Keeping short beards and french beards, OK?

صحيحة البزنطي عن الرضا (عليه السلام): وسألته عن الرجل هل يصلح له ان يأخذ من لحيته؟ قال: أما من عارضيه فلا بأس وأما من مقدمها فلا (راجع مصباح الفقاهة ١/٤١٢

Sahih (authentic) hadith of al Bazanti from Imam al Reda (as): I asked him (as) if it is alright for the man to take (trim) from his beard? Imam (as) replied: "As for from the sides (cheeks), so no problem. But as for from its front, then no." (Source: Misbahul Fuqaha by Ayatullah Khoei, Volume 1, Page 412)

Explanation of the above hadith by one of the greatest Shia scholars

قال الشيخ الحر العاملي في كتابه ( وسائل الشيعة٢/١١٢ ):هذا محمول على عدم الزيادة على قبضة

Shaikh Hurr al Amili wrote in Wasailush Shia (Volume 2, Page 112): "The instruction in the hadith about not taking/trimming the beard from the front, is applicable when the beard does not exceed fist's length (because ahadith instruct us to trim what exceeds fist's length)."

Translator's note:

Two points are to be noted from the above sahih hadith and the accompanied explanation by Shaikh Hurr al Amili.

First point: It is not correct to trim the beard, from the front of the face, to less than a fist's length. This is also supported by the fact that we have authentic ahadith which command us to not just keep a beard, but to leave (lengthen) the beards and cut/shave off the mustaches, as shown in a previous post (click here). As those ahadith are relevant to this post, I shall present them, along with their grading, here as well:

331 - وقال صلى الله عليه وآله: ”إن المجوس جزوا لحاهم ووفّروا شواربهم، وإنّا نجزُّ الشوارب ونعفي اللحى، وهي الفطرة“. (من لا يحضره الفقيه للصدوق عليه الرحمة ج1 ص130

331- The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Indeed the majoos shave off their beards and lengthen their mustaches, while we shave off our mustaches and leave the beard (to grow), and this is the fitrah (the correct natural way)." ("Man la yahduruhul faqih" by Shaikh Saduq,Volume 1 Page 130)

٣٢٩ - وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: " حفوا الشوارب واعفوا اللحى، ولا تشبهوا باليهود(من لا يحضره الفقيه للصدوق عليه الرحمة ج1 ص130) قال في الوافي: «الحف: الاحفاء ، وهو الاستقصاء في الامر والمبالغة فيه، واحفاء الشارب: المبالغة في جزه 

329- The Prophet (pbuh) ordered: "Shave off the mustaches and leave the beards (to grow), and do not imitate the Jews." ("Man la yahduruhul faqih" by Shaikh Saduq, Volume 1 Page 130)

Grading

المشهور في المدرسة القمية أن مرسلات الشيخ الصدوق الجزمية معتبرة، وممن يرى هذا الرأي الإمام الخميني «عليه الرحمة (الشيخ مرتضى الباشا * - 5 / 8 / 2005م - 3:10 م)

"It is highly common in the hawza ilmiyah of Qum that mursal ahadith of Shaikh Saduq (ra) are dogmatically accepted as being authentic, and among those who held this view included Imam Khomeini." (Ayatullah Shaikh Murtada al Basha, on 5/8/2005, 3.10pm)

الفقهاء يرى أن مرسلات الصدوق التي يرسلها مباشرة إلى الإمام - عليه السلام - روايات صحيحة السند . و ممن يقول بهذا الرأي الشيخ الفاضل اللنكراني - حفظه الله تعالى

Many of the scholars hold the view that the mursal ahadith of Shaikh Sadooq (ra) which he quotes directly from the Imam (as), are sahih (authentic) in sanad (chaijn of narration). Among the many who held this view was Ayatullah Fadil Lankarani as well.

Conclusion: The above mursal ahadith by Shaikh sadooq are sahih (authentic) according to majority of the scholars of Qum, including Ayatullah Khomeini and Ayatullah Fadil Lankarani.

Second point: There is a misconception that taking/trimming from the sides (cheeks), as mentioned in the first hadith, can be interpreted to mean shaving off the beard from the sides (cheeks), and thus keeping a french beard/goatee being sufficient as a beard. However, the hadith does not at all mention the term "shaving", therefore it is not correct to extrapolate the meaning of the hadith to include shaving. 

Ayatullah Muhammad Jamil Hamud al Amuli has explained this issue in detail on his website.

لفظة "الأخذ" الواردة في رواية البزنطي حيث سأل السائلُ الإمامَ عليه السلام بأنَّه هل يصلح للرجل أن يأخذ من لحيته، فقد أشار إلى مفهوم الأخذ ولم يشر إلى مفهوم الحلق، وبينهما فرقٌ واضح في اللغة، فمفهوم الأخذ يختلف عن مفهوم الحلق، فعندما يقول الرجل : حلقت لحيتي أي أزلتها بالمرة، ولو قال:أخذت من لحيتي: أي هذّبتها وأخذت منها على نحو التقصير... فالمراد إذاً من رواية البزنطي الدالة على جواز الأخذ من العارضين هو التقصير لا الحلق

The term "الأخذ" (taking/trimming) which occurs in the first hadith, only implies trimming, not shaving. There is a clear linguistic difference between trimming and shaving, as the meaning of trimming is different from shaving. So whenever a man says "I shaved my beard", it means he removed it completely. Whereas if he said "I trimmed from my beard", it means he styled and trimmed it, similar to shortening it. So basically the meaning of the hadith, allowing for trimming from the sides/cheeks, is that it is allowed to shorten the beard from the sides, not shaving it.

Translator's note: To conclude, here is a fatwa by Ayatullah Khamenei, who also does not allow keeping a french beard/goatee only.

Q2: Some men leave the hair around the chin grow, i.e. goatee, and shave the rest of the beard. What is the view on such practice?

A: The ruling on shaving a part of beard is the same as that passed on shaving the entire beard. 

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