Is it permissible for a Muslim man to shave his beard?

Introduction:

According to the popular understanding of Sharia, it is considered impermissible for a Muslim man to shave his beard if he is capable of growing one. Some jurists believe it is recommended (mustaḥab) to shave the moustache and maintain a beard at least the length of a palm. Others argue that keeping a moustache is acceptable and that a Muslim may shave or trim his beard as long as the remaining hair is considered a beard according to the customs (ʿurf) of the society he lives in.

Despite these views, many Muslim men choose not to keep a beard for the following reasons:

• Personal preference: Some prefer the look and feel of a clean-shaven face as it aligns better with their style or provides greater comfort. They may also experience irritation or discomfort from shaving or maintaining a beard, influencing their choice.
• Professional appearance: Certain industries (e.g., corporate environments, hospitality, military) require or favour a clean-shaven, well-groomed look.
• Beard maintenance: Keeping a beard neat and tidy requires regular grooming, which some find tedious or time-consuming.
• Hygiene and medical concerns: Beards can trap food particles, dirt, and bacteria, making a clean-shaven face easier to maintain.
• Social norms and cultural expectations: Some communities or social circles favour or expect a clean-shaven look.
• Societal implications for Muslim men: In non-Muslim-majority societies, men with prominent beards may face stereotyping, harassment, bullying, or discrimination.

Given these considerations, it is essential to evaluate whether the mainstream opinion regarding the obligation to keep a beard aligns accurately with Sharia principles.

ICCI Majority Opinion:

A Muslim man can choose whether to keep a beard or shave it based on his personal preference.

Justifications:

1. The Quran does not directly address the issue of a Muslim man keeping a beard. However, Muslim jurists normally take recourse to the apparent indication of the following verse of the Quran:

The unrestricted apparent indication (iṭlāq) of this verse suggests that altering any of God's creation is an act inspired by Satan. Consequently, proponents argue that shaving one's beard constitutes altering or changing God's creation, and since anything that changes God's creation is forbidden, shaving one's beard is forbidden (ḥarām).

However, it can be argued that interpreting the apparent indication of this verse in an unrestricted manner is inaccurate. According to scholars like Sayyid Khūʾi (d. 1992), interpreting this verse unrestrictedly would imply that many daily activities that people engage in, such as making rivers, dams, planting new trees, gardening, cutting one's nails, shaving one's head, and so forth, would also have to be considered forbidden.² In addition to Sayyid Khūʾi, many other prominent Muslim jurists have also claimed that this verse should not be interpreted in an unrestricted manner.

It is important to note that many renowned exegetes of the Quran such as Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (d. 1067), claim that the most suitable interpretation of ‘altering God’s creation’ is the destruction of Allah’s creation and not following the ordinances of Sharia.³ To include then, shaving one's beard within the scope of the aforementioned Quranic verse would be far-fetched and would require further evidence. This is because there is no direct or indirect verse in the Quran which indicates that shaving one’s beard is impermissible.

2. Despite the silence of the Quran on this matter, there are a few narrations that directly address the issue of shaving one’s beard, these include:

a. Muhamamd b. Ali b. Husayn reports that the Prophet said:

This narration is considered weak (ḍa'īf) from the perspective of its chain (sanad) of narrators. The narration, as reported by Shaykh al-Ṣadūq, is deemed weak because it has a disconnected chain (mursal), indicating that there are gaps in the sequence of narrators from one to the other. Furthermore, the fullnames of the narrators are not provided, leaving uncertainty as to the specific individuals being referred to in the chain.

b. Husayn b. Ibrahimal-Maktab reports from Muhammad b. Jafar al-Asadi who reports from Musa b.
Imran al-Nakhi’I reporting from his uncle Husayn b. Yazid from Alī b. Ghorāb,from Jafar b. Muhammad, from his father, from his grandfather who said: The Holy Prophet (s) said:

This narration is also deemed weak by scholars of biography (rijāl), such as Sayyid Khūʾi, due to the presence of a man named Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar al-Asadī in its chain.⁶ While some scholars of rijāl have considered him as trustworthy, many do not trust his narrations because he has narrated from weak sources, while others have remained silent about his status.⁷ Additionally, Ḥusayn b. Yazīd, also known as Naufalī is present in the chain. Some scholars have accused him of committing exaggeration/extremism in belief (ghuluww) towards the end of his life, although this claim is not proven, and others have remained silent about him.⁸ Furthermore, Alī ibn Ghorāb is an unknown narrator.⁹

c. There is a popular narration found in some works of jurisprudence which states that:

“The King of Iran dispatched two individuals to the Prophet. Upon their arrival, it was noticeable that they had shaved their beards and allowed their moustaches to grow. They claimed this was done in obedience to their Lord's command. The Prophet responded:

This narration is deemed weak by Sayyid Khūʾi due to the unknown (majhūl) narrators mentioned in its chain of transmission.¹¹ Moreover, this narration cannot be sourced from the canon of hadith. Therefore, it cannot be relied upon.

d. It is reported by ʿAbdullah from Muḥammad who reports from Mūsa, who reports from his father, from his father who reports from his grandfather Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad from his father from his grandfather ʿAli b. Ḥusayn from his father from ʿAli b. abī Tālib, who said that the Prophet said:

Some jurists use this tradition to establish the prohibition of shaving. The term ‘muthla’ refers to a situation where an individual intentionally inflicts a defect or disfigurement upon another person with the intent of insulting or harming them, such that the effects of the act become visible.¹³ Therefore, the narration indicates that the individual who shaves another person's beard with the intention of assault, crime, or insult is the one who is cursed. However, it does not apply to the case where an individual shaves their own beard or someone else's beard with their consent for the purposes of beautification, trimming, or other valid reasons.¹⁴

Moreover, this narration poses other issues. It is found in a book entitled al-Jʿafariyāt by Mūsa b. Ismāʿīl which does not possess an authentic chain of narrators. There are doubts as to whether Mūsa b. Ismāʿīl even authored this book,¹⁵ who himself is an unknown narrator, and his credibility has not been established.¹⁶

There are other similar narrations that have been used by jurists as evidence for the prohibition of shaving the beard. They are subject to similar criticisms regarding authenticity.

3. Some scholars like Sayyid Khūʾi have claimed that there is consensus (ijmāʿ) amongst Muslim scholars that it is impermissible for a Muslim male to shave his beard. However, such a consensus cannot be found prior to the 10th century amongst the Shīʿī jurists. The impermissibility of shaving first seems to be appear in the works of al-Shahīd al-Awwal (d. 1385) and al-Fāḍil al-Miqdād (d. 1422-3).¹⁷

Moreover, scholars such as Fayḍ al-Kāshānī (d. 1680) have also challenged the claim of a consensus on this issue. Kāshānī explicates that not all Shīʿī scholars have claimed that shaving the beard is forbidden.¹⁸ This opinion is also held by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Narāqī (d. 1829).¹⁹

It is also important to note, that even if such a consensus were to be accepted, it would be questionable as it is based on the narrations above, which in themselves have many issues. Thus, it seems as if the impermissibility of shaving only became popular (mashḥūr) amongst the Muslim community after the 10/11th century.²⁰

4. It has also been claimed that this practice also represents the customary practice of religious people (al-sīrah al-mutasharriʿah). It is unclear whether this practice arose from religious guidance; rather, it is possible that it originated from the prevailing customs of the time. The Prophet and the Imams may have viewed the existing norm of growing the beard as not objectionable and therefore remained silent about it. This, however, does not indicate that shaving the beard is prohibited or that keeping it is obligatory. Scholars of legal theory have emphasised that sīrah al-mutasharriʿah cannot serve as valid evidence unless it is certain that it stems exclusively from a single source — namely, the Prophet or the Imam — which is not established in this case.

5. Given the lack of reliable evidence from Sharia sources, one can take recourse to juristic maxim of the primacy of permissibility (aṣalat al-ibāha). According to such a principle, all actions are deemed permissible by the Sharia until they are proven to be impermissible. Due to the lack of reliable evidence, the primacy of permissibility would deem that shaving one’s beard is permissible. As such, one has the choice to either shave or keep their beard.

ICCI Minority Opinion:

It seems most appropriate for a Muslim man to avoid complete shaving of his beard.

Justifications:

1. Although the Quran does not explicitly address the issue of Muslim men keeping a beard, and the narrations related to it remain subject to debate, the practice has been consistently endorsed and upheld by majority, if not all, Muslim scholars and devout communities across the centuries. While no single source of evidence—whether the Quran, Sunna, ijmāʿ, or sīra—offers conclusive proof on its own, the cumulative weight of these sources establishes a strong probability in favour of the practice.

2. Given this collective probability, it would be inappropriate to invoke the principle of exemption (barāʾa) to assert the permissibility (ibāḥa) of shaving the beard. Rather, preference should be given to a normative precautionary approach, which advises that Muslim men avoid fully shaving what is conventionally recognised as a beard.

References

1. Quran (4:118-119)
2. Aḥmad Narāqī, Rasāʿil wa-l Masāʿil,1, 264; Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 258.
3. Shaykh Tūsī, Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 3, 334; Ḥasan al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 3, 173; Yusūf al-Baḥrānī, Ḥadāʾiq al-Nāḍirah, 5, 562; Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, 5, 85; Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 258; Jawād Tabrīzī, Irshād al-Ṭālib fī Sharḥ al-Makāsib, 1, 145.
4. Ḥurr al ʾĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, Vol. 2, Section 2, Chapter 67, Hadith 1658.
5. Ḥurr al ʾĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, Vol. 2, Section 2, Chapter 67, Hadith 1660.
6. Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 408.
7. Aḥmad al Najāshī, Rijāl al Najāshī,1, 373; ʾAllama al-Ḥillī, Khulāṣat al-Aqwāl, 160.
8. Shaykh Tūsī, al-Fihrist, 1, 425; Ibn Dawūd, Rijāl Ibn Dawūd, 1, 128; ʾAllama al-Hillī, Khulāṣat al-Aqwāl, 1, 216.
9. Shaykh Tūsī, al-Fihrist, 1, 280; Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, Mūsavī Khūʾi, Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth, 12, 111.
10. Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 260.
11. Ibid.
12. Muḥaddith Nurī, Mustadrak al-Wasāʾil, 1:406.
13. Jawād Tabrīzī, Irshād al-Ṭālib, 1, 147.
14. Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 260; Jawād Tabrīzī, Irshād al-Ṭālib, 1, 147.
15. Jawād Tabrīzī, Irshād al-Ṭālib, 1, 147.
16. Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha,1, 259.
17. Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 257.
18. Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Al-Wāfī, 6, 658; Yusūf al-Baḥrānī, Ḥadāʾiq al-Nāḍirah, 5, 560.
19. Aḥmad Narāqī, Rasāʿil wa-l Masāʿil, 1, 263.
20. ʿAllāma al-Majlisī, Ḥilyat al-Muttaqīn, 123; and Mūsavī Khūʾi, Miṣbāḥ al-Fiqāha, 1, 257. Both comment on the popularity (mashūr) view that is prevalent among the Muslims that it is obligatory to keep the beard.