Fatwa #525626 March 2002United States of America
Assalaamu Alaikum Mufti Sahib, I am sorry to say that I am not satisfied with your answer 5174. Without being argumentative I would like to submit the following for your kind consideration.
Question
Conditions of covering of the private parts (Satar), wadu, taharat, etc, for salah and, naturally, leading salah are too well emphasized by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in many Ahadith. And, there are no two opinions about them, never were and never will. That's the reason we don't see satr, wadu, taharat, etc., mentioned in the Hadith quoted in Q 5174. But not even once RasoolAllah (pbuh) mentioned anything about beard length as one of the requirements for salah or imamat. No doubt, he ordered Muslim males to grow beard and it's, I believe, Sunnat-e-Muakkadah, but he never fixed any length. Many scholars, including Sayyid Maududi, who's recognized by most learned men as a scholar of a very high caliber, emphasized on growing beard but don't see any particular length established by Sharay (Law Giver). What Hadrat Ibn Omar and other Sahaba (RA) practiced are certainly Laiq-e-Tazeem and Laiq-e-Ittaba', but not Laazim-e-Ittaba' (obligatory). There's a vast difference between the two. I hope you appreciate the difference between them.
Answer
Your grievance with us seems to be regarding our verdict on the length of%0D%0Athe beard upto a fist length being Waajib.%0D%0A%0D%0AFirstly, as mentioned in the our previous answer, '.That is because any%0D%0Aexplicit command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) will be%0D%0Aregarded as Waajib, if there is no apparent, clear reason%2Fproof which states%0D%0Athat that particular command is for Istihbaab (preference). This is an%0D%0Aestablished fact in Usool-ul-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence).'%0D%0A%0D%0AHence, the general growth of a beard will be Waajib because of the Hadith%0D%0Aquoted by Imaam Bukhari (RA), and as mentioned in our previous relply, 'the%0D%0AWujoob is further emphasized by the fact that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi%0D%0AWasallam) did practice on this in his entire life. Know well that Rasulullah%0D%0A(Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) did not trim his beard in his life (there is%0D%0Ano Sahih Hadith which proves otherwise).'%0D%0A%0D%0ATherefore, the command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) followed%0D%0Aup by his continuous practice emphasizes this obligation. Despite this, if%0D%0Ayou still choose to 'believe' it to be a 'Sunnat-e-Muakkadah', then even in%0D%0Athat instance if one leaves out a Sunnat-e-Muakkadah continuously, he will%0D%0Aalso be sinful and rendered a Faasiq for disobeying the command of the noble%0D%0AQur'aan, 'And obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Sallallaahu Alayhi%0D%0AWasallam).' 'And whosoever disobeys Allah and His messenger (Sallallaahu%0D%0AAlayhi Wasallam), then he has gone astray into open misguidance.'%0D%0A%0D%0AHence, even if the beard was a Sunnat-e-Muakkadah, then too such a person%0D%0Awill be rendered unfit for Imaamat. I don't think you will be happy with an%0D%0AImaam who 'has gone stray into open misguidance.'%0D%0A%0D%0ASecondly, the Hadith - as is clear - does not specify any length of the%0D%0Abeard. The words, 'a'aful lluhay' in the Hadith commands us to lengthen the%0D%0Abeards, which under normal circumstances will mean, 'it is Waajib to let the%0D%0Abeard grow' and is not permissible to trim it at all. But, as mentioned in%0D%0Athe previous answer, because the narrator himself as well as other Sahaaba%0D%0A(Radhiallaahu Anhum) did trim their beards upto one fist length, the Ulama%0D%0Ahave deduced that this means that the Wujoob (obligation) is only upto a%0D%0Afist's length. Neither can we say that it is not permissible to trim it at%0D%0Aall - resulting in the accusation of the Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhum) of%0D%0Acontradicting the explicit command of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi%0D%0AWasallam) and especially the narrator himself (Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar%0D%0A(Radhiallaahu Anhu)) and effectively rendering him%2Fthem as Faasiq. Nor can%0D%0Aone claim the permissibility of trimming it upto less than a fist's length,%0D%0Afor there is no proof for this in Shari'ah.%0D%0A%0D%0AAfter understanding the above, know well that any person who commits such%0D%0Asins which render him a Faasiq cannot be fit for Imaamat even if he is the%0D%0Amost learned%2Fwell-versed on the noble Qur'aan. Moreover, the opinion of the%0D%0Ascholar you have mentioned as well as the practice of many others who you%0D%0Ahave met in some Islamic countries cannot be considered in front of the Shar%0D%0A'ee proofs that we have provided to substantiate our verdict. In fact, we%0D%0Adisagree with your claim that, 'Sayyid Maududi who's recognized by most%0D%0Alearned men .' kindly find attached our view on some of this person's%0D%0Aviews.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd lastly, for your understanding, we have not made the practice of the%0D%0Amentioned Sahaabi 'Laazim-e-Ittibaa', a close examination of what we have%0D%0Awritten will reveal this.%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMoulana Muhammad ibn Moulana Haroon Abbassommar%0D%0AFACULTY OF SPECIALTY IN HADITH%0D%0A%0D%0ACHECKED AND APPROVED CORRECT: Mufti Ebrahim Desai