Reports (Āthār) Concerning Trimming the Beard
First: Reports from the Companions (Ṣaḥābah), may Allah be pleased with them, concerning trimming the beard
Reports have come down from Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, and Jābir; and are reported from ʿAlī and Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with them all.
The First: Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father
From Nāfiʿ, who said: Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, “whenever he performed Ḥajj or ʿUmrah, would grasp his beard, and whatever extended beyond [his grasp] he would cut.” Narrated by Mālik (1/396), al-Bukhārī (5892), al-Khallāl in at-Tarajjul (p. 114), and al-Bayhaqī in ash-Shuʿab (6435).
In the narration of Ibn Saʿd (4/137): Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Asadī reported to us, saying: Sufyān narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān from Nāfiʿ, who said: “Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, would let his beard grow, except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah” — and its chain of transmission is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ).
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn az-Zubayr al-Asadī makes mistakes specifically in the hadith of ath-Thawrī, and this is one such case; however, here he was corroborated by trustworthy narrators.
Al-Bayhaqī narrated it in Shuʿab al-Īmān (6450) with his chain from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, from Nāfiʿ, that Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, “would not take anything from his beard except upon exiting the state of iḥrām (li-ḥall).” Its narrators are all trustworthy except ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ ibn ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, in whom there is weakness; however, he was corroborated. The narrations thus share a single meaning, though some are more explicit than others in restricting the trimming to the rites (an-nusuk). And Allah knows best.
The Second: Abdullah Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both
From Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: “At-tafath is: the stoning (of the pillars), the slaughter (of the sacrificial animal), the shaving and shortening (of the hair), and the trimming of the moustache, the nails, and the beard.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (4/85) — and the wording is his — and by aṭ-Ṭabarī in his Tafsīr (17/109) with an authentic chain.
The Third: Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him
1. From Abū az-Zubayr, from Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “We used to let the beards (as-sibal) grow, except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah.” Narrated by Abū Dāwūd (4201) with a good (ḥasan) chain.
As-sibal is the plural of sabalah, and it designates the front part of the beard, that which hangs down from it upon the chest, and the moustache. See: Tahdhīb al-Lughah (12/303), Mukhtār aṣ-Ṣiḥāḥ (p. 141), and an-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth (2/339).
Ibn Ḥajar said in al-Fatḥ (10/350): As-sibal… is that which grows long of the beard’s hair. Thus Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him, indicated that they would shorten it during the rites.
2. From Qatādah, who said: Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “We would not take from its length except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/375) as a mursal report whose chain is weak; Qatādah’s narration from Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him, is mursal, and it comes through Abū Hilāl ar-Rāsibī, from Qatādah, in which there is weakness; and what precedes it serves as corroborating evidence (shāhid).
The Fourth: ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him
From Simāk ibn Yazīd, who said: “ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, would take from his beard on the side adjoining his face.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/374) with a weak chain. In its chain is Zamʿah ibn Ṣāliḥ, who is weak; and Simāk ibn Yazīd was mentioned by Ibn Abī Ḥātim, who recorded neither criticism nor accreditation of him — their joint singling-out of this report indicates its weakness. And Allah knows best.
The Fifth: Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him
“Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, would take from his beard that which exceeded the fist.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/374, 375) and al-Khallāl in at-Tarajjul (p. 115) with a weak chain.
In its chain is ʿAmr ibn Ayyūb ibn Abī Zurʿah ibn ʿAmr; Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him among the trustworthy, and I have not come across anyone who accredited him.
The Sixth: The statement of ʿAṭāʾ and Ibrāhīm an-Nakhaʿī follows [below]
A Note: Ibn Ḥajar said in al-Fatḥ (10/350): What is apparent is that Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, did not restrict this [trimming] specifically to the rites; rather, he understood the command to let [the beard] grow as applying except in circumstances where the appearance is disfigured by excessive length or breadth of the beard’s hair. Aṭ-Ṭabarī said: A group of people held to the apparent meaning of the hadith and disliked taking anything from the beard, whether from its length or its breadth; while another group said: whatever exceeds the fist, the excess may be taken. He then transmitted with his chain to Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he did so, and to ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he did so with a man, and by way of Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he did so — and I have not come across these reports.
Abū ʿAbdar-Raḥmān [the author] said: What is established — based on what I have come across — is from Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, and Jābir, may Allah be pleased with them. Ibn ʿAbbās holds that taking from the beard is part of the rites, and this is what is understood from the report of Jābir, may Allah be pleased with him. So did Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, hold this view? It is possible, since he would not take from his beard except during the rites, as understood from the narrations of Mālik, al-Bukhārī, and others; and the narrations of Ibn Saʿd and al-Bayhaqī in ash-Shuʿab are explicit texts stating that he did not do so outside the rites. If they held that taking from the beard was part of the obligatory rites, it falls under the principle that when an obligation and a prohibition conflict, the prohibited is committed for the sake of the obligation — such as the starving person eating carrion, and the obligation of washing and praying over disbelievers when they are intermingled with Muslims; see: Tadhkīrat an-Nāsik (p. 354). However, I have not come across anyone who declared taking from the beard obligatory upon exiting the rites. It will come regarding Ṭāwūs that he did not deem it obligatory, and recommending it is the school of Mālik and ash-Shāfiʿī and a position among the Ḥanbalīs; see: Mawāhib al-Jalīl (4/183), al-Umm (2/211), and al-Inṣāf (4/39).
Second: Reports from the Successors (Tābiʿīn) and their followers concerning trimming the beard
The First: Mujāhid ibn Jabr
From Mujāhid regarding the verse: {Then let them complete their tafath, fulfill their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House} [al-Ḥajj 22:29], he said: “Shaving the head, shaving the pubic hair, trimming the nails, trimming the moustache, stoning the pillars, and trimming the beard.” Narrated by aṭ-Ṭabarī in his Tafsīr (17/110) with an authentic chain.
The Second: al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr
“Whenever al-Qāsim shaved his head, he would take from his beard and his moustache.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/375) with an authentic chain. Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān said: What is apparent is that this occurred upon exiting the rites. And Allah knows best.
The Third: Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar
It reached Mālik that Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh, “whenever he intended to enter iḥrām, would call for the two scissors, trim his moustache, and take from his beard, before mounting [his riding animal] and before pronouncing the talbiyah in iḥrām.” Narrated by Mālik (1/397) with a weak chain.
The Fourth: Ṭāwūs ibn Kaysān
“Ṭāwūs would take from his beard without deeming it obligatory.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/375); its narrators are trustworthy, though it contains the ʿanʿanah (ambiguous transmission formula “from”) of ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Jurayj. Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān said: What is apparent is that this was upon exiting the rites. And Allah knows best.
The Fifth: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Ibn Sīrīn
1. From Abū Hilāl ar-Rāsibī, who said: I asked al-Ḥasan and Ibn Sīrīn, and they both said: “There is no harm in taking from the length of your beard.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/376) with a good (ḥasan) chain.
2. From al-Ḥasan, who said: “They used to permit taking from the beard that which exceeded the fist.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/375) with a weak chain; in its chain is Ashʿath ibn Sawwār.
“They used to permit” refers to the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Was this concession general, or only upon exiting the rites? Both are possible; it is therefore to be understood in accordance with what is known of them, and this report is weak.
The Sixth: ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ
ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ said: “They used to prefer letting the beard grow, except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah”; and “Ibrāhīm used to take from the side of his beard.” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/374) with an authentic chain. The report of ʿAṭāʾ accords with what is authentically established from the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
The Seventh: Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī
From Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, who used to say regarding this verse — {Then let them complete their tafath, fulfill their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House} [al-Ḥajj 22:29] —: “The stoning of the pillars, the slaughter of the sacrificial animal, taking from the two moustaches [sic] and the beard and the nails, and circumambulation of the House and between aṣ-Ṣafā and al-Marwah.” Narrated by aṭ-Ṭabarī in his Tafsīr (17/109) with a good (ḥasan) chain.
The Eighth: Ibrāhīm an-Nakhaʿī
1. Ibrāhīm said: “They used to trim (yuṭibbūna) their beards and take from their sides (ʿawāriḍihā).” Narrated by Ibn Abī Shaybah (8/376) with an authentic chain.
Thus it reads (yuṭibbūna) in the Dār as-Salafiyyah edition; in the Dār al-Qiblah edition: “they used to take from underneath their beards (yubaṭṭinūna liḥāhum); and in the narration of al-Bayhaqī in ash-Shuʿab, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah edition (6438): “They used to take from its sides and clean it — meaning: the beard.” Ibn al-Jawzī said in Gharīb al-Ḥadīth (1/77): an-Nakhaʿī used to take from underneath his beard (yubaṭṭinu liḥyatah), that is, he would take the hair from beneath the chin and the jaw.
Ibrāhīm an-Nakhaʿī was among the younger Successors; he met the younger Companions — such as ʿĀʾishah, may Allah be pleased with her — but did not hear from them due to his young age. So his statement “they used to…” possibly refers to the younger Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and possibly to the senior Successors. And what an-Nakhaʿī transmitted regarding them is the taking from the sides (of the beard), not from the beard [proper].
2. Mentioned earlier: “And Ibrāhīm used to take from the side of his beard.”
The Ninth
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said in at-Tamhīd (24/146): “Qatādah disliked taking anything from his beard except during Ḥajj or ʿUmrah, and he used to take from his two sideburns.” And I have not come across this [report elsewhere].
The Tenth: Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj
Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim said: “I saw Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj with clean garments, with his sleeves rolled up, taking from this and this” — and he pointed to his two sideburns. Narrated by al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdād (13/81) with a good (ḥasan) chain.
(Translated by Mohammed bin Thajammul Hussain Manna)
Also Read, ‘Cutting the Beard After the Fist – Compiled & Translated By Abbas Abu Yahya’.