This issue has turned lately into a major talking point among Muslims.

Some people have gone as far as

accusing those who do not grow their beards and do not trim the mustache of unbelief or rebellion. The
evidences they used to back such claims are, however, not strong enough to justify such accusations.

The issue itself has been debated before by some dignified scholars; differences have also emerged in
the past among the various schools of thought. This issue is classified by the shariah as being one of the
Furoo' (branches) of the deen in which differences of opinion are permitted, unlike the Usool (basis) of the
deen.

It is important at the outset to know that:

(a) keeping a full-length beard is a Sunnah that is established from both the practice and command of the
Prophet (s)
(b) keeping a beard is a distinctive mark of Muslim men, especially the scholars and the righteous among
them
(c) there is scholarly agreement that to completely shave off the beard without any excuse is at least
undesirable.

After agreeing that keeping a full beard is strongly encouraged in Sacred Law, scholars have
differed regarding its exact ruling giving way to three jurisprudential opinions:

1) Growing the beard is an obligation (wajib) and shaving it is forbidden (haram). This opinion is
championed by Ibn Hazm and Ibn Taymiyyah among others.

2) Growing the beard in mandub (desirable) and shaving it is makruh (undesirable). This opinion
is championed by Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Qudamah, Imam Shirazi, Imam Shawkhani, Imam Nawawi and
Qadi Iyad among others.

3) Growing the beard as well as shaving it is mubah (permitted), which is the opinion of Qadi Abu
Bakr Ibn al-Arabi and Imam Qurtubi. This view is also held by many contemporary scholars.

A Madhab is a school of islamic jurisprudence or fiqh. They contain interpretive rulings based upon
Qur'an and sunnah. In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools" Several of
the Sahaba are credited with founding their own. Later, many died out and others consolidated into a
larger madhhab often named after the founding Mujtahid (Doctor of Islamic law).Today, 4 large schools
of law survive in Sunni Islam (Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi'i) and one (Jafa'ri) in Shia
Islam. According to Ijma (scholarly consensus) any of these schools of law are valid to follow,
and which one chooses to follow is a matter of personal preference and circumstances.

Shaykh Amjad Rasheed clarifying the position of Shafi'i Madhab (school of law) on Beard writes:

"The majority of Shafi'i scholars have come to the conclusion that it is unlawful to completely shave the
beard. This position has been transmitted from the imam of our school, Imam Shafi`i and a number of
Shafi`i scholarsboth early and latehave adopted it as their preferred position.
However, the two great verifying scholars of the Shafi`i school, Imam Abul Qasim al-Rafi`i and Imam
Abu Zakariyya al-Nawawiin accordance with the position of Imam Ghazalihave ruled that to
keep a full beard is merely recommended [mandub], not obligatory [wajib], and that it is neither
unlawful [haram] to shave it nor to shorten it, even when this is done without an excuse. It is,
however, disliked to shorten or shave the beard because it contravenes the prophetic command to grow a
full beard."

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi writes:

"It seems to me that the closest of these three views is the one that deems shaving beard as Makruh. As
the stated reason for growing the beard is to be different from the non-believers, it is similar to the matter
of dyeing gray hair in order to be distinct from the Jews and Christians; it is known that some of the
Companions of the Prophet did not dye their gray hair, signifying that it was commendable rather than
obligatory. Similarly, growing the beard may be regarded as commendable but not obligatory, and,
accordingly, shaving it would be classified as Makruh rather than Haram. It is true that none of the
Companions was known to have shaved his beard. Perhaps there was no need to shave, and perhaps
growing the beard was a custom among them."

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, who states: "no Muslim should take the issue of the beard lightly. At the same time, we must
also state categorically that one should not conclude from what has been said earlier that growing a
beard in Islam has the same religious significance as that of the other prescribed rituals. This is definitely
not the case. Thus it is important for us to recognize that we are not allowed to ostracize men who
do not have beards nor are we to question their basic faith.

Imam Senad Agic

Shaykh Senad is the head Imam of The Islamic Association of Bosniaks in North America. Responding to
a question on changing madhab, he writes: "If you are switching from Hanafi to Maliki, then you will
be allowed to eat dog meat and seafood, have a goatee which is trimmed, wear shorts that do not
cover the knees, miss Witr and Sunnah Muakkadah"

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

"The beard of the male Muslim is one of the outward symbols of Islam and as al-Badr al-`Ayni pointed out
it is important that it not be made to look unkempt and disheveled. The Prophet said: "Allah is beautiful
and He loves beauty." The proof for the etiquette of trimming the beard is in the explicit and known
practice of the Companions including, but not restricted to Ibn `Umar,The Tabi`i `Ata' ibn Abi Rabah
said: "There is no harm in trimming a little from the length and sides of his beard, if it grows large and
long" and al-Nakh`i, another Tabi`i, related that the Companions used to trim their beards on the sides. It
is preposterous and reprehensible to suggest that such a trimming is against the Sunna as both they and
the authorities among the Tabi`in who reported from them were certainly more knowledgeable of the
Sunna than us. As the scholars said: "The Sahaba were all legally upright (`udul) by consensus (ijma`) of
Muslim scholars, and it is inconceivable that they would institutionalize and set a precedent that was in
direct defiance of a religious obligation."
The question is sometimes asked: "In what circumstances is it allowable for a male muslim to shave
his beard off or not to grow one at all? Is military service a valid excuse?" To which we say: al-
darurat tubihu al-mahzurat -- Necessities make prohibited things permitted. The question is to
define necessity in this case. Protection of one's life, safety, livelihood, and religion all qualify as such,
and in some countries military service is unavoidable except at unbearably high personal cost. Indeed in
some countries the beard was made either illegal by law under threat of major punishment, such as in
Republican Turkey, or a cause for harrassment and persecution by the authorities as in other secular-
oriented states. And Allah knows best."

Shehzad Saleem

When a question was asked if it is compulsory in Islam for men to keep beards, the renowned scholar of
Modern Islam, Shehzad Saleem who is also the Director of Al-Mawrid, Institute of Islamic Sciences
says, "Keeping a beard is a desirable act for men. The Prophets of Allah kept beards and expressed
their liking for it since this is from among the norms of human nature. It is an expression of manliness and
as such a sign, which distinguishes men from women. However, the Prophet (s) did not regard keeping
beards as part of the Islamic Shariah. Also, it is not compulsory for men to keep a beard and if a person
shaves his beard he may be deprived of some reward, but he is unlikely to be punished on this. This view
also conforms to the Shafite jurists (See Dr Wahbah al-Zahili, Fiqhul-Islami wa Adillatuhu, vol. 1, p. 308.)
and to many scholars of Hadith includingQadi Ayad "( See Nawawi, Sharah Sahih Muslim, 2nd ed., vol.
3, [Beirut: Darul-Ahya al-Turath al-Arabi, 1972], p. 151) who regard shaving the beard
as makruh (undesirable). (While defining makruh Abu Zuhrah says: The jurists say that the perpetrator
of makruh is not to be condemned while a person who desists from it is praiseworthy. (Abu Zuhrah,
Usulul-Fiqh, 1st ed., [Cairo: Darul-Fikr al-Arabi, 1958], p. 41).

And Allah knows best.