Yamin

Shaving the Beard : A Modern Effeminacy

Yamin Ismail — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:49:38 +0000

Definition
The beard (Arabic: liyah) is defined as the hair which grows on the cheeks and the jaws (ex., review: al-Q m s al-Muh t by al-Fayrazabad ). It includes the hair of the temples, the growth underneath the lower lip, the hair of the chin, and the hair that grows on the lower side of the jaws.

The Islamic Ruling Concerning Beards

Growing the beard is a wajib (mandatory) for all males who are capable of doing so. This has ample evidence in the Sunnah (as will be shown below) and is the unanimous opinion of the ulamaa of Islam. One should not be misled by the neglect to this sunnah by a few contemporary shaykhs, and by their providing shaky fatwas to support their action. By doing that they make people follow them into the wrong way, when the Messenger (S) said:

He who starts a good sunnah (way) will be rewarded for it, in addition to receiving rewards equal to the rewards of those who follow him into it. Whereas he who starts a bad sunnah will be burdened with it, in addition to receiving burdens equal to the burdens of those who follow him into it. [Muslim]

And he said:

Allah does not pull the knowledge abruptly from the hearts of people, but he takes away the knowledge by taking [the lives of] the `ulamaa (true scholars). When no `ulamaa are left, people will take ignorant persons for leaders. Those will give them fatwa (religious verdicts) without knowledge. By doing this, they will stray and lead others astray as well. [Al-Bukhari]

A List of Violations

Shaving the beard results in a series of Islamic violations, as is obvious from Allah’s Book and His Messenger’s Sunnah. The following is a list (not necessarily comprehensive) of such violations:

a. A Disobedience to Allah (T)

Shaving the beard is a disobedience to Allah (T). The ruler of Yemen, appointed by the Persian emperor Kisraa, sent two envoys to the Messenger (S) to summon him. When they came into his presence, he noticed that they had shaved their beards and grew their moustaches. He hated to look at them (because of their odd appearance) and he said: Woe be to you, who told you to do so? They replied: “Our lord! (referring to Kisraa.)” The Messenger (S) then said:

But my Lord, may He be exalted and glorified, has commanded me to leave alone my beard and to trim my moustache. [Recorded by Ibn Jar r a-abar , and judged to be Hasan (good) by al-Albani.]

b. A Disobedience To the Messenger (S)

Shaving the beard is a disobedience to the Messenger (S). In many hadiths, the Messenger (S) commanded men to leave alone their beards. These different hadiths have a similar meaning:

Trim the moustache and save the beard. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Obeying the Messenger (S) in that is equivalent to obeying Allah (T) who said (what means)

He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah. [An-Nisaa 4:80]
c. A Deviation from the Appearance and Guidance of the Messenger (S)

Shaving the beard is a deviation from the appearance and guidance of the Messenger (S). The Messenger (S) used to have a large beard [Muslim]. One should strive to imitate him (S) in his practices, as Allah (T) said (what means):In the Messenger of Allah is a good example for you to follow. [Al-Ahzab 33:21] And the Messenger (S) said: Verily, the best guidance is Muhammad’s guidance. [Muslim]

d. A Deviation from the Way of Believers

Shaving the beard is a deviation from the way of believers. All the prophets (S), the sahbah (Prophet’s companions), the great `ulamaa, and the righteous early Muslims of this Ummah (Nation) grew their beards. There is no report of a single one of them ever shaving his beard. Thus, this is their way, and Allah (T) says (in the meaning):

Whoever disobeys the Messenger after guidance has been clarified to him, and follows other than the path of the believers, We shall give to him what he deserves and broil him in hell, which is the worst abode. [An-Nisaa 4:115]

e. An Imitation of the Disbelievers

Shaving the beard is an imitation of the disbelievers. This has been emphasized in several hadiths of the Prophet (S). For example:

Cut the moustaches and grow your beards. Be different from the Magians (followers of a religion that dominated in Persia). [Muslim]

Cut your moustaches and leave your beards alone. Be different from the people of the scripture. [Muslim]

Be different from the Mushrikin (those who worship other than Allah (T)); trim your moustaches and save your beards. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

We have been commanded to be different and distinct from the disbelievers, as in surat ul-Fatihah. Also, Allah (T) said (what means):

Follow not the whims of those who have no knowledge (of Islam). [Al-Jathiyah 45:18]

And His Messenger (S) said:

Whoever imitates a people is but one of them. [Recorded by Abu Dawud, and judged to be authentic by al-Albani]

f. Changing Allah’s Creation without Permission

The Messenger (S) declared that the women who change what Allah (T) has created (such as removing the hair from their faces or filing their teeth or tattooing their bodies) seeking by that to improve their appearance, are accursed by Allah (T). [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The hadith mentioned women in particular because they normally seek to beautify themselves more than men. But the warning surely applies to both sexes, because the condition for the curse is declared, and thus the curse applies to anyone who satisfies such condition.

Shaving the beard falls under this warning, as it is much worse than the Nam (removal of facial hair) practiced by some women. It involves obeying Satan who said:

And I shall tempt them until they change what Allah has created. [An-Nisaa 4:119]

g. An Imitation of Women

The beard is a major distinction between men and women. Shaving it removes this distinction, and is thus a means of imitating women. The Messenger (S) said:

Allah curses those men who imitate the women, and He curses those women who imitate the men. [Al-Bukhari]

h. Shaving the Beard Contradicts the Pure Fitrah (Nature)
Allah’s Messenger (S) mentioned ten qualities as indicative of a good, clean nature [Muslim]. Two of these qualities are to trim the moustaches and to grow the beard.

The Messenger (S) also tells that every child is born with a clean, pure fitrah, which later may get deformed by the influence of the environment and the up-bringing. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In the footsteps of the disbelievers, many Muslims’ fitrah is now, unfortunately, so much deformed that they seem to find a clean-shaven man more handsome and masculine than one with a beard – exactly the opposite of what the Messenger (S) declared in the above hadith.

This fitrah never changes with time: Allah (T) said (what means):

The pure nature according to which Allah has created people. There is no change in Allah’s creation. [Ar-Room 30:30]

For shaving their beards, some men give the strange excuse that their wives prefer them without one! As if their purpose in this life is to follow the deformed inclinations of their wives instead of the clear-cut commands of Allah (T) and His Messenger (S)!

Others claim that growing their beards results in an irritability and scratching. This cannot result from abiding by the pure fitrah, but would result (if true) from neglect of the proper cleaning and washing with wudu as instructed in the Sunnah.

What the `Ulamaa and Imams Say
All the `ulamaa of as-Salaf u-sali, including the Four Imams, agreed that shaving the beard is haram (prohibited). They considered shaving it an impermissible mutilation, as has been reported about Umar bin Abdil-Aziz. They used to consider the person who shaved his beard effeminate. Many of them would not accept his witness or allow him to lead the prayers.

May Allah (T) guide us to abide by His Deen, and to adhere to His Messenger’s Sunnah, and to be among those whom he blessed in both lives.

Act Upon Knowledge

Yamin Ismail — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:00:32 +0000

Bismillaahir-Rahmaanir-Raheem. It is obligatory that a person acts upon his knowledge because the fruit of knowledge is action. If a person does not act upon knowledge, he increases Allaah’s proof and argument against himself. In addition, it will lead to failure and forgetfulness of knowledge and loss of blessings [Al-Maa’idah (5):13]. However, if a person acts upon knowledge, then Allaah increases him in guidance and taqwaa [Muhammad (47):17]. Thus, if a person acts upon his knowledge, Allaah will grant him further knowledge that he did not previously possess. This why some of the Salaf mentioned: “Knowledge searches for action; if it does not find it, it will depart.”
www.calltoislam.com

Prophet Mohammed

Yamin Ismail — Sun, 02 May 2010 04:30:56 +0000

“The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the Prophet. There is Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman; Muhammad, the Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad, the Judge; Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is like a hero.”

“There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.”

“THIS IS OUR PROPHET MOHAMMED …”
please know of whom you speak … >> Read more …

Sustenance & Death

Yamin Ismail — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:57:43 +0000

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:- لَوْ أَنَّ ابْنَ آدَمَ هَرَبَ مِنْ رِزْقِهِ كَمَاْ يَهْرَبُ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ لأدْرَكَهُ رِزْقُهُ كَمَاْ يُدْرِكُهُ الْمَوْتُ

Prophet PBUH said:- If the son of Adam flees from his sustenance as he flees from the death, the sustenance will reach him as the death reaches him.

Salaf or Salafi

Yamin Ismail — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:14:34 +0000

Most muslims believe that the word salaf is a newly invented word in this ummah, with the proof below the word salaf is mentioned in the Quran and here is an authentic hadith where the Prophet (PBUH) uses the word salaf!

Tafsir of Ibn Kathir Surah 43 Verse 55: So when they angered Us, We punished them, and drowned them all. Verse: 56: Faja’lna’hum salafaa wa mathalaal lillaa khiriyna. And We made them a precedent (Salafaa), and an example to later generations. Abu Mijlaz said, “Precedent for others who do the same as they did.”(al-Qurtubi 16:102) He and Mujaahid said, “An example, ie., a lesson to those who come after them.” (at-Tabari 21: 624, Al-Qurtubi 16:102) Allaah is the One who guides to the straight path and unto Him is the final return

Who are the Salaf that we should follow? The Salafus-Saalih. The Prophet (SWS) and his Companions (RA). The word salafi or “early Muslim” in traditional Islamic scholarship means someone who died within the first 3 generations of the Beloved Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and followed his methodology, including scholars such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi’i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.Anyone who died after this is one of the khalaf or “latter-day Muslims”. However, followers of the first 3 generations are associated with the Salaf.

Followers of Imam Abu Hanifa call themselves Hanafi, and Malik are called Maliki, and Shafi’i are called Shafi’i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal call themselves Hanbali. Each of the four Imaams took from narrations that are Saheeh. If there were some Hadithe of the Prophet (SWS) or any companion that contradicted a statement that any of these four Imaams stated, these Imaams instructed their followers to take from that statement of the Salafus Saalih.

This methodology is the minhaj of As-Salafiyyah. Muslims should not only take from all four Imaams but also lean towards the more accurate statement . The most accurate statements come the Prophet (SWS) and his Companions (RA) the Salafus-Saalih. Muslims who follow an Aqeedah with understanding of the Righteous Predecessors (Salafus-Saalih ) call themselves Salafi; Hence, they follow the Salaf and call themselves Salafi.

Indeed, the word Salaf is well known in the Arabic language as well as in the religious terminology. But what concerns us here, is its discussion from the religious standpoint. Thus, it has been authentically reported on the Prophet, sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that during the sickness from which he died from, he said to Faatimah, radyAllaahu ‘anhaa: “So fear Allaah and have patience. And I am the best Salaf (predecessor) for you.” [Saheeh Muslim: no. 2450 (Imaam Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaanee)

So this group, with this Manhaj is present in the whole Dunya (world), in every time and place, so it (the group) is not restricted to a particular country nor to a particular place and they are the Jamaa’ah of the Muslims, who proceed upon the truth and upon guidance. They may have an Imaam who leads them with the Book of Allaah and with the Sunnah of His Messenger, and in certain situations and at the appearance of Fitan (trials) they may not have an Imaam, as comes in the Hadith of Hudhyfah.

Along with this, the Salaf and those who follow them are the people of the Manhaj and they are not a Hizb, as we hear from some who have not even looked into their Manhaj nor their way. So if it is found that an individual affiliates to the Manhaj of the Salaf, then commits an error-as they are not infallible- then indeed his error is deemed upon him (he is taken into account for that) not the Manhaj.

Along with this the people are not to be driven away from the truth, especially the youth, as driving them away from the Jamaa’ah of the Salaf or from the Manhaj of the salaf is a great crime upon the Islamic Ummah.”

Raheemakullah! May Allaah make us from among those who stick closely to the teachings of the Salafus-Saalih and remove enmity and content from those who wish to cause harm to the people who ascribe themselves to As-Salafiyyah, Ameen.

“Live in this world as a traveller or a stranger”

Yamin Ismail — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:02:06 +0000

On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them both), he relates that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) once held my shoulders and said:

“Live in this world as (if you are) a wayfarer or a stranger.” And Abdullah ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with them both) used to say: “If you live till night, then do not wait for the next day (i.e. do not have hopes that you will live to the next day), and if you wake up in the morning do not have hope that you will live till the night. And take (advantage) from your health before your sickness and take advantage of your life before your death (i.e. do every possible obedience in your life before death comes to you for then no deeds can be performed.)”

[Bukhari and Tirmidhi]

Explanation

The similitude of ‘Living in this world as a wayfarer’ is like that of a traveller in this world who undertakes a journey and then stops to rest under the shade of a tree in a particular place. So the traveller ties his mount, lays down his luggage and retires for a moment under the shade in the midday heat, reclining against the tree. Then after having rested a while, he gathers his belongings, unties his mount and resumes his journey moving away from the temporary resting place, where he had sheltered for a short time. Such is the similitude of man in this world, who resides in this temporary abode of the world for a short time, and then he must thereafter continue his journey towards his real destination, which is the hereafter.