❀ Prohibition of Knotting or Gathering the Beard and Its Shar‘i Evidences ❀
Taken from: “Ahkam wa Masail – In Light of Qur’an and Hadith”, Volume 01, Page 522
❖ Question
Is it permissible to gather or tie the beard downward? Please clarify with evidence.
❖ Answer
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Your question is regarding the ruling on gathering the beard downward.
This matter has been addressed through various expressions in the authentic words of the Prophet ﷺ, such as:
أَعْفُوا
وَفِّرُوا
أَوْفُوا
أَرْخُوا
أَرْجُوا
These all indicate a single point:
Let the beard grow naturally without interference or manipulation — such as tying it, trimming it unnaturally, or styling it.
❖ Statement of Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله)
Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله) writes in Nayl al-Awṭār, Vol. 1, Pg. 116:
قَوْلُهُ : وَفِّرُوا اللِّحٰى …
All five wordings—
أَعْفُوا، أَوْفُوا، أَرْخُوا، أَرْجُوا، وَفِّرُوا
—all carry the same meaning:
❝Leave the beard as it is in its natural state.❞
❖ Hadith from Sunan al-Nasā’ī – Prohibition of Knotting the Beard
In Sunan al-Nasā’ī, in Kitāb al-Zīnah, under Bāb: Tying the Beard, the following narration from Rufaī‘ ibn Thābit (رضي الله عنه) is recorded:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“O Rufaī‘! It is possible that you will live a long life after me. So inform the people that:
whoever ties his beard,
or wears a string necklace,
or cleans himself with animal dung or bones —
then indeed, Muḥammad ﷺ is free from such a person.”
❖ Ruling
From this Hadith, it becomes clear that:
Tying, knotting, or gathering the beard in any manner (whether downward or upward) is not permissible.
In fact, such an action is a sin and something the Prophet ﷺ disassociated himself from.
هَذَا مَا عِنْدِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
This is what I have, and Allah knows best what is correct.
