The ruling on shaving the beard

Question

Question: (1) A person shaves his beard and also encourages (others) to shave it. (2) Or he shaves but does not encourage it. (3) And there is a person who fully observes all the rites (sha‘a’ir) of Islam but shaves his beard; yet he does not encourage it, nor does he consider his shaving good — rather he encourages other people to keep the beard. Can any of these three be called a fasiq or not? If the term fasiq applies, then to which of these persons?

Answer

All three are fasiqs, and the testimony of all three is rejected (mardud al-shahada). The first is the most sinful, the second less than him, the third less than that. Whoever of them repents sincerely from the heart, Allah the Pure will accept his repentance and forgive his past sins.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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