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.

[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.

['Abdullaah]

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.

Your question is answered in the detailed answer from Sunnipath about beard in Shafi'i fiqh.
Excerpt below:

"It is important to point out that someone who shaves
his beard in order to turn away from the sunna, or with the intention
of imitating non-Muslims or people of disobedience out of admiration
of them, then this is completely unlawful without any scholarly
disagreement whatsoever. Rather, if someone does this in order to
mock the blessed and pure sunna of our Prophet (Allah bless him and
give him peace) then—and Allah is our refuge—this would constitute
disbelief and would take one out of the fold of Islam.


I am only drawing attention to this point because I see that many
ignorant Muslims have been duped by un-Islamic cultural practices
that have invaded their societies: such people should realize the
danger of their ways and fix themselves by turning to Allah Most High
in sincere repentance and by venerating the sunna and the Sacred
Law of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).


As for someone who merely shaves his beard without any excuse,
and without intending any of the above, then he has committed
something that is disliked and thereby loses out on tremendous
reward, but—according to the Shafi`i school—he is not sinful."

[end excerpt]

Wallaahu A'lam.

[umar_italy]

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?

Uhm I don't think that mentioning the Shafi'i position regarding trimming the beard as makruh means condoning the act or even worse calling towards it...

[At Tayyib]

Uhm I don't think that mentioning the Shafi'i position regarding trimming the beard as makruh means condoning the act or even worse calling towards it...

good point. Can any one of the Shafi'is' highlight the definition of makruh in their fiqh?

[Isa al-Asiri]

Al-salamu 'alaykum.

Firstly, I am not a shaykh and it is demeaning to the religion to call me so, even mockingly. Rather, I am a youth and a student of Islamic sciences as well as English linguistics (the reason why I am in England right now).

After you posted a diatribe against the mu'tamad of the madhab (by a Hanafi) I clarified the true position of the school for you. We are not in 7th Hijri Century Persia. Hanafis are not a war with Shafi'is. If you don't like the views of the madhab then fine. Carry on your Hanafi ways. But don't allow your ignorance to intrude on others' worship.

You should know that the structure of the madhab has multiple chains of transmission and not everything in Kitab al-Umm is considered to be the position of the madhab. There are alternative views transmitted by other Ashab which are deemed more sound (asahh). The great mistake not-Shafi'is make is going to Kitab al-Umm to determine the madhab, ignoring other routes. Rather, the Shakhayn (al-Rafi'i and al-Nawawi) made great efforts to ground the madhab through deep and thorough research of all the known transmissions and then making tarjih. Their tarjih has not been overturned. Additional tarjih was made a few centuries later by Shaykh al-Islam, Shihab al-Ramli, Ibn Hajar, Shams al-Ramli, and al-Khatib.

Your asking for the definition of makruh in our madhab seems like you are asking for ammunition for further vitriolic attacks, rather that a genuine desire for further understanding of the madhab. Is it just for a next round after the bell? Check your intentions please brother. But, in response to your request, here you go:


والمكروه قسمان: مكروهاً تحريمياً، ومكروهاً تنزيهياً
المكروه تحريمياً: هو ما طالبنا الشرع بتركه طلباً جازماً لكن دون طلب ترك الحرام، بحيث يترتب على تركه امتثالاً لأمر الله تعالى الثواب، ويترتب على فعله العقاب، لكن دون عقاب الحرام. ومثال ذلك صلاة النفل المطلق عند طلوع الشمس، أو عند غروبها. فهذه الصلاة مكروهة تحريمياً.

المكروه تنزيهياً: هو ما طلب الشرع تركه طلباً غير جازم، بحيث إذا عرفة للحاج، فإن ترك الصوم امتثالاً لأمر الدين أثيب ، وإن صام لم يعاقب.