12 Shar‘i Rulings and Details Regarding Beard Khilāl in Wudu
Taken from: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Page 373
What is the ruling on performing khilāl (interlacing) of the beard during wudu? What is the correct method and how many times should it be done? Kindly explain in detail.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. ʾAmma baʿd:
❶ Ḥadīth of Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه):
When the Prophet ﷺ performed wudu, he would take a handful of water, insert it under his chin, and perform khilāl of his beard, saying:
"My Lord has commanded me to do so."
(Sunan Abū Dāwūd: 1/30, Ḥadīth 145; Bayhaqī: 1/54 — Ḥasan ḥadīth)
✔ Imām Ḥākim declared its chain authentic (1/149) and was supported by Imām al-Dhahabī.
✔ Ibn Qaṭṭān also considered it authentic.
❷ Other Reports:
The beard khilāl of the Prophet ﷺ is narrated from:
✔ Supported by the abundance of hadiths.
✔ The wording in Anas’s ḥadīth: “My Lord has commanded me…” indicates obligation.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ's consistent practice further proves it.
Some scholars consider it recommended, citing:
✔ Weakness in some chains.
✔ As per Imām al-Shawkānī (Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/185–186), the hadiths mostly involve actions, not explicit commands.
✔ The wording "My Lord commanded me..." may apply specifically to the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ He held the view of obligation:
➤ If left out by forgetfulness or misunderstanding, the wudu is valid.
➤ If deliberately abandoned, wudu must be repeated.
(Tirmidhī, Manār al-Qabūl: 1/50)
Ibn Abī Shaybah (1/12) reports beard khilāl from:
✔ ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir
✔ Ibn ʿUmar
✔ Anas
✔ ʿAlī
✔ Abū Umāmah
✔ ʿUthmān
✔ Ibn Sīrīn
✔ Ibrāhīm (al-Nakhaʿī)
Ibn Mājah (431) — Anas (رضي الله عنه) said:
The Prophet ﷺ would widen his fingers and perform khilāl of the beard twice during wudu.
Status: Weak (due to Yaḥyā ibn Kathīr and Yazīd al-Raqāshī — both weak narrators)
Ḥākim (1/149) — ʿĀmir ibn Shaqīq narrated that ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه) performed beard khilāl three times and said:
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ doing exactly as you saw me do.”
Imām al-Dhahabī noted that Ibn Maʿīn deemed the narration weak.
The three times portion is not authentically proven in any ṣaḥīḥ hadith.
(See: Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/85)
✔ Take a handful of water, insert it under the chin.
✔ Use fingers from below to interlace through the beard.
✔ While there is some difference of opinion in the strength of reports,
✔ The safer and more virtuous option is to perform beard khilāl.
✔ Especially given that many Companions and Tābiʿīn practiced it, it should not be neglected based merely on certain fatāwā.
✔ This reflects adherence to the Sunnah and caution in matters of dīn.
Refer also to:
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِی وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Taken from: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Page 373
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on performing khilāl (interlacing) of the beard during wudu? What is the correct method and how many times should it be done? Kindly explain in detail.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. ʾAmma baʿd:
✦ Authentic Hadiths on Beard Khilāl
❶ Ḥadīth of Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه):
When the Prophet ﷺ performed wudu, he would take a handful of water, insert it under his chin, and perform khilāl of his beard, saying:
"My Lord has commanded me to do so."
(Sunan Abū Dāwūd: 1/30, Ḥadīth 145; Bayhaqī: 1/54 — Ḥasan ḥadīth)
✔ Imām Ḥākim declared its chain authentic (1/149) and was supported by Imām al-Dhahabī.
✔ Ibn Qaṭṭān also considered it authentic.
❷ Other Reports:
The beard khilāl of the Prophet ﷺ is narrated from:
- ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه) – Tirmidhī Ḥadīths 29, 30
- ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir (رضي الله عنه) – Ibn Mājah 1/72, Ḥadīth 429
- ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها)
- Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī (رضي الله عنه)
✿ Additional Sources:
- Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (1/130, Ḥadīth 92)
- Ṭabarānī al-Awsaṭ, Dāraqutnī, Bayhaqī, Ibn al-Sakan — all authenticated these reports.
- Nayl al-Awṭār (1/185) mentions the Prophet ﷺ would wipe his cheeks and perform khilāl from below with his fingers.
(Narrator ʿAbd al-Wāḥid is disputed)
✦ Scholarly Opinions on the Ruling
➊ Opinion One: Obligation (Wujūb)
✔ Supported by the abundance of hadiths.
✔ The wording in Anas’s ḥadīth: “My Lord has commanded me…” indicates obligation.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ's consistent practice further proves it.
➋ Opinion Two: Recommendation (Istihbāb)
Some scholars consider it recommended, citing:
✔ Weakness in some chains.
✔ As per Imām al-Shawkānī (Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/185–186), the hadiths mostly involve actions, not explicit commands.
✔ The wording "My Lord commanded me..." may apply specifically to the Prophet ﷺ.
✿ Other Scholarly Remarks
- Imām Aḥmad: "Nothing authentic regarding beard khilāl has reached us."
- Ibn Abī Ḥātim from his father: "No sound report from the Prophet ﷺ on beard khilāl."
(Zād al-Maʿād: 1/68, Naṣb al-Rāyah: 1/26) - Imām Mubārakpūrī (Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 1/43): Due to authenticating reports by Tirmidhī, Ḥākim, and Ibn Ḥibbān, concludes that the combined narrations establish legitimacy.
- Ibn Ḥajar declared ʿĀʾishah’s narration ḥasan.
✦ Imām Isḥāq’s View:
✔ He held the view of obligation:
➤ If left out by forgetfulness or misunderstanding, the wudu is valid.
➤ If deliberately abandoned, wudu must be repeated.
(Tirmidhī, Manār al-Qabūl: 1/50)
✿ Reports from Ṣaḥābah and Tābiʿīn:
Ibn Abī Shaybah (1/12) reports beard khilāl from:
✔ ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir
✔ Ibn ʿUmar
✔ Anas
✔ ʿAlī
✔ Abū Umāmah
✔ ʿUthmān
✔ Ibn Sīrīn
✔ Ibrāhīm (al-Nakhaʿī)
✦ Number of Times for Khilāl
➤ Ḥadīth One:
Ibn Mājah (431) — Anas (رضي الله عنه) said:
The Prophet ﷺ would widen his fingers and perform khilāl of the beard twice during wudu.
Status: Weak (due to Yaḥyā ibn Kathīr and Yazīd al-Raqāshī — both weak narrators)
➤ Ḥadīth Two:
Ḥākim (1/149) — ʿĀmir ibn Shaqīq narrated that ʿUthmān (رضي الله عنه) performed beard khilāl three times and said:
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ doing exactly as you saw me do.”
Imām al-Dhahabī noted that Ibn Maʿīn deemed the narration weak.
The three times portion is not authentically proven in any ṣaḥīḥ hadith.
(See: Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 1/85)
✦ Method of Beard Khilāl
✔ Take a handful of water, insert it under the chin.
✔ Use fingers from below to interlace through the beard.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ While there is some difference of opinion in the strength of reports,
✔ The safer and more virtuous option is to perform beard khilāl.
✔ Especially given that many Companions and Tābiʿīn practiced it, it should not be neglected based merely on certain fatāwā.
✔ This reflects adherence to the Sunnah and caution in matters of dīn.
Refer also to:
- al-Mughnī: 1/116
- Tammām al-Minnah: p. 93
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِی وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
