shaving of the beard is considered

 Jababah al-Walibiyah states in al-Kafi: “I once saw the Commander of the faithful, Ali (as) strolling in the courtyard with a two pronged staff and he was striking the fishmongers with it, who were selling fish which were unlawful to eat. And at the same time he was saying to them: O’ Fishmongers[1], you are similar to those who were from amongst the Banu Israil who were transformed (into apes), and similar to those who used to shave their beards and lengthen their moustaches from amongst the soldiers of Banu Marwan (who transgressed in the land).

There is no doubt in that the narration is pointing to the shaving of the beard as being unlawful, the reasoning for this is that the people being reprimanded by the Commander of the faithful, Ali (as) in such a strong manner only points to the fact that an unlawful act was being committed, and it was the solemn duty of the Imam of the time to forbid such evil and enjoin good.  

By scrutinising this narration we understand that if the actions of the people who were being reprimanded were not unlawful, then there is no doubt that their actions would at least be considered actions which were disapproved of, however, for one to be transformed (into apes) by the wrath of Allah, the Mighty, for performing actions which are disapproved of does not make sense. Thus, it is inevitable that an action such as that which has been sited in the narration (i.e. the shaving of the beard) can only be regarded as an action which is unlawful and not an action which is merely disapproved of.  

In the book al-Ja’fariyyat a narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) has been quoted in which the Prophet (p.b.u.h) states: 

“The shaving of the beard is indeed considered an unjust action, may the curse of Allah befall those who are unjust”.  

Thus, if the shaving of the beard is considered an “injustice” and its subject deserving to be cursed by Allah, the Mighty, then this would indeed point to the fact that Allah, the Mighty, is displeased with the person who commits an injustice, so much so that he becomes deserving of His wrath. This would not in any way whatsoever contradict logic. The other fact is that we do not find any verdict, of any jurist which considers an unjust action to be lawful.  

Hence, if the shaving of the beard is compared to an action which is unjust, then it is clear that the shaving of the beard, based on the narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), is indeed unlawful.  

al-Saduq sites a narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) in which he states: “Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow and do not emulate the Jews”  

This narration is considered authentic by the Shi’ah and the Sunni schools of thought. Based on one of the principles of the science of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh), the indication of a sentence with the imperative construction (al-Amr) usually implies that an action is obligatory and the prohibitive construction (al-Nahy) of a sentence usually implies that an action is unlawful.  

This is especially the case when the action in question refers to the emulation of the enemies of Islam, i.e. the Jews and the infidels. Thus, the result which a jurist may derive based on this would be that the shaving of the beard or letting it grow to the extent that the Jews let it grow to, would certainly be considered unlawful and the trimming of the moustache would be considered an action which was recommended[2]. 

In the book al-Muntaqa the following has been reported: “Chosroe (Kasra the king of Persia) once sent two of his ambassadors to the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). When they approached him, he looked at their moustaches and saw that they were very lengthy and they had no beards, thus, he turned to them and said: 

“Woe, be to you regarding what you have performed” (i.e. having shaved their beards). They said: “Our master commanded us to do this”, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) then said: “My Master, the Blessed, the Exalted, commanded me to wear my beard and trim my moustache”.  

It is clearly understood from this narration that Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet (p.b.u.h) to wear a beard. 

Allah, the Mighty, the Wise, mentions the authority of the utterances of His Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) in the Qur’an as: 

“Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it and from whatever he forbids you (from doing) keep back”. Chapter 53 (The Banishment / al-Hashr) Verse 3-4 

 It is reported in Bihar al-Anwar in the chapter concerning the beard (Kitab al-Mahasin) in which Imam Musa b. Ja’far, al-Kazim (as) was asked: “Is it recommended to wear the beard?” he said: “Yes”, then he was asked: “Is it permissible for one to shave one’s beard?”, Imam (as) replied: “It is permissible to shave the sides of the face where the beard grows, however, to shave the front (chin) is not permissible”[3].  

Notes:

[1]The fish mongers had shaven their beards and were only wearing long moustaches

[2]This is the author’s opinion. In our opinion, the issue is not really emulating an enemy so much but rather being distinguished as Muslims from others, regardless of whether they are enemies or not. – DILP Content Approval Committee.

[3]There are numerous other narrations concerning the unlawfulness of the shaving of the beard. Whoever wishes to refer to them should refer to: “Wasail al-Shi’ah” in which matters regarding the unlawfulness of the shaving of the beard will become clearer