Shaving the beard for the sake of employment

Question

Question: I have a friend named Mahmud Ahmad, an Englishman who is a Muslim. He very much wishes to keep a beard, but since he is in the English army, he is not permitted to keep a beard. He wishes to know what the ruling of the Shari‘a is regarding this. And what is the ruling if his hair is “English” (the English-style haircut) and he has it trimmed? And can prayer be performed in a shirt and trousers or not? And what is the ruling on prayer if there is no cap on the head?

Answer

May Allah Most High keep you and your friend in well-being and grant you the ability to act upon what pleases Him. Keeping the beard and letting it grow is wajib according to the Shari‘a; the command to do so has come in the noble hadith. Cutting it before it reaches a fistful (qabda), and having it shortened to less than a fistful, is not permissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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