Source: Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani – Ahkām wa Masā’il: Kitāb-o-Sunnat kī Roshnī meṅ
❖ Question:
Is trimming or shaping the beard allowed in Islam?
Is there any authentic ḥadīth that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to trim his beard?
❖ Answer:
Some individuals attempt to justify trimming the beard based on a narration found in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, which states:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to trim his beard from the sides and length.”
(Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Adab, Bāb: Mā Jāʾa fī al-Akhdh min al-Liḥyah – Hadith: 2762)
However, this narration is extremely weak—rather, it is fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
It cannot be used as evidence to permit trimming or shaving the beard.
◈ The Defect in the Chain:
The narration is transmitted through ʿAmr ibn Hārūn, about whom the leading scholars of ḥadīth said:
- Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Imām al-Nasā’ī said:
❝He is matrūk (abandoned in ḥadīth).❞ - Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said:
❝He is a kadhdhāb (liar), khabīth (wicked).❞ - Imām Ṣāliḥ Jazarah also stated:
❝He is a liar.❞ - Imām ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī and Imām al-Dāraquṭnī said:
❝He is extremely weak (shadīd al-ḍaʿf).❞ - Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥāfiẓ said:
❝He is matrūk al-ḥadīth (his ḥadīth are rejected).❞ - Imām al-Sājī said:
❝He is weak (ḍaʿīf).❞ - Imām Abū Nuʿaym stated:
❝He narrates what he hears and fabricates.❞ - Imām al-ʿUqaylī said:
❝He is weak (ḍaʿīf).❞
(Refer: Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, Vol. 4, pp. 316–317)
Imām al-Tirmidhī, after quoting this narration, cited the words of Imām al-Bukhārī:
❝This narration from ʿAmr ibn Hārūn has no basis whatsoever.❞
(Tirmidhī, also quoted in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb)
Shaykh al-Albānī also declared it fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
Despite this, some people use this baseless narration as a pretext to mutilate their beards, trimming parts from the upper area and others from the bottom, leaving only a thin line of hair on the face.
This is a mockery of the Sharīʿah, imitation of Shayṭān, and rebellion against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
❖ A Serious Warning:
It is deeply regretful that even highly educated people, those who consider themselves scholars or intellectuals, ridicule this mutawātir sunnah and reject it as part of the Prophetic tradition.
For a true Muslim, the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—based on revelation—is sufficient.
Authentic aḥādīth clearly show that:
❖ The beard is to be left alone
❖ It is not to be trimmed or shaped
✅ Conclusion:
- The narration suggesting the Prophet ﷺ trimmed his beard is fabricated and has no credibility.
- Shaving or trimming the beard based on this narration is invalid and misguided.
- The authentic Sunnah is to leave the beard untouched.
- Mocking the Sunnah and imitating Shayṭān is a sign of rebellion, not intelligence.
(And Allah knows best with true knowledge.)
