Part 2: The Beard in the Shafi'i School
The topic of the “Beard” in the Shafi’i school has been dealt with in another article: اللحية The Beard : A Collection of Shafi’i Verdicts.
Some brethren posted some objections, specifically from Sayyidi Taha Karan, to the points made within above article. I also needed further clarification on linguistic usages so I asked the Shafi’i, Shaykh Gibril Haddad to explain further two quotes I thought were pertinent to this issue.
The first quote I asked him about was from the the explanation of the Minhaj of Imam An-Nawawi by Imam Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi (Mughni Al-Muhtaj):
واللحية من الرجل، وهي
بكسر اللام، وحكي فتحها:
الشعر النابت على الذقن
خاصة، وهي مجمع اللحيين
“And the beard for men is with a kasrah beneath the “lam”…it is the hair that grows specifically upon the chin, and it is where the two jaws meet (وهي مجمع اللحيين).”
I needed clarification as to what was intended in the arabic by “where the two jaws meet (وهي مجمع اللحيين)”. It seemed to me that it could mean the inclusion of the two jaws and by extension what is upon them. To this, Shaykh Gibril explained:
- “`ala al-dhaqani khaassatan” means “specifically on the chin,” which implies: “and generally on the rest of the face as well.”
“wa hiya majma`u al-lahyayn” is a gloss for dhaqan (fem.) to which the pronoun hiya refers, i.e. the chin is where the two lateral halves of the jawbone/mandible meet.
Note: The human jaw has two bones: the upper bone or maxilla and the lower or mandible, also called jawbone. In the fiqh texts, the latter is imagined to be two halves (“the two bones out of which grows the lower row of teeth” in al-Ghazzi on Abu Shuja`), hence the dual.
Then I asked the Shaykh to clarify for me nearly the same words by Ibn Hajr Al-Haytami in his Tuhfah:
> واللحية بكسر اللام أفصح
> من فتحها، وهي الشعر
> النابت على الذقن التي
> هيمجتمع اللحيين ومثلها
> العارض وأطلقها ابن سيده
> على ذلك وشعر الخدين
To which he said:
Again a progression from the specific to the less specific:
1. specific = dhaqan
2. less specific, though “identical” (wa-mithluha) = `aaridayn
while Ibnu Siyadah, al-Haytami said, “indifferently referred it” (atlaqaha), i.e. the term lihya, “to that (i.e. al-dhaqan) and the hair of the two cheeks.”
Imam al-Shafi`i has some precise words on what constitutes a specific definition of the beard in al-Umm (`Abd al-Muttalib ed. 2:55). He says:
“The beard consists in two things (wal-lihyatu fa-hiya shay’aan):
“[First,] the cheek-beard connected to the two temples (`idhar al-lihya al-muttasil bil-sudghayn) , under and next to which is part of the face, and which has thin hair: it has the same status as the hair of the two eyebrows and [ablution] is incomplete unless it is washed, because the face borders it as I have described and because its hair is not so abundant as to prevent water from reaching it the way it reaches the eyebrows and moustache;
“[Second,] lower-lip hair (al-`anfaqa) – and that is on the chin (al-dhaqan) – and all of the two jaw bones [hair] that reach to the chin (wa-ma ila al-dhaqani min al-lahyayni) : *the latter is the gathering place of the beard and the beard in the restrictive sense* (fa-hadha mujtama`u al-lihyati bi-munqati`i al-lihya).”
So, stricto sensu, the lihya is the hair on the dhaqan and lahyayn, excluding the `aridayn and khaddayn and Allah knows best.
[end quote]
He also commented upon parts of the article of Shaykh Taha Karan saying:
> The word lihyah, similarly, has a wider, general meaning that
> includesthe hair on the chin as well as the sideburns and even the hair
> on thecheeks; and then it has a narrower meaning that is restricted to
> thehair on the chin. When discussing the washing of the face in wudu,
> ourfuqaha used the word lihyah in its narrower sense.
So then there is agreement on the above on all sides. The disagreement is on the following:
When discussing
> theregulations pertaining to the hair, the manner in which
> theyunambiguously attach the ruling of karahah to the sideburns as
> wellleaves one with little option but to conclude that in this respect
> theyuse the word lihyah in a wider sense than in the case of wudu.
> One is reminded here also of the hadith that states that
> RasuluLlahsallaLlah u `alayhi wasallam shortened his beard by grasping it
> with hishand and removing the excess. The hadith states that this was
> done forboth the length and breadth of the beard. The authenticity of
> thehadith is a matter of dispute. Among our fuqaha Ibn Hajar
> al-Haytamiaffirms that it is authentically documented by Ibn Hibban
> (though Imust confess I have not yet located it in his Sahih). The
> question tobe considered here is this: How does one trim the excess from
> thebreadth of the beard to a fist-length when the beard is only that
> whichgrows on the chin?
The hadith al-Haytami adduced only states that “the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, would trim his beard, from its length and breadth” narrated by al-Tirmidhi. There is no mention of his “grasping it with his hand and removing the excess.” The latter modality is related only from Ibn `Umar and Abu Hurayra.
It is based on the above hadith that al-Haytami and others determined that shaving the sideburns was permissible. His interpretation was that “breadth” (`ard) referred to the sides of the face (`awarid). The contemporary shaykh `Abd al-Rahman Ibn Shumayla al-Ahdal wrote: “What Ibn Hajar determined regarding the permissibility of shaving the sideburns: divergence over it pertains to the sideburns of beards, provided its report is sound.”
Al-Tirmidhi said “gharib.” It was imprudently included among the forgeries by al-Albani and Ibn Baz who said one of its narrators, “a man called `Umar ibn Harun al-Balkhi,” was a liar. True, this hafiz had been accused of lying by Ibn Ma`in in one of two verdicts he gave, the other being “He is nothing.” However, al-Bukhari and al-Tirmidhi, al-Dhahabi and Ibn Kathir did not accept that charge. Ibn Harun belongs in al-Tirmidhi’ s fifth layer of ta`dil and he and al-Bukhari said this is the only munkar report he is known to narrate, so it is between weak and very weak.
Second, there are three other independent Prophetic narrations commanding trimming of the beard:
[1] from Abu Quhafa in Abu Yusuf’s Aathaar (no. 1038);
[2] from Jabir in Abu Nu`aym, Tarikh Asbahan 2:244 and al-Bayhaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman (5:221 no. 6440); and
[3] from Mujahid mursal in Abu Dawud’s Marasil (p. 316 no. 448).
The above reports, although weak in themselves, convey on the whole that al-Tirmidhi’ s narration does have a basis. What further corroborates his instinct in the matter is the fact that light trimming (al-akhdhu min) of the `aridayn – sideburns, cheek hair and upper beard – and the bottom of the beard was the recommendation and/or practice of our liegelords `Ali ibn Abi Talib, `Abd Allah ibn `Umar and Abu Hurayra followed by many a great Imam of the Successors and mujtahid jurists of the Salaf (emphatically in pilgrimage per verse 29 of Surat al-Hajj: {Then let them make an end of their unkemptness} ); and this is the position of the massive majority.
And Allah Most High knows best.
Was-Salam,
GF Haddad
[end quote]
As salamau alaykum
Thanks for posting this, i am still a little confused as to what Shaykh Gibril is stating, are the jawbones included in the liyah and so considered Makruh to shave?
Jazakullah Khairan
Wa’Alaykum Salam Abu Ibrahim,
Well what is certain is that Al-Khatib Ash-Shirbini and others (in fact most of the explanations I have seen of the minhaj) deem the lihyah to be truly on the chin. What is on the jaws is an extension of that, and is necessary to wash in wudu’, though not wajib to grow. That is what I understood from his response. Whatever the case, however, it is certainly the opinion of the majority of the Shafi’iyyah that the beard is what is upon the chin khaassatan (specifically).
He gave a quote from Al-Umm that Imam Ash-Shafi’i radiya Allahu ‘anhu divided the “beard” into two parts and he concludes with what seems to be the true beard:
“[Second,] lower-lip hair (al-`anfaqa) – and that is on the chin (al-dhaqan) – and all of the two jaw bones [hair] that reach to the chin (wa-ma ila al-dhaqani min al-lahyayni) : *the latter is the gathering place of the beard and the beard in the restrictive sense* (fa-hadha mujtama`u al-lihyati bi-munqati`i al-lihya).”
It seems that the Shafi’iyyah understood this to mean that the gathering place is the chin, and that the chin (dhaqan) is itself the lihyah. That is how the majority interpreted it in their works.
jazakullah, Khairan.
wa Jazakum Allahu Khairan bro.
as salamu alaykum,
Some did accept the claim regarding Umar b. Harun al-Balkhi. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said that he was, “matruk.” (Taqrib al-Tahdhib, 4979) Albani and Ibn Baz’s mentions of him to not sway the argument to this side or that, one would have to look towards what the authorities of Jarh and Tadil said (unless we consider both of them from amongst the authorities.) Imam Dhahabi brings a list of statements from the authorities regarding him, most of them negative. (Mizan al-Itidal, 5, 276) He brings the hadith of the beard through the following isnad: Hannad > Umar b. Harun > Usamat b. Zayd > Amr b. Shuayb > from his father > from his grandfather. That the Prophet said كان يأخذ من لحيته من طولها و عرضها and this hadith is the one referred to in the Tirmidhi’s Sunan (# 2762) Usamat b. Zayd al-Laythi is also present in the hadith and he isn’t the strongest of narrators according to the authorities but acceptable akin to Imam Dhahabi’s mention. (Tahdhib Siyar Allam al-Nubala, 1, 237) The hadith in Tirmidhi is only found there, meaning no other authorities’ books transmitted it. Both Umar b. Harun and Usamat b. Zayd are known for infirad. The chain link of Amr b. Shuayb from his fathers has been questioned by the ashab, due to the possibility of what comes from them being mursal. What Imam Nawawi mentioned in his introduction to Sharh al-Muhahdhdab might be what we rely upon, nevertheless, the isnad from this perspective would be questionable as well.
Imam Bukhari mentioned through Nafi from Ibn Umar that the Prophet SAW said commended the Muslims to be different from the polytheists and to trim the moustache and grow the beard. (Bukhari, # 5553) Ibn Umar RA when he was on Hajj or Umrah he would take from his beard by grabbing it. The mention in Bukhari is كان ابن عمر إذا حج أو اعتمر قبض لحيته فما فضل أخذه. Hence, it seems that this was the practice of Ibn Umar but not that he ascribed it back to the Prophet SAW. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned that some of the mushrikin would merely shorten and some would shave their beards. Ibn Hajar also mentioned that the word lihyah [beard] is specific for what grows on the dhaqan/dhiqan [chin] and khadayn [cheeks]. (Fath al-Bari, Kitab al-Libas)
It does seem like al-Qaffal al-Shashi, Ibn al-Rifah, Zarkashi, and Adhrai had a strong premise for their argument, as their evidences are from the sahih books of hadith. Abu Shamah, who was Imam Nawawi’s teacher and the head of Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyyah, mentioned, “Some people have invented the practice of shaving their beards and this is worse that what has been conveyed regarding the Magians who would merely would shorten them.”
I have a question bouncing around in my head which is, “Would the Magians only remove the hair on their chins?”