MUST READ: Beards & Imam Shafi'i r.a.

[Abul Lais]

I just stumbled upon this article by Majlisul Ulama of South Africa, led by Hadhrat Mufti A S Desai.

What a thorough refutation to those who try to distort and misrepresent the orthodox teachings of Imam Shafi'i rahmatullah 'alaih.!


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Q. Dr. Amjad Rasheed al-Maqdisi, Dean of the Islamic Law faculty at Ahqaf University in Yemen has published an article in which he proves that according to the Shaafi’ Mathhab it is permissible to shave off the entire beard even without valid cause. He cites proof
from the classical works of the Shaafi’ Fuqaha. Is it correct that the Shaafi’ Math-hab allows shaving the beard?

ANSWER We do have the article and are currently preparing a thorough response and refutation to the ghutha (rubbish)
which the Dean has disgorged in his satanic attempt to prove what not a single Shaafi Faqeeh nor any other authority of the
Shariah of all four Math-habs has ever said. Maqdisi’s contention is absolutely baatil drivel. He has abortively laboured to
extravasate support for his condonation of the haraam, shaitaani, kufr practice of shaving the beard. No Shaafi Faqeeh
ever has held the haraam view which this Dean of the University is peddling. The Dean does not understand what he has read in the Shaafi’ kutub of Fiqh. Only a moron interprets the Ahaadith and the rulings of the Shaafi’ Math-hab to eke out support for the kaafir
practice of shaving the beard. The Dean has attempted to burnish his stupidity with citations from the Shaafi’ kutub of Fiqh
of which his understanding is dismal. The Dean’s extravagation from the simple, straightforward view upheld by the Ijma’ of the Sahaabah and Ummah is tantamount to kufr. Was there ever a Nabi whose face resembled the ugly shaved face of a kaafir? Was there any Sahaabi who had ever shaved off his beard? Did Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) ever shave his beard? Did any of the Auliya, Fuqaha, Muhadditheen and the Ulama of the Ummah ever shave their beards? The Deans sensorium is surely polluted with coprophilic
tendencies, hence his brains appear to be the victim of vermiculation. Only a diseased mind is capable of flaunting the type of ghutha which Maqdisi has disgorged. Our refutation will be in the form of a book which shall, Insha’Allah, demolish Maqdisi’s rubbish from every angle. According to all Four Math-habs it is HARAAM to shave the beard, and of the four Mathhabs, the Shaafi’ viewpoint is
the most rigid and uncompromising. While the other three Math-habs allow cutting the beard beyond the fist-length, the Shaafi’ Math-hab does not condone even this despite the existence of Ahaadith to prove the permissibility of cutting the beard when it is longer than one fist length.

Download the entire newsletter here!

http://www.themajlis.co.za/books/MajlisVol21No02.pdf

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[Isa al-Asiri]

The Shaykh is wrong. One should seek the mu'tamad of a madhab from the scholars of that madhab. There are two views in the madhab on a man removing his beard: 1) haram and 2) makruh.
The first view is related from al-Shafi'i in al-Umm, and is verified as such by the following researchers: Ibn Ziyad, al-Adhra’i, Ibn al-Rif’ah al-Qaffal al-Shashi, and al-Mallibari.
The second view is considered the rajih by al-Nawawi and al-Rafi’i (the Shaykhayn) as well as al-Ghazali before them and Ibn Hajar and al-Ramli after.

Here is the best response in English from Shaykh al-Akiti:

Any Shafi'i fiqh students, who have studied the Fath al-Qarib, Fath al-Mu'in and Fath al-Wahhab (the 3 most important manuals that are usually taught in a systematic Shafi'i curriculum and school) should know the definition of a beard [lihya; not with a fatha, since 'lahya' are the jawbones and is one of the technical terms used when defining the areas of al-fard, namely that which is included in the washing of the face during the wudu']. The lihya is: "that which grows on the chin" [a famous phrase from the Fath al-Mu'in: wa-lihyatin wa-hiya ma nabata 'ala al-dhaqani; I'anat al-Talibin, 1:50]. Indeed, according to the well-established technical vocabulary of our school, the lateral hairs ['aridan] are not considered to be part of the lihya (as the matn of the Fath al-Mu'in, for example, continues to make it unequivocally clear such as when it goes on to define the sideburn or 'arid, anew, and being clearly different from the definition of the beard or lihya above: "the 'arid [whiskers at the side of the face, or for lack of a better term, "lateral hair" or "side hair" of the face which will include "jaw hair" (and including, of course, any "cheek hair" - if it grows genetically that high) or I suppose, another English term maybe sideburns - if this term can accommodate all of these facial hair] is that [of the facial hair] which goes down to [meet] the beard." [Ibid.]). The only thing in common between the lateral hairs and the beard in our school, is that the lateral hairs are treated like the beard in their hukm of washing the face during wudu': if it is khafifa [thin], then, its inner and outer hair and skin beneath must be washed; if it is kathifa [thick], then, it is only obligatory to wash the outer hair but only Sunna or recommended to do takhlil [to comb it with one's wet fingers].

Given that the Qawl Sahih [Sound Position] of Imam al-Nawawi (al-Nawawi, al-Majmu', 1:357-358) which is also the Qawl Mu'tamad [Relied Upon Position] in our school (I'anat, 2:386; this, despite when the author of the Fath al-Mu'in followed the weaker opinion, Sayyid al-Bakri immediately makes known the well-accepted position), that shaving the lihya is only Makruh, and not Haram, the statement made by Habib 'Ali of Dar al-Mustafa, Tarim, is completely justified and free from any blame. Indeed, there is no karaha or dislikedness in shaving the lateral hairs or anything else that is not included to be part of the lihya, defined by our jurists. There is no where more clearer than what can be found in the Fatwa of Imam al-Ramli, one of the principal late figures of the Shafi'i school:

"Question: Is it Haram to shave and trim the [hair of the] chin [dhaqan; i.e., what is meant here is of course, the 'hair of the chin,' that is to say, the beard; notice that Imam al-Ramli purposely used the phrase, 'dhaqan' in the question (and not 'lihya') but used 'lihya' in his answer--this is to prevent any ambiguity arising from what is meant by the word 'beard']? Answer: To shave and trim the beard [lihya] of a man is Makruh, and not Haram. Whereas the statement of [Qadi] al-Halimi [a predecessor of Imam al-Ghazali, a Shafi'i Qadi and Muhaddith in Bukhara; d. 403 H/1012] in his Minhaj [fi Shu'ab al-Iman, (note, not a work of fiqh) that] 'it is not permissible for anyone to shave off his beard and eyebrows', is a Weak Position [Dai'f]." [al-Ramli, Fatawa, 4:69].

If you know Arabic I can give you a host of quotes to support this.

[godilali]

I just stumbled upon this article by Majlisul Ulama of South Africa, led by Hadhrat Mufti A S Desai.

What a thorough refutation to those who try to distort and misrepresent the orthodox teachings of Imam Shafi'i rahmatullah 'alaih.!

You seriously found that to be a thorough refutation?

[Hafiz Gee]

The Shaykh is wrong. One should seek the mu'tamad of a madhab from the scholars of that madhab.

Most useful thing written in this thread.

Shafi's are the experts of the shafi madhab, not hanafis.

[Abul Lais]

There are two views in the madhab on a man removing his beard: 1) haram and 2) makruh.

If you know Arabic I can give you a host of quotes to support this.

So according to what U wrote, it is either haram or makruh, right? NOTHING ELSE.

Let's use an example:

Hydrogen Cyanide kills within 1 hour, bi iznillah

Gaseous Chlorine may take longer, bi iznillah.

Are you now going to argue about the duration of time it takes before a person dies???

Isn't it the same thing over with the beard thing - it's either makruh or Haram!

Btw tell us one thing Shaykh Isa, what is the ruling of doing a makruh act in the shaf'i madhdhab?

[amr123]

Btw tell us one thing Shaykh Isa, what is the ruling of doing a makruh act in the shaf'i madhdhab?

Akhi

Brother, calm down. What brother Isa wrote is correct, It is what we shafi's are taught.

[Abul Lais]

Akhi

Brother, calm down. What brother Isa wrote is correct, It is what we shafi's are taught.

Wa'alaikum salaam

I am just asking what is the ruling of doing a makruh act? Anything unreasonable in that? I apologise if it is....

Cos in the hanafi madhhab multiple makruhs can turn into haram. And shaving a beard is a lifelong act. So ACCCORDING TO HANAFIS it would turn haram after a while due to persisting in a makruh deed for a long time.

So I just needed to know the corresponding views on committing makruh in the shafi'i madhhab.

[ImamGhazzaali]

You seriously found that to be a thorough refutation?

I typed that too.

I don't know why people from a Madhhab want to comment on another Madhhab's view without knowing the mu'tamad.

[Aseatic]

People from one mazhab telling what people in another mazhab what to do equals big quarrel.

[amr123]

People from one mazhab telling what people in another mazhab what to do equals big quarrel.

Not necessarily bro. The commentary of Muwatta of Imam Malik(ra) written by Maulana Zakkariyya Khandhelvi (Hanafi) is very much accepted by the Malikis.