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?”

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.

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