Eating with hands and Maintaining beard are among the Sunnah of the Prophet
Question:
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu
Ustadz, I’d like to ask a question, but before that, pardon me, it is just a trivial one, and I just want to know about its ruling.
Here is my question: Eating using our hands, and maintaining beard, are those among the weak or the strong of the Prophet’s sunnah? And please explain it to me about the reason and the effects of it? Thank you.
Answer:
Wa’alaikumsalam warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.
It is a good question, O Brother. May we all be able to practice it.
Firstly, the ruling of eating the food using our own hand directly, is sunnah (suggested) and we are also suggested to eat using three fingers (the thumb, the index finger, and the middle finger) if the food could be grasped using these three fingers.
Ka’b Ibn Malik said,
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ بِثَلَاثِ أَصَابِعَ فَإِذَا فَرَغَ لَعِقَهَا
“Verily, the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- used to eat using his three fingers, and when he had finished eating, he would lick it.” (Narrated by Muslim).
Secondly, maintaining beard is also among the sunnah (the teaching) of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- that is compulsory for muslim. Among the indications of it are:
1, Maintaining beard is among the natural tendencies of a man. The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,
عَشْرٌ مِنْ الْفِطْرَةِ قَصُّ الشَّارِبِ وَإِعْفَاءُ اللِّحْيَةِ وَالسِّوَاكُ وَاسْتِنْشَاقُ الْمَاءِ وَقَصُّ الْأَظْفَارِ
“Ten things that are the natural tendencies of men: Cutting the mustache, maintaining the beard, brushing the teeth, breathing water into the nose, cutting the nails.” (Narrated by Muslim).
2. Maintaining beard is among the order of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him-, as in his saying,
انْهَكُوا الشَّوَارِبَ وَأَعْفُوا اللِّحَى
“Cut the mustache and let the beard grow.” (Narrated by Al Bukhari and Muslim).
3. Shaving beard is among the habit of the polytheists. In a hadith narrated by Ibn Umar, the Messenger of Allah said,
خَالِفُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَفِّرُوا اللِّحَى وَأَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ
“Be different from the polytheists, keep the beard and cut the mustache.” (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).
4. Likewise in a hadith from Abu Huraira -may Allah be pleased with him-, he said,
جُزُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ وَأَرْخُوا اللِّحَى خَالِفُوا الْمَجُوسَ
“Cut the mustache and keep the beard, distinguish yourselves from the Zoroastrian (the sun worshipers).” (Narrated by Muslim)
And the Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- had threatened those who resembled the disbelievers by his saying,
مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ
“Whoever imitates a nation, then he is among them.” (Narrated by Abu Dawud, and Sheikh Al Albani said, “Good and/or valid”)
5. Shaving beard is among the form of imitating or resembling women, whereas Ibn ‘Abbas said,
لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمُتَشَبِّهِينَ مِنْ الرِّجَالِ بِالنِّسَاءِ وَالْمُتَشَبِّهَاتِ مِنْ النِّسَاءِ بِالرِّجَالِ
“The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- cursed men who resemble women, and women who resemble men.” (Narrated by Al Bukhari)
The indications above are enough to be motivation for us to practice this sunnah of the Messenger, that has been abandoned by many of the muslims nowadays.
There are some wisdoms beneath the command to maintain the beard and the prohibition to shave it, such as:
– Some people said that shaving the beard could cause cancer.
– Some other said that shaving the beard could cause impotency.
– A person who shaves his beard will be troubled in keeping it shaven, since he has to shave it at least every 2 or 3 days. It is different with those who let it grows, he’ll not be bothered with it.
– Beard is among the beauty and symbol of manliness of men.
May Allah guide us all to follow the sunnah of the Messenger if Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- and be patient in practicing it in these days, where most human have abandoned it and considered it weird and strange. The Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said:
بَدَأَ الْإِسْلَامُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ كَمَا بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ
“Islam emerged in the strange state, and will return to strange state as it emerged, thus lucky those who are considered as stranger.” (Narrated by Muslim).
And Allah knows best.
Answered by: Ustadz Abdullah Roy, MA (lecturer in the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, and currently taking the doctoral program in Islamic University of Medina).
Article of www.WhatisQuran.com