Abu Dawud

541. Commentary:
Qadi Iyad states that this perhaps happened only once or twice; the purpose was to indicate permissibility or there was some other excuse. And most likely, this used to be the practice earlier, and then at some later time, there was a delay in your (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) arrival. So the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Do not stand up until you see me." [عون المعبود]

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
BARAJIM:
This is the plural of "burjuma,"
the joints of the fingers,
the phalanges,
because dirt tends to accumulate in them.

Benefits and Issues:
In this hadith, ten things have been described as matters of natural disposition (fitrah).
There is a verbal difference of opinion among the commentators regarding the meaning and concept of fitrah.
According to some scholars, fitrah means:
the Sunnah of the Prophets (alayhim as-salam),
that is, the way and practice of the Prophets,
because in the narration of "Mustakhraj Abi Awanah," the word "sunnah" is used in place of "fitrah,"
that is:
the words are "ten are from the sunnah,"
as if the way in which the Prophets themselves lived and the path upon which they instructed and guided their respective communities,
these ten things were included in that,
thus these ten matters are part of the common practices and agreed-upon teachings of the Prophets (alayhim as-salam),
and from this, the error in the view or opinion of those who take the meaning of sunnah as per the terminology of the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) and say:
that keeping a beard is only sunnah,
becomes clear.

According to some commentators, "fitrah" means:
the religion of fitrah,
that is, Islam,
because in the Noble Qur’an, the upright religion (din hanif) is described as:
﴿فِطْرَتَ اللَّـهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا﴾ (),
that is, these matters are among the components or rulings of the religion of Islam.

Some commentators have taken the meaning of "fitrah" as:
"what is the innate nature and disposition of man," that these ten things are requirements of the original nature which Allah has created in man.
Just as the original nature of man is that he likes faith, goodness, purity, and cleanliness,
and dislikes disbelief, immorality, evil deeds, filth, and impurity,
similarly, if a person remains upon his original nature and it has not been corrupted or impaired by any external influence or environment,
then he will like the aforementioned ten matters.

From our observations, this reality becomes self-evident,
that whether the word fitrah means the Sunnah of the Prophets (alayhim as-salam), or the fitrah of Islam, or the original nature and disposition of man,
the intent of the hadith in all three cases will be the same,
that these ten things are the ten agreed-upon ways of life brought by the Prophets (alayhim as-salam),
and are among the components and rulings of this religion of fitrah, Islam,
which in reality are requirements of the original nature and disposition of man,
because the way of life and the religion that the Prophets (alayhim as-salam) bring,
is in fact the authentic and beneficial explanation of the requirements of human nature,
which Allah, the Exalted, explains through His Prophets (alayhim as-salam).

It is the unanimous opinion of the hadith scholars that the narration of the narrator is considered,
not his opinion or action.
Here, in the ahadith, in the narration of Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) regarding the beard:
the words « أَعْفُوا اللِّحَى» and «أَوْفُوا اللِّحَى» are used,
and in the narration of Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu):
the word «أَرْخُوا اللِّحَى» is used.
The clear implication of these words is
that there should be no trimming
or cutting of the beard in any way.
Now, in the presence of explicit narrations, to deduce from some weak hadiths and the actions of Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) and Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu),
that trimming or cutting the beard, or considering a fist-length as sunnah, is not correct.

The requirement of faith in the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is
that, without introducing any addition or the opinion and action of anyone else, his (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) statement should be accepted exactly as it is,
especially when it is established that the blessed beard of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was long and thick, filling his blessed chest,
so love and devotion to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and the requirement of following his beautiful example is
that one should follow him completely in both appearance and character, and not invent excuses and pretexts to avoid this,
rather, the real requirement of faith in him, love and devotion to him, and following his beautiful example (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is
that, as far as possible, without getting involved in the debate of obligatory, sunnah, or recommended, one should follow and emulate him (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),
and avoid, as much as possible, deviating from his practice and way,
therefore, there is no need to get involved in the debate about what the views and opinions of the four Imams are regarding these ten matters.