Islamic Ruling on the Earnings of One Who Shaves Beards
✍ Written by: Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Question:
Will a barber who shaves beards also be sinful? And what is the ruling on his earnings?
Answer:
Allāh Almighty created man in the best form and made certain distinctions between men and women — one such distinction is the beard. The beard is an adornment for men, and it is such a noble adornment that Allāh Almighty adorned all His Prophets and Messengers with it. If it were a cause of ugliness or defect, Allāh would never have granted it to any Prophet or Messenger. The beard is part of the fiṭrah (natural disposition) of Islam.
As narrated from Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
«عَشْرٌ مِّنَ الْفِطْرَةِ قَصُّ الشَّارِبِ وَاِعْفَاءُ اللِّحْيَةِ»
“Ten acts are from the fiṭrah, among them trimming the moustache and letting the beard grow.”
[Muslim, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Khaṣāl al-Fiṭrah, ḥadīth 261]
The meaning of “iʿfāʾ al-liḥyah” is to leave the beard as it is without cutting or trimming it.
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله, after mentioning five different wordings — «اَعْفُوْا، اَوْفُوْا، اَرْخُوْا، اَرْجُوْا، وَفِّرُوْا» — states:
“All of them mean: leave the beard as it is.”
[Sharḥ Muslim 1/129]
Qāḍī al-Shawkānī رحمه الله writes:
«ان هٰزه الاشياء ازا فعلت اتصف فاعلها بالفطرة التى فطره الله العباد عليها و حثهم عليها واستحبها لهم ليكونوا علٰي اكمل الصفات واشرفها صورة»
“If these acts are performed, the doer will be upon the fiṭrah upon which Allāh created the servants, encouraged them towards, and preferred for them — so that they may be in the most complete and noble form.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/130]
He further states:
«هِيَ السُّنَّةُ الْقَدِيْمَةُ الَّتِيْ اِخْتَارَهَا الْاَنْبِيَاءُ وَاتَّفَقَتْ عَلَيْهَا الشَّرَائِعُ فَكَاَنَّمَا اَمْرٌ جِبِلِّيٌّ يَنْطُوُوْنَ عَلَيْهَا»
“This is an ancient Sunnah chosen by all the Prophets, and all the divine laws have agreed upon it, as it is a natural and innate matter upon which they were all united.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/130]
From this authentic ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is clear that growing the beard is a natural and innate matter, and shaving or cutting it is altering the fiṭrah and a satanic act. Moreover, numerous other authentic aḥādīth contain the command to keep the beard, and it is established in principle that a command indicates obligation (wujūb). Not acting upon an obligation invites the anger of Allāh Almighty.
Therefore, a person who shaves someone else’s beard is assisting him in sin, and assisting in sin is strictly prohibited in Sharīʿah. Since shaving the beard is ḥarām and a major sin, assisting in it is also ḥarām. Furthermore, it must be remembered that any work which the Sharīʿah has declared ḥarām — its payment and earnings are also ḥarām.
Hence, shaving the beard and then taking payment for it is ḥarām. Likewise, renting a shop to one who shaves beards is also cooperation in a ḥarām act, and is therefore ḥarām.
✍ Written by: Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Question:
Will a barber who shaves beards also be sinful? And what is the ruling on his earnings?
Answer:
Allāh Almighty created man in the best form and made certain distinctions between men and women — one such distinction is the beard. The beard is an adornment for men, and it is such a noble adornment that Allāh Almighty adorned all His Prophets and Messengers with it. If it were a cause of ugliness or defect, Allāh would never have granted it to any Prophet or Messenger. The beard is part of the fiṭrah (natural disposition) of Islam.
As narrated from Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
«عَشْرٌ مِّنَ الْفِطْرَةِ قَصُّ الشَّارِبِ وَاِعْفَاءُ اللِّحْيَةِ»
“Ten acts are from the fiṭrah, among them trimming the moustache and letting the beard grow.”
[Muslim, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah: Bāb Khaṣāl al-Fiṭrah, ḥadīth 261]
The meaning of “iʿfāʾ al-liḥyah” is to leave the beard as it is without cutting or trimming it.
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله, after mentioning five different wordings — «اَعْفُوْا، اَوْفُوْا، اَرْخُوْا، اَرْجُوْا، وَفِّرُوْا» — states:
“All of them mean: leave the beard as it is.”
[Sharḥ Muslim 1/129]
Qāḍī al-Shawkānī رحمه الله writes:
«ان هٰزه الاشياء ازا فعلت اتصف فاعلها بالفطرة التى فطره الله العباد عليها و حثهم عليها واستحبها لهم ليكونوا علٰي اكمل الصفات واشرفها صورة»
“If these acts are performed, the doer will be upon the fiṭrah upon which Allāh created the servants, encouraged them towards, and preferred for them — so that they may be in the most complete and noble form.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/130]
He further states:
«هِيَ السُّنَّةُ الْقَدِيْمَةُ الَّتِيْ اِخْتَارَهَا الْاَنْبِيَاءُ وَاتَّفَقَتْ عَلَيْهَا الشَّرَائِعُ فَكَاَنَّمَا اَمْرٌ جِبِلِّيٌّ يَنْطُوُوْنَ عَلَيْهَا»
“This is an ancient Sunnah chosen by all the Prophets, and all the divine laws have agreed upon it, as it is a natural and innate matter upon which they were all united.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār 1/130]
From this authentic ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, it is clear that growing the beard is a natural and innate matter, and shaving or cutting it is altering the fiṭrah and a satanic act. Moreover, numerous other authentic aḥādīth contain the command to keep the beard, and it is established in principle that a command indicates obligation (wujūb). Not acting upon an obligation invites the anger of Allāh Almighty.
Therefore, a person who shaves someone else’s beard is assisting him in sin, and assisting in sin is strictly prohibited in Sharīʿah. Since shaving the beard is ḥarām and a major sin, assisting in it is also ḥarām. Furthermore, it must be remembered that any work which the Sharīʿah has declared ḥarām — its payment and earnings are also ḥarām.
Hence, shaving the beard and then taking payment for it is ḥarām. Likewise, renting a shop to one who shaves beards is also cooperation in a ḥarām act, and is therefore ḥarām.
