KEEPING THE BEARDS GOES BEYOND THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF DHUL HIJJAH

One of the elders in our area saw me yesterday on our way coming back from Masjid, and he said: "en try faa" (you are really trying). 

I said why? He said (touching his jaw); we are forced to keep our beards in this first ten days of Dhul Hijjah because of the hadith that says we shouldn't shave or remove any hair from our body if we intend to slaughter for His sake on 'eid day. 

Then, I said: Alhaji, one of the benefits of the Sunnah of not removing any hair from the body this time is that it would encourage us to leave and keep the beards for the rest of our lives and not just in the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah alone. 

He said: hmmm, you are right ooo. But me, I don't have much beards fa, it doesn't grow well. 

I said, it doesn't need to grow well, whatever you have, leave it l, Allaah would reward you. But if you keep shaving it, you are a sinner. 

He laughed, and said: even yours too haven't really grown since you have been leaving it. 

I said: yes, but atleast I still leave it.

Then, he said to a brother beside me: amaa eyin d'ogbon si ti yin yi diedie fa (but you are stylishly trimming your own small small oo)?

The brother wanted to defend himself, then I said to him: Looto ni fa (it is true oo). You are trimming it. That is a naseehah for you too. Lool. 

[We all laughed and that was the end of the scene]

From this dicussion, it can be deduced that a lot men in our society are like that. They comply with the Sunnah of not removing any hair from the body in the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah while on Hajj, 'Umrah or even at home with the intention of slaughtering on the 10th day. But unfortunately, they reject the Sunnah of keeping the beards after those days of the year, as commanded and encouraged by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. If we are not going to deceive ourselves, this is a typical example of leaving a part of the Book and neglecting a part of it. It is a serious problem because Allaah threatens this attitude with severe punishment in this world and the hereafter. May Allaah save us from it. Allaah says:

أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ ۚ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّ

 خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ ۗ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

..So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. [Surat Al-Baqarah 85, Sahih International]

As if the above is not enough, Allaah describe people who do cherrypicking in the application of the Sunnah of the beloved Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم as people who have mortgaged their hereafter with little enjoyment of this life and He promised not to lighten their punishment or aid them in any way on the Day of Judgment. Allaah says:

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ ۖ فَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ

Those are the ones who have bought the life of this world [in exchange] for the Hereafter, so the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be aided. [Surat Al-Baqarah 86, Sahih International]

Some Muslims chose those sunan their heart desire and negliglect those that they don't like or detest. Some don't just shy away from some important and mandatory Sunnah, they attack same and make jest of anyone practising it. This is a form of kufr on its own. It is upon every Muslims to believe in the Book of Allaah and the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم as a whole. Even if you haven't started practising a Sunnah, don't hate it, don't make jest of it and don't preach against it, otherwise, you may lose your deen along that line without knowing if proper care is not taken. Some people would become kafir as a result of hating a Sunnah. Allaah says:

(ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَرِهُوا مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ)

That is because they disliked what Allah revealed, so He rendered worthless their deeds. [Surat Muhammad 9, Sahih International]

In our society, some people love the Sunnah of marry more wives, but they find it hard to comply with the sunnah of dressing in Islaam. Which one is harder? We also have Muslims (especially among women) who love the Sunnah of wearing the proper hijab (even niqab), but they detest the Sunnah of polygyny as enshirined in Q4:3, with passion or by some implications. This is not Islaam. The real Islaam is for us to submit totally to the Will of Allaah and the Sunnah of His beloved Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم in all matters without any exception. We should not trivialize any act of disobedience to Allaah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. This is what makes us Muslims. This is one of things that differentiates us from the People of the Book (The Jews and the Christians). They believe in some parts of their Books, and disbelieve in some parts of it. That is why they are not Muslims up till today. That is what led them to rewrite a book by themselves and falsely attribute same to Allaah. Allaah's curse is upon them. Allaah says:

(فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۖ فَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ)

So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn. [Surat Al-Baqarah 79, Sahih International]

As a matter of religious seriousness and consciousness, the act of shaving the beard is prohibited in the shari'ah and all scholars upon Sunnah have not differed regarding its obligation upon Muslim men. In a hadith, Abu Hurayrah رضي الله reported that the ruler of Yemen, appointed by the Persian emperor Kisra, sent two envoys to the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. When they got to him, he noticed that they had their beards shaved and left their moustaches to grow. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم hated their ugly look, and turned his face away from them saying, “Woe be to you, who told you to do so?” They replied: “Our lord (Kisra) did!”

The Messenger r responded: 

“But my Lord, exalted and glorified be He, has commanded me to spare my beard and trim my moustaches.” [Recorded by Ibn Jarir at-Tabari, Ibn Sa’d, and Ibn Bishran. Verified to be hasan (good) by al-Albani (Fiqh us-Sirah by al-Ghazali p. 359)]

Except there is a strong excuse, a Muslim matter must keep his beards just as Muslim women must wear their full hijab (or niqab). There are many other traditions and scholarly explanations regarding this matter, but I will stop here not to make this piece to be unnecessarily lengthy. I hope the message is well grabbed. May Allaah make it useful to me and all readers. May He make it easy for us to stand upon Sunnah at all time and grant us goodness in this world and the hereafter.