Q. We are having a debate …. is beard growing new and only unique  to  Islam? If not, is its size and length something only Muslims abide by or other religions to. This is for my Comparative Religion class…so a Comparative response would be appreciated.

A. Beard growing in not a phenomenon of peculiarity nor is it merely exclusive to Islam. Growing one’s beard is a tradition of all Prophets.  Its growth has never been limited to restricting it to a trendy and fashionable appearance of goatee; nor in Islam is it recommended to grow ones beard in free fall manner of beyond a fist length. An unkempt beard with the assumption that a messy image is a reflection of piety stems from sheer ignorance.  A beard should be neat. It should reflect the hygiene and cleanliness of ourselves and religion whilst maintaining the parameters of rules that pertain to it.

Regarding the long tradition of keeping a beard, concerning Musa and Haroon (May peace be upon them both), Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) states:

????? ??????????? ??? ???????? ??????????? ????? ???????????? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????? ?????? ?????? ????????????? ?????? ???????? ??????? ?

He [Hârûn (Aaron)] said: “O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: ‘You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!’ ”

20:94

Had the beard of Haroon (alayhis salaam) been short, there would have been nothing for Musa (alayhis salaam) to pull. However, Musa (alayhis salaam) pulls the beard of his brother Haroon (alayhis salaam) with affection so to bring clarity regarding an issue of concern between them. Suffice to say, such an ‘affectionate pulling’ could only take place due to Haroon (alayhis salaam) having a full size beard. In Islam, a full size beard is defined as at least a fist length.

Our decision is based, additionally, on the following practice and statements which also articulate and confirms the above and below:

??? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??????? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ??????- ( ??? ??? ???????

(4/122)

(Paraphrase): When the Masnoon length is acquired, which in Islam is the length of at least a fist, than anything beyond the length of the fist can be trim, as has been established from the practice of Rasulullah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) and the sahaba (radiallaahu anhum).

Allah certainly knows best.