Fellow nairalanders, I don't mean to sound rude, but most of the Muslims I've come across have unkempt beards. Is it that their religion forbids them from shaving regularly or is it an individual thing? Comments please.

Is keeping beard obligatory.

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this
question:

Can a muslium men shave his beard n
moustache...is it compulsory to keep beard
n moustache.

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errors in the above statement. The forum does
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Answer:
Is keeping beard obligatory

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever
Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them
aright. We bear witness that there is none
worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we
bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Ref: the keeping of a beard
Growing a beard was considered normal and
natural for a man at the time of the
Messenger of Allah (saws), whether he was a
believer or not. Even the enemies of Islam like
Abu Jahl and Abu Lahb had beards! And
because every man naturally grew a beard, it
was not necessary for the Prophet (saws) to
give an explicit command exhorting the
believers to grow a beard.

The only specific saying of the Prophet (saws)
regarding the keeping of beards arose when
he saw that the pagans used to grow both
their beards and their mustaches long; thus he
(saws) said to the believers:
Ibn 'Umar related that the Messenger of Allah
(saws) said: "Differ from the polytheists: let
your beards (grow), and trim your moustache."
Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

It was only a couple of centuries ago, when
the western culture and ideology became
dominant over the world and muslim lands,
that it became a fashion to be clean shaven.
And as with any dominant culture, people are
always ready to adopt its actions, whether
they are of virtue, or of vice! But Islam has its
own culture, and growing a beard is part of
the Islamic culture.

The question is why should a believer, who
professes to believe in Allah and the Last Day,
and who professes to follow the Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (saws), want to grow a
beard?

The answer is simple. Today, you might have
seen many youngsters copy the fashion of
sport-stars, Hollywood-stars or anybody else
whom they love. If you notice today, many hot
Hollywood stars and sport stars are sporting a
"goatie" beard! And true to fashion, you see a
lot of people around today who keep "goatie"
beards!!! As Muslims, our role model should
always be the Prophet (saws). We love to copy
everything he did ... he had a beard, and if
indeed, we want to follow the Messenger of
Allah (saws), we should strive to grow a beard.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best model for you in the
Messenger of Allah, for every such person
looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and
remember Allah much.
In another narration, the Prophet of Allah said
in narrating a prophecy of times to come:
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.651 Narrated by
Abu Said Al Khudri
The Prophet (saws) said: “There will emerge
from the East some people who will recite the
Quran, but it will not exceed their throats, and
who will go out of the deen of Islam as an
arrow passes through the game. They will
never come back to it unless the arrow comes
back to the middle of the bow by itself (i.e.
impossible!). The companions asked, "What
will their signs be?". The Prophet (saws) said:
"Their sign will be the habit of shaving off
of their beards".

Thus the keeping of beards is an encouraged
and preferred Sunnah of the Prophet (saws)
and every muslim male must strive to keep a
beard, if his model is indeed the Prophet of
Allah (saws). He will get his due reward from
Allah, Insha Allah, if he keeps the beard to
follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah
(saws).

But if a believer does not want to sport a
beard for whatever reason, the other believers
should not make an issue out of it. What is
important in Islam and in the Sight of Allah, is
that one truly believes and does good
righteous deeds. And when that happens, it is
expected that the beard will follow soon after!
The beard is nothing more than a sign that the
believer truly wants to follow a Sunnah of the
Messenger of Allah (saws). There are many
people who have long beards, but do deeds
against the commands of Allah and His
Messenger (saws). And there are many people
who are amongst the best believers, but do
not have beards! Allah will not decide the
recipient of His Mercy and His Forgiveness
from the appearance of the individual; but
rather He will decide whether the person
believed and did righteous deeds, as was
commanded by Allah and His Messenger
(saws).

Ref: the trimming of the moustache
Al-Muwatta Hadith 49.3
Yahya related from Malik from Said ibn Abi
Said al-Maqburi from his father that Abu
Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah
(saws), "There are five things from the
‘fitra’ (nature): cutting the nails, trimming the
moustache, removing the hair from the armpit,
shaving the pubic region and circumcision."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4437 Narrated by Abdullah
ibn Abbas

The Prophet (saws) used to clip or take
something off his moustache, and Prophet
Ibraheem, the ‘Khaleel’ (intimate friend) of the
Compassionate One, used to do the same!
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4438 Narrated by Zayd ibn
Arqam

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He who does
not take something off his moustache is not
one of us."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.780 Narrated by
Nafi

Abdullah Ibn Umar said that the Prophet
(saws) said, "Do the opposite of what the
pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the
moustaches short.". Ibn Umar used to cut his
moustache so short that the whiteness of his
skin (above the upper lip) was visible, and he
used to cut (the hair) between his moustaches
and his beard.

The Arabic term used for ‘shaving’ is ‘halaq’;
while the term to cut or trim in Arabic is ‘Qass’
or ‘Ahfu’…..and in all the guidance regarding
the moustache the term used in the hadith is
either ‘Qass’ or ‘Ahfu’ (meaning cut or trim)
and never ‘Halaq’ (shave).

The scholars and jurists in Islam are almost
unanimous in their opinion that the Sunnah is
to cut or trim the moustache, rather than
shave it completely.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and
whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone
Knows Best and He is the Only Source of
Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan


http://www.islamhelpline.com/node/8007

Thanks for that. Now I know that it's actually a matter of choice.