Section: His claim that religion consists in social dealings and moral conduct, not in the beard alone—and that nowadays all priests, rabbis, and monks wear beards anyway.

The author of this spurious article writes: “In our time a generation of bearded men has appeared who do not know that religion is proper dealings, who are unaware that religion is nasīḥa (sincere counsel). They overlook the fact that Islam comprises love, affection, virtues, enjoining right and forbidding wrong, benevolence, zakāt, charity, kind speech, maintaining family ties, friendliness, cooperation, and good manners. They do not know that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims remain safe. They have forgotten that Islam forbids driving a wedge between a man and his wife, or between a brother and his brother. They have forgotten all the beauties and comportment of Islam, and have clung to the beard as though Islam were nothing but a beard. They are unaware that the beard represents the Arab nation most fittingly, and they forget that Jewish rabbis, Christian monks, the unbelievers of Quraysh, Hindus, Communists—indeed even primitive peoples—also grow beards.”

Our reply is as follows: The writer of this false piece has launched an all-out attack on those who wear beards, mustering against them every bit of his confused rhetoric—rhetoric that amounts to nothing more than camouflage and deception for people of weak insight.

As for his statement, “They do not know that religion is social dealings,” the answer has several facets. The first is to say: Religion is not identical with social dealings, as