that he can illuminate the dark unsure path they are traversing, so that the dark path is transformed for them, into the radiant path of religious righteousness
As the Holy Quran states in chapter An-Nahl (The Bee) verse 43
And we did not send before you any but men to whom we sent revelation-so ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know
It is evident from the verse above, that when one is incapable of understanding a certain Islamic issue it becomes obligatory upon one to refer to the learned for assistance to clarify ones ambiguity surrounding that certain issue, and at that moment, (ie in the state of ignorance about an Islamic rule) to question or ask for a proof from the jurist (Mujtahid) to verify his ruling would not be deemed necessary
From this point onward we see those who are ignorant always asking, (where is it in the Quran that shaving ones beard is unlawful?)
In fact many other rules of Shariah in the understanding of the lay person are not mentioned in apparent clear Quranic verses, for example the number of Rakats in our daily prayers, the different amounts of Zakat to be paid on different items etc, Whereas the answers would be derived from the study of Quranic verses and explanations of the verses by the Holy Prophet of Islam and the Infallible Imams (as) in the form of their invaluable Narrations
The conclusion being, that the responsibility of the layperson is to learn the practical laws of the Islamic Shariah (ie Lawful, unlawful, abominable, recommended & permissible ) By means of utilising the four sources mentioned earlier
Shaheed Allamah Baqir Al-Sadr, (may Allah (swt) rest his soul and raise him with the Holy Imams (as) and grant him the loftiest of stations in the hereafter) states:
Allah the All Mighty on the day of judgement will question his slave, My slave were you among the learned? And if the answer is affirmative He will be again questioned, did you not practice what you learnt? And if he then replies, I was from the ignorant, He will finally be asked, did you not learn so that you could practice? This final question will be sufficient in the slave being left defeated by the evidence of the All Mighty Allah (swt)
The Beard
Literally means: Hair which grows on the face (sides and chin)
The hair on the Chin
a, The beauty, respect and the adornment of the male, is the beard
b, The beard is one of the naturally occurring miracles of the human that differentiates between male and female, and because of it possessing inherent goodness, this result being derived from logic and intellect
c, Allah (swt) has made the growth of the beard an in built natural feature of the male species of humans, resulting as an answer to the supplication of our original father Prophet Adam(as) which will remain till the day of judgement
Allamah Majlisi (upon him be the mercy of Allah) in his 110 Vol. book (Bihar al-Anwar)
States in Vol. No16 a narration from Ibn Masood from the Holy Prophet of Islam (sws)
When Allah the Merciful accepted Adams (as) repentance Jibraeel(as) came to him and said May Allah give you life and Bayyaak Allah,(may Allah posses you) Adam(as) replied, as to the first statement I fully comprehend, but what does the second one implicate? Adam (as) prostrated and raised his head from prostration and supplicated O Allah increase in me beauty, after his supplication a beautiful black beard appeared on his radiant face Jibraeel(as) touched Adams beard and said, this is in reply to your supplication from your lord for you and your male offspring till the day of judgement
It is apparent from the above narration, the beauty and respect from Allah (swt) for Adam (as) and his male offspring would remain till the day of judgement
Generally speaking, one of the acts among the unlawful ones is shaving of the beard, which obviously is not liked by the law giver, and is considered as a sin worthy of punishment, In every command of the law giver or his forbidding something there are ways and clear evidences about the inherent goodness or inherent evil within these certain acts, some of which only the All Mighty Creator knows best about
The First Source: The Book (The Holy Quran)
An-Nisa (The Women) Verse 119
And most certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires, and bid them so that they shall slit the ears of the cattle, and most certainly I will bid them so that they shall alter Allahs creation, and whoever takes the Shaitan for a guardian rather then Allah he indeed shall suffer a manifest loss.
To base this holy verse as a proof (for the shaving of ones beard being unlawful) is dependant on proving two preludes
a Proving that, shaving ones beard is considered as altering the creation of Allah
b Proving that, every Alteration in the creation is unlawful except when intercepted with rules of exemptions from within the Islamic Shariah
a As for the first prelude, there is no doubt as to shaving ones beard is equivocal to bringing about an alteration in the creation of Allah (swt), as we mentioned earlier, that the beard was a specific matter ordained by the All Mighty (swt) and so will it remain, and secondly, the beard being an adornment and beauty for Adam (as) and his male offspring until the day of judgement, therefor alterations in this particular issue except for exceptions to the rule in Islamic law would be classified as unlawful acts
b A general understanding of meaning of the verse alter Allahs creation encompasses every possible natural physical alteration one can perceive and it does not point to alterations made due to other Islamic Shariah laws i.e. laws which the jurists prove with the backing of one of the four sources mentioned to be exceptions to the rule, i.e. Circumcision, trimming ones nails, trimming ones moustache etc
Summary:
Implications of the above mentioned verse apply to natural physical alteration and not alteration due to other Islamic laws of exemption, so it would become difficult for one to debate about matters such as Tattoos or nail polish also being some sort of alteration and as a result categorising these also as unlawful acts, which would not be the case, because the verse implicitly refers to natural physical alteration and non other
In Tafseer Al-Qumi, Imam Al-Sadiq (as) States:
Allah (swt) revealed upon Ibraheem (as) Al-Haneef (The Upright One) ten things, five for the head and the other five for the body
Those for the head being: And those for the body being:
1 trimming ones moustache 1 circumcision
2 keeping ones beard 2 trimming ones nails
3 nourishing ones hair (with Henna) 3 cleaning ones self with water
4 brushing ones teeth 4 cleaning ones arm pits/pubic hair
5 flossing ones teeth 5 ceremonial bath (ghusl al-janabat)
The above mentioned were the things endowed upon Prophet Ibraheem (as) as the beard was to Adam (as), and as a result we can see that these were not abrogated, nor will they be till the day of recompense, the verse here being Verse125 Chapter4 An-Nisa (The Women)
And who has a better religion than he who submits himself entirely to Allah? And he is the doer of good (to others) and followers of the faith of Ibraheem, the upright one and Allah took Ibraheem as a friend
This verse being another proof that what Prophet Ibraheem (as) was endowed with our Holy Prophet (sws) was also requested to comply with by the All Mighty Creator of all
On analysing this and many other Narrations such as this one, one may find that some of the acts mentioned in one single narration may have things which are recommended and at the same time in the same narration find acts which are obligatory this confusion is very easily solved by a Faqeeh (Mujathid) who also refers to many other Narrations by which he can easily categorise each and every act, be it recommended or otherwise, and give to us the final result in its correct category
The Second Source: Al-Sunnah
(Traditions of the Holy Prophet (sws) & the Imams (as)
1 Al-Kafi / Jababaah-Al-Walebiah stated:
I saw the leader of the Believers Ali (as) on a walking in a courtyard with a two pronged stick, he was striking with it sellers of unlawful edible fish, and said to them O Sellers, the transformed ones of bani Israeel (into apes) and the soldiers of Bani Marwan (who transgressed in the land) a nation of whom used to shave their beards and lengthen their moustaches were surely transformed (into animals) (*the sellers being without beards and having long moustaches)
There is no doubt that the hadith is pointing to shaving ones beard being unlawful, because the persons being reprimanded and deservedly so in such a strong manner and by Ali (as) does point only to the fact that an unlawful act was taking place and it is the solemn duty of the Imam of the time to forbid evil and enjoin good etc and by observing the above mentioned hadith we also understand that if the actions of those being reprimanded were not to be considered unlawful at least their actions would without a doubt be considered as abominable actions, but in fact those taking part in such actions , for them to be transformed by the wrath and anger of Allah(swt) would point to the actions addressed in the narration being unlawful rather than mere abominable actions
Al-Jafferiaat In which the Holy Prophet of Islam(sws) states:
Shaving the beard is surely maltreatment (of others) and one who maltreats, then may the curse of Allah (swt) be upon him
If shaving of the beard is considered as maltreatment and its subject deserving of the curse of Allah (swt) and when one is cursed by Allah (swt) it necessitates him being angry with the subject in question, his action would also be disliked up to such an extent, that he becomes deserving of the wrath/curse of Allah (swt), this conclusion would not contradict logic and understanding in any way what so ever, also any ruling by any individual jurist (Mujtahid) can not be found which considers maltreatment not being unlawful and as a result, if shaving is being compared to the above mentioned , it is clear that shaving ones beard is unlawful without a doubt
As-Sadooq/ Reports from the Holy Prophet Of Islam(sws)in which he states:
Trim your moustaches, and let your beards grow, and do not emulate the Jews
The above mentioned narration is considered authentic by the Shia and the Sunni schools of thought, the indication of a sentence in the imperative form, usually implies to an act being obligatory and the prohibitive construction of a sentence implies to an act being unlawful, especially where the action implies emulation the enemies of Islam i.e. emulating infidels, equals an unlawful action, the result here also being, shaving of the beard being regarded as an unlawful act
Al-Muntaqa
It is reported in this narration that the king of Fars, Persia (as we know it today) Kasra sent two of his ambassadors to the Holy Prophet(sws), when they came upon the Prophet (sws) He glanced at their moustaches and saw that they were very long and also noticed that they had no beards, he turned his attention towards them and said, Woe be onto you with what you have performed ! They replied; our master (kasra) commanded us to do this, the Holy Prophet (sws) replied, My Master (swt) commanded me to keep my beard and trim my moustache
Again in this narration it is evident that Allah (swt) commanded his Prophet (sws) to keep a beard and as the verse of the Holy Quran states; verse 7 chapter 95 Al-Hashr (The Banishment)
Whatever the messenger gives you, accept it and from whatever he forbids you (from doing) keep back
Bihar Al-Anwar /kitab Al-Mahasin/ Imam Musa Al-Kadim(as)
Imam (as) was asked, is keeping the beard recommended? He replied: yes He then was asked, could a man shave his beard? Imam (as) replied; as for the sides of his face there is no problem, however from the front (chin) it is not permissible
There are numerous other narrations on the shaving of the beard being unlawful, one who wishes to refer to these should refer to a book named Wasaael-As-Shiah in which matters regarding the unlawfulness of shaving ones beard will become very clear and apparent
The Third Source
Al-Ijmaa (Consensus)
The Shiiah and the Sunni schools of thought both agree through general consensus that shaving ones beard is unlawful, because of consensus being one of the four sources by which a jurist may give a ruling on a particular issue, it is considered sufficient for use in proving an obscure / unknown issue if an issue can not be solved by the other three sources, but a major difference being, that when the Shiite jurist uses consensus as a source, his result has to be obtained by consensus but with at least one narration of the Infallibles (as) on that particular issue the jurist is trying to prove, and if that is not possible the jurist would turn to another source to provide an answer regarding the issue at hand .Al-Bahai, Al-Damaad, and Kashif Al-Ghita have given rulings of shaving being unlawful using the above method, in their books Al-Eeteqadaat, and Resalat Al-Share Al-Muqadas
The Fourth source: Al-Aql(intellect)
The first cause:
The beard was created for the males when human being first came into existence, the beard playing an important role of differentiating between male and female, Imam As-Sadiq (as) has narrated:
From the laws of the Lord of the universe was that he gave the male gender of the human a beard so there be a difference between them
Another narration of As-Sadiq (as) states:
If the hair were not to grow at a specific given time, would not (the male) remain in a state like that of a youth and a female, whereas you would not see in him respect and awe
The second cause:
Ibn Sina in his book (Al-Qanoon) states:
Surely the benefits of specifying the beard with the males and not the females is the introduction of beauty, awe and respect which the male requires rather than the female, the above statement confirms the discussion on Prophet Adam (as) and his supplication to Allah (swt), we also observe in the Arabic language the beard having different names, such as; Al-Karimah(the respected), and Al Mahasin(the beautifier) So logically, who would deny beauty if it were to be offered to him? And who would be prepared to impersonate a female? And finally, who would prefer to forget his original creation? (ie where he would see his beard grow as an adornment given to him by his Lord and Master)
Intellect dictates, that every potential harm should be avoided, and to alleviate harm would become obligatory, so if the scholars and the doctors inform us about a harmful issue, it would at that moment become obligatory upon us to avoid that issue, and that would be as a result of our own intellect and logic dictating to us, the avoiding of anything that might harm us
We see that when the leader of the Prophets, doctors and wise men Prophet Muhammed (sws) forbade the Muslims (and the so called Muslims) from certain issues, whereas, many questions were raised and sometimes the issue in question was and is sometimes totally ignored, and as we know the Prophet of Islam (sws) forbade us from shaving our beards because of it being harmful and therefore unlawful, it should also be noted that Allah (swt) says in the
Holy Quran:
He does not speak from his own desires but it is revealed upon him
Most learned scholars of the west also agree that the Prophet of Islam (sws) was a great man of his era and also of times to come, and it is proven that all Godly rules are not issued except by the infinite wisdom and goodness being inherent within them, from here on in it is understood, that only with the wisdom, intellect and goodness which Allah (swt) knows about, does such a ruling reach his humble slaves
Western views concerning the beard
Keeping a beard strengthens teeth and gums, Sujan Afendi Al-Marwani states in his book (History of America) Vol. 160 Dr Victor George states, the beard saves the face from getting wet protects the teeth and gums, he then states: we once shaved the beards of all the rail workers in our region in summer, where as it was noticed that most of them suffered from tooth ache and sores in the gums in another statement he says; persons who had been protected from the cold at the North pole came back to England, shaved their beards and a week later they had become ill
Some of the fatwas of our great Mujtahedeen
The only time when one is allowed to shave ones beard according to some Mujtahids, is: When ones life is in danger, because of necessary treatment, when one by shaving can protect his religion, or when one becomes the focus of serious ridicule, etc one has to refer to ones own Mujtahid to clarify ones own duty towards Allah (swt)
May Allah (swt) guide us all
On the true path of victory and success
In this world and the hereafter,
Ameen Rab al Almeen
From the Book:
Hurmatu Halq Al-Lahyah
Author: Allamah Murtada Baghdadi
Translated By
Al-Mahdi Institute
Of Islamic Studies
5th January 1998
Shar Ramadan Al-Mubarak
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