The reason for growing the beard and removing the pubic hair

Question

Question: Islam commands cleaning (the body of) the pubic hair and commands letting the hair of the beard grow. What is the cause (‘illa) of this, and what wisdom (hikma) is hidden in it? This objection is from a non-Muslim atheist (dahriyya), in whose eyes the Qur’an and hadith are nothing that could be made a proof for answering him: he denies (them) from the root. Therefore, please give, in the light of reason, sense and intellect, such a detailed answer by which falsehood may be silenced and (the objector’s)

Answer

To argue about a secondary issue (furu‘) with someone who denies the very foundation is not a mark of wisdom; rather, it is contrary to the very demands of reason and intellect. Yes, if he denies the Qur’an and hadith merely because of this issue, and promises that if he comes to understand it he will accept the Qur’an and hadith and believe, then answering him becomes…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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