The difference between trimming and shaving the beard

Question

Question: One person’s beard is trimmed, and another person’s is completely shaved. Are both of the same degree, or is there some difference? A certain person says: “If both are of one degree, I will have the rest of my beard shaved clean.”

Answer

Cutting the beard before it reaches a fistful (qabda) is not permissible; shaving it is haram. Esteem for and love of the rulings require that a person abandon what is impermissible and adopt what is permissible. His saying, “If both are of one degree, I will have the rest of my beard shaved clean,” is utterly ignorant. He must never say such a thing.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.