reading time ~11 mins

1. Beard (لِحْية)
2. Description of the Beard of the Prophet (ﷺ) 
3. Shaving the Beard is changing the Fitra (natural state)
   1. Hadith – 5 things from the Fitra
   2. Hadith – 10 things from the Fitra
4. Beard in Quran
5. Beard in Sunnah
   1. Command on trimming the moustache & growing the beard
   2. Encouragement in the sunnah for men to grow the beard
6. Dying & colour of the beard
7. What is not permissible
8. Summary
9. Additional Reading

Beard (لِحْية)

The beard (لِحْية) is the hair that grows on the cheeks and the chin

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about what is meant by the beard. He replied: 

The extent of the beard is from the cheekbones, level with the channel of the ears, until the bottom of the face. It includes the hair that grows on the cheeks

The Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ) of Islam had a beard and he encouraged men to let their beards grow. Scholars believe that all prophets had beards as this is the natural state of men

Description of the Beard of the Prophet (ﷺ) 

1. The description of the Prophet (ﷺ) indicates that his beard was up to the collar bone joint (anatomically called sternoclavicular joint; in arabic: nahr نحر) (shama-il tirmidhi 393, 412) Abdullah Ibn Umar used to imitate the Prophet (ﷺ) in all matters and this is why it is understood that he cut his beard up to fist length due to imitating the Prophet (ﷺ). There is no evidence found which shows that the Prophet (ﷺ) cut his own beard. It may be that his beard never grew beyond the collar bone joint
2. Narrated Abu Ma`mar: We asked Khabbab whether Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) used to recite (the Qur’an) in the Dhuhr and the `Asr prayers. He replied in the affirmative. We said, “How did you come to know about it?” He said, “By the movement of his beard.” (bukhari 746) (bukhari 760) (bukhari 761) (bukhari 777)
3. The Prophet had a thick beard (muslim 2344b) (nasa’i 5232)
4. The Prophet (ﷺ) had some white hair in his beard (bukhari 3458) (bukhari 5900) (bukhari 3544) (ibn majah 3629) (ash-shama’il al-Muhammadiyah 38)

Shaving the Beard is changing the Fitra (natural state)

1. According to Scholars, shaving the beard is considered changing the creation of Allah and going against the Fitra
2. Allah says in the Quran that it is Shaytaan who leads humanity to alter the creation of Allah (Quran 4:119)

Hadith – 5 things from the Fitra

3. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits and clipping the moustache.” (bukhari 5889) (bukhari 5891) (bukhari 6297) (muslim 257a) (abi dawud 4198) (nasa’i 5225) (tirmidhi 2756) (ibn majah 292)

Hadith – 10 things from the Fitra

4. A’isha reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Ten are the acts according to fitra: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes and cleaning one’s private parts with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth (muslim 261a) (nasa’i 5040) (abi dawud 53) (ibn majah 293) (tirmidhi vol.5, book41, No. 2757) (riyad as salihin 1204)
5. Al-Mu’tamir narrated that his father said: “I heard Talq mentioning ten things that have to do with the Fitrah: Using the Siwak, trimming the mustache, clipping the nails, washing the joints, shaving the pubes, rinsing the nose, and I am not sure about rinsing the mouth.” (nasa’i 5041)
6. It was narrated that Talq bin Habib said: “Ten things are from the Sunnah: Using the Siwak, trimming the mustache, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the nose, letting the beard grow, trimming the nails, plucking the armpit hairs, circumcision, shaving the pubes and washing one’s backside.” (nasa’i 5042)

Beard in Quran

1. Muslims are encouraged to follow the example of the Prophet (Quran 33:21)
2. Prophet Harun had a beard (Quran 20:94)

Beard in Sunnah

Command on trimming the moustache & growing the beard

1. Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “To get the moustaches cut ‘short is characteristic of the Fitra.” (al bukhari 5888)
2. Ibn Umar said: The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) said: Trim closely the moustache, and let the beard grow (muslim 259a) (muslim 259b) (muslim 259c) (tirmidhi 2763) (tirmidhi 2764) (nasa’i 5045) (nasa’i 5046) (nasa’i 5226) (nasa’i 15) (riyad as saliheen 1205) (muwatta malik 1733)
3. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Trim closely the moustache, and grow beard, and thus act against the fire-worshippers (muslim 260)
4. Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that when Salim ibn Abdullah intended to go into ihram he would call for some scissors and trim his moustache and beard before setting off and before going into ihram. (muwatta malik 898)
5. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra: circumcision, shaving the pubes, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits and clipping the moustache.” (bukhari 5889) (bukhari 5891) (bukhari 6297) (muslim 257a) (abi dawud 4198) (nasa’i 5225) (tirmidhi 2756) (ibn majah 292)
6. Imam Malik said that shaving the moustache is not from the sunnah and considered it mutilation. He said “One takes from the moustache until the edge of the lip appears, that is the rim. One does not cut it off completely so that one mutilates oneself.” (muwatta malik book 49, hadith 4)

Encouragement in the sunnah for men to grow the beard

7. Ibn `Umar said, The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short.‘ Whenever Ibn `Umar performed the Hajj or `Umra, he used to hold his beard with his hand and cut whatever remained outside his hold. (bukhari 5892) Comment: The fact that it is done on Hajj and Umrah is to make it public, and if something is haram on regular days, should be equally or more haram on time of Hajj. Another Hadith is also shown without mention of Hajj below. The love of Abdullah ibn Umar for imitating the Prophet (ﷺ) should be remembered. There is no record of him ever going against the sunnah. 
8. Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar used to trim his beard and moustache when he shaved at the end of a hajj or umrah (muwatta malik 895)
9. Marwan ibn Salim al-Muqaffa’ said: I saw Ibn Umar holding his beard with his hand and cutting what exceeded the handful of it. He (Ibn Umar) said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said when he broke his fast: Thirst has gone, the arteries are moist, and the reward is sure, if Allah wills (abi dawud 2357) This hadith is not related to Hajj and shows that it is applicable also outside of hajj. 
10. Tying the beard is prohibited (abi dawud 36)
11. Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abu Huraira  (رضي الله عنه) all used to cut their beard on the fist length. (Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah)

Dying & colour of the beard

1. It is allowed to dye the hair of the beard black (scholars encourage this especially for young men below the age of 60). The beard of Husain was coloured with dye and he was 55 years old (bukhari 3748) (mishkat al masabih 6179)
2. There is an indication of a certain group of people in the end of times who will not smell paradise. One of the signs to recognise these people is that they will use black dyes like crops of doves. This is just an indication to recognise a certain type of people, it does not mean that the act of dying is not allowed (abi dawud 4212) This is similar to the example of a sign of the group of Khwarij is that they shave their heads but that does not mean that shaving head is prohibited (bukhari 7562)

What is not permissible

1. It is forbidden to tie the beard (nasa’i 5067) (mishkat al masabih 351)

Summary

1. Beard is the facial hair that grows on a man on his cheeks and chin
2. The Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ) had a beard and scholars believe that all Prophets had beards as this is the sunnah of the Prophets as well as part of the fitra (natural state) of men
3. There are several Hadith which explicitly mention that men must let their beards grow and trim their moustaches
4. Majority opinion is that having a beard is obligatory on muslim men
5. There are minority opinions that growing a beard is voluntary (mustahab) – however it is recommended to follow the majority opinion to be safe
6. The ideal length of the beard is up to the collar bone to imitate the beard of the Prophet (ﷺ) however most scholars agree that as long as beard is visible and covers the cheeks and chin, it is permissible

Additional Reading

1. Definition of the Beard and Ruling on Shaving (Article from IslamQA)
2. Recommended Length of the Beard (Article from IslamQA)