Is Growing Your Beard Really Obligatory?
Islamic Rulings on Growing and Grooming the Beard: Parameters and Scholarly Consensus
Summary
This lecture discusses the Islamic ruling on growing and grooming the beard (lihya), focusing on the scholarly consensus that it is obligatory for men to grow their beards and forbidden to shave them completely. Sh. Ali Mashhour explains the linguistic and anatomical parameters of what constitutes a beard according to Islamic scholarship, clarifying that the beard includes hair on the jaw, chin, and cheeks. The lecture distinguishes between different facial hair areas, explaining that the mustache, soul patch (al-anfaqa), and neck hair have different rulings and may be trimmed or shaved, while the beard itself should be grown and properly groomed. Sh. Ali Mashhour references the Prophet Muhammad's description of his beard filling his chest to illustrate the expected length.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
Yesterday morning we discussed the sub-chapter that the author takes us to and which we arrived at which is the sub-chapter regarding afa al-lihya. Growing the beard. And he mentioned some arguments, some of them compelling, others not so much. However, he does mention the consensus of the four madhahib and of Zahiriyyah and that is that it is obligatory for a man to grow his beard and haram to shave it off completely. However, the scholars differ greatly on what is considered growing the beard, what is considered the parameters of the beard. Where does the beard start and where does it end, etc. And to begin with, the scholarship of Islam is almost to consensus, almost to ijma that it is permissible to keep the beard. Keep the beard meaning to groom it, right? To cut it, to groom it, to trim whatever is you know, growing out of control in order that it be looking it is kept properly. However, the parameters of the beard is something that is referred to the Arabic language. Right? Because when when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says when he says grow the beard and trim the mustache, both of these terms are terms that he understands that the companions are going to understand in their Arabic native tongue of Arabic. Right? In their native tongue of Arabic. And so what exactly are the parameters of a beard in the Arabic language? The word lihya or lahya is taken from al-laha, which is the jaw. This lower jaw, this is referred to as a a laha and what grows on it is a lihya. Right? And it is what grows on the jaw and the chin. This is called the beard. Now, the cheeks are considered part of that, not because they're part of the jaw, but because they make up a part of what they would naturally consider to be part of the beard. right? This part here that is what we would refer to in English as a soul patch, right? This is not part of the beard. This is called al-anfaqa. And this anfaqa is not part of the beard. It has the same ruling in the correct opinion as the mustache. So, what is below the lower lip and above the upper lip, all of these have the ruling of the mustache. We can trim it, we can shave it, we can cut it down, we can grow it out, but keep it trimmed to where it is not going above the lip or below the lip. And as for the beard, underneath underneath here, whatever is growing on the neck and the throat, this is not part of the beard. That is an issue of consensus. All of the scholars agree on that. And then a person may trim that if he wishes or leave it if he wishes. And so, the beard becomes this area here, right? And including the chin. This is This is what is called the beard. Now, how long does a person need to grow the beard? Do they have to grow it to their chest? When we look at the Prophet alayhi wasallam's descriptions, his description is that his beard filled his chest. Alayhi salat.