In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

All praise belongs to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet.

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim, in their two Ṣaḥīḥ collections and others, report on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Oppose the polytheists: let the beards grow full and trim the mustaches.” They likewise transmit from him, “Clip the mustaches and let the beards grow,” and in another wording, “Shorten the mustaches thoroughly and let the beards grow.”

The word lihyah (beard) denotes the hair that grows on the cheeks and chin. Ibn Ḥajar explained: “Waffirū—with a doubled fāʾ—derives from tawfīr, which means to leave something as it is; in other words, leave the beard abundant. Likewise, iʿfāʾ al-lihyah means to leave it on its natural state.”

The instruction to differ from the polytheists is clarified by the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “The people of shirk grow their mustaches long and shave their beards, so differ from them: let your beards grow and trim your mustaches.” Al-Bazzār narrated this with a sound chain. Muslim also relates from him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Oppose the Magians,” because they would shorten their beards and lengthen—