On Beards

A recent letter in News Post (June 24, 2004) seeks clarification about a “Quantum Note” wherein General Pervez Musharraf’s disinclination to follow traditional Islam was mentioned in relation to his statement that he does not want to grow a beard. The writer of the letter states that “it is this particular aspect of our faith on which I would like the worthy doctor to enlighten me, for I rate him very highly as a scholar and intellectual. But, for God's sake, let not Dr Muzaffar Iqbal, or any reader, feel that I am going facetious or caustic. My questions are purely in a spirit of inquiry. They are as follows: Did the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) positively prescribe a beard for Muslims? Is it not true that everybody in the Arabia of those times, whether believer or non-believer, let their beards grow? (My perceptions tell me that shaving the chin was not a common practice.) Before the advent of the Holy Prophet did not all the kuffar keep beards? Were his own elders and ancestors clean-shaven because they were not Muslims?”

Answer: A great deal of confusion may be avoided by recognizing the fact that the Qur’an considers the mission of the Prophet of Islam a continuation of the prophetic tradition that started with the arrival of the first human being on planet earth. According the Qur’an, all Prophets before Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought the same message to humanity: the world has been created by a Creator for a fixed duration after which all that exists will perish and humans and jinns have to account for their deeds. The text of the Qur’an revolves around three major themes: Tawhid (Oneness of Allah); Risalah (Prophecy); and Ma`ad (the Return). These three themes are also the essential features of all previous revelations, the Qur’an tells us. What distinguishes one prophetic tradition from another is merely the outward form of worship and certain aspects of practices.

Seen in this perspective, the message of Islam brought to humanity by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the seventh century is a message within the flow of human history and within the tradition of unfolding of God’s eternal plan for His creation. Islam, understood in its broad sense is the religion that was first revealed to humanity through Adam (AS) and that was finally brought to completion through the closure of the Prophetic tradition when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

In its specific usage, the word Islam is now generally used only for the specific set of beliefs and practices which unfolded during the prophetic mission of Muhammad, Allah’s last messenger, may His peace and blessings be upon him. But these specific beliefs and practices did not create a break with the historical prophetic tradition, or with the general flow of human history; rather, these emerged within the context of human history and within a well recognized prophetic tradition. Both of these aspects are repeatedly mentioned in the Qur’an.

Considering this Qur’anic perspective, it becomes clear why certain older beliefs, rituals and practices were retained by the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) while others were modified or discarded. This was not an arbitrary or ad hoc phenomena; rather, the message brought by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) restored to humanity the original message of God in its final form. It corrected the deviations, discarded what had been introduced through corruption and retained what had remained pure. The rites of Hajj, for instance, had been instituted by Ibrahim (AS), whom Allah honoured by giving him the title of “Friend (Khalil)”. But by the seventh century, some rituals of Hajj had been corrupted, while certain others had been introduced which had no foundation in religion. Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) restored to Hajj its proper sanctity by correcting the deviations. This restoration simultaneously transformed the nature of the ritual. For instance, the slaughtering of animals which used to happen in the name of idols, physically remained an act of slaughtering, but now was dedicated to the One true God, rather than to Laat and Manaat.

This corrective measure was not limited to the essentials of religion; the life of the last messenger of Allah was meant to be the best model for humanity and therefore its details have been preserved to such an extent of detail that no other human life parallels this. This is one of the most wonderful aspects of Islam that a life lived in the heart of the remote and then inacessible Arabian desert, long before the rise of modern means of preservation of information, was to become minutely etched in human history. We have a copious body of literature providing highly reliable and well scrutinized information about the life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his likes and dislikes, his habits and his preferences.

This body of literature (the Sunnah) not only provides information about the essentials of Islam, it also gives insights into how to achieve that wondrous proximity to the Creator after which the life of this world becomes a transparent affair. In addition to providing practical information about the best mode of achieving an inner certitude, this body of literature also informs us about the outward forms that the body of a believer takes as the inner reality of faith manifests itself through each and every aspect of our lives. The human body, let us recall, is merely a container of a certain shape made of clay, holding a living being, possessing a spirit capable of achieving what no other creature can.

This body has a certain reality of its own; it has rights on us and it has certain functions to perform. It is also an outward expression of what it contains; its contours, the way it is dressed and the way it looks and the manner in which it is carried around have a direct relationship with the stages of Iman (faith). It should be noted that the term “Iman” is distinct from the term “Islam” and Iman does have have stages: “Iman has over seventy branches and modesty is one of them,” a Prophetic tradition informs us. Degrees of Iman change as one advances whereas Islam remains a constant presence owing to the declaration: “There is no deity except Allah and Muhammad is His messenger”.

One aspect of Iman is the love one feels for Prophet Muhammad (upon whom Allah’s peace and blessings).  This love inspires believers to be as the Prophet was. This translates into following his noble steps in all aspects of our lives. This does not mean that we forego our individuality—for our individual existence is essential and specific to our being—rather, it means that a person conscious of his or her faith tries to emulate the example of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). When applied to the outward aspects, this means that such a person makes an effort to change one’s habits, dress, appearance and routines of the day to a close resemblance to the life of the Prophet, upon whom be peace and blessings. Beards for men is one such attribute. “Trim your moustaches and leave the beard (as it is),” the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said. (Bukhari, Book 72, no. 781).