The Issue of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) and Trimming the Beard Beyond a Fist
In the Light of Qur’an and Hadith
Source: Qur’an wa Hadith ki Roshni mein Ahkām o Masā’il, Vol. 1, p. 519
❖ Question:
The statement attributed to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) that trimming the beard beyond a fist is permissible — is this correct or not? If correct, then is trimming permissible, considering that the narrations regarding the beard are also reported from him?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
In my view, this is the action of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA), not his statement. The binding proof in Sharīʿah is the ḥadīth narrated, not the narrator’s personal statement or action.
Example:
✿ ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA) is the transmitter of the verse:
{فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا}
[“…then perform tayammum with clean earth”]
Yet, he issued a fatwā that if a person in a state of major impurity does not find water, he should not pray until he finds water, bathes, and then offers prayer.
Despite this, we act upon the Qur’anic command, not on Ibn Masʿūd’s personal fatwā.
Likewise, in the case of a ḥadīth, the principle is that practice is upon the ḥadīth itself, not upon the personal statement or action of the narrator.
Conclusion:- The report about Ibn ʿUmar (RA) trimming beyond a fist relates to his personal practice, not a binding ruling.
- The Sunnah and the Prophet’s ﷺ command take precedence over any Companion’s personal action or opinion.
