Beard & Wudhu [Archive] - sunniforum.com - a resource for the propagation of authentic Islamic teachings

Soulful

20-03-2012, 12:37 PM

Assalamu Alaykum,

With reference to authentic text, fatwa etc. can someone please advise whether the beard hair has to be washed in wudhu and to what extent, i.e. does the hair which falls within the perimeter of the face need to be soaked to the root. If not, how much of it has to be washed and how?

Shaykh Ul Islam

20-03-2012, 12:48 PM

wa 'alaykumus salaam wa rahmatullah,

The following is stated in Nur al-Idah, p 48 (Arabic-English Edition):

"It is obligatory for water to reach the skin of a person with a small beard," [one of the reasons being that it is easy to wash and poses no hardship.]

"It is not necessary for water to reach the hair that stretches from outside the border of the face." [1]

[1] That which is outside the perimeter or bounds of the face is not required to be washed. Ibn Hajar (رحمة اللہ علیه) explains in Sharh al-Minhaj: that which grows at the lower part of the chin is not required to be washed, because when it grows, it will be outside the perimeter of the face. As for what grows on the perimeter, one is required to wash what is within the perimeter and not the excess outside the border; and likewise, the hair which grows within the bounds of the face upon the cheeks is required to be washed, though not the surplus outside the bounds. It is for this reason that al-Badai' states that the correct view is that it is compulsory to wash the hair that meets with the cheeks i.e. that which meets with the perimeter, and that which is apparent on the chin, though not the extended part of the beard outside the perimeter. According to Imam ash-Shafi'i (رحمة اللہ علیه), this is required. [Radd al-Muhtar 1/215].