There are many Muslim people across the world of different creeds, races, and cultures, but one thing that can seem like a running thread is their facial hair.
Curious people may notice that men who identify as Islamic often have a beard without a mustache. This specific type of facial hair can seem specific to the Islamic religion as a result.
Many people who aren’t informed about Islam may wonder why this is the case, and wonder why Islamic men grow their beards but shave their mustache. In today’s article, we are going to explain the matter. Keep reading to learn more about Islam and its culture.
What Does Islamic Scripture Tell Us About Facial Hair?
The main Islamic scripture most people know of is the Qur’an sometimes called the Koran.
The Qur’an is the main religious text in Islam and contains the sacred words of God as they were revealed to the final prophet Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel. Most Islamic sects will follow the teachings of the Qur’an in some way.
Like the Bible for Christians, although not directly comparable, the Qur’an contains some verses that can be interpreted as rules or teachings, and thus the Qur’an informs most Islamic beliefs.
In terms of facial hair, there is actually nothing in the Qur’an at all concerning how one should present their facial hair.
Yet, it’s widely understood by many Islamic scholars that Muhammad, the final prophet, and seemingly all the prophets before him, had facial hair.
While there is no mention of facial hair in the Qur’an, most teachings on facial hair in Islam are based on a text known as the Hadith or Athar.
The Hadith are not the words of God, rather the Hadith refers to what most Islamic sects understand to be a record of the words, actions, and silent approval of the final prophet Muhammed.
Put simply, the Hadith is a record of what Muhammed did, said, and approved of in his finite lifetime on Earth.
Like prophets of other religions, Islamic followers are generally encouraged to emulate Muhammad in order to be closer to God – there is a direct reference to this within the Qur’an.
For instance, it is the Hadith that informs most of Shari’ah Law, a form of law that is relevant to the religion of Islam. Albeit, Shari’ah law doesn’t actually say anything about facial hair explicitly.
One such Hadith, reportedly attributed to the final prophet Muhammad, translates roughly to something like ‘Let the beard grow and trim the mustache’.
Bear in mind, much of the Qur’an and the Hadith are incredibly hard to translate directly into English, as the Bible is in Hebrew, and this itself leads to debate among Western practitioners of Islam.
To surmise, the Qur’an nor Shari’ah Law explicitly tell Muslims to shave their mustache. Rather, the Hadith, a collection of what the final prophet Muhammed said and did, contains a quote that suggests Muslims should trim their mustache and grow their beards.
As a result, most Islamic males will choose to grow their beard and shave their mustache in order to emulate Muhammad and be closer to God.
Is It Obligatory To Shave Your Mustache And Grow Your Beard In Islam?
How literally we take scripture, no matter the religion, is often what separates the various sects of any religion.
This is especially true with Islam, and even more true when it comes to the Hadith and Qur’an. The question that arises from these scriptures is one of enforcement.
As we explained, you could simplify the two by suggesting the Qur’an is the word of God, while the Hadith is the word of Muhammad.
Certain Muslims will suggest that we should follow the Qur’an literally, while the Hadith is up to human interpretation. Islam actually has a word for the human interpretation of the word of God, called ‘fiqh’.
Fiqh describes the varying human interpretation of the Qur’an as it informs Shaira. In other words, Shari’ah Law is partly formed through fiqh, the interpretation of God’s words. This said, interpreting what God says is of particular dispute among the Islamic communities of the world.
Like any other religion, in Islam there are fundamentalists, and there are modernists. Fundamentalists suggest that we should follow the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadith as they are told to us and more often than not we should take it literally.
An Islamic fundamentalist may interpret the Hadith mentioned to be literal and will find shaving their mustache and growing their beard to be a matter of obligation.
With this said, there are a large number of Imams out there who suggest that all practising Muslims should have a choice on a matter where there is no overall consensus of opinion.
For example, in Islam, there is indisputable consensus that there is one God, and Muhammad is the messenger of that God, there are no Muslims that would dispute this.
Often with the Hadith, there isn’t necessarily a consensus of opinion. One thing that the Qur’an does state is ‘There should be no compulsion in religion’.
As a result, many Islamic modernists do not suggest that shaving your mustache or even having a beard is necessary for Islam.
Put simply, shaving your mustache and growing your beard isn’t technically a rule in Islam, it’s a choice you can make to show your commitment to God.
Many modern Muslims suggest having a beard, and arguably the way a female covers her face or body can be a choice in the modern world.
Furthermore, many Islamic sects may follow this teaching but with some caveats. For example, Shia Muslims prefer to have closely cropped beards, and many Islamic scholars in particularly hot Eastern countries may choose to shave their beards for practicality when in the heat (Also check out How To Know When To Shave For The First Time).
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the facial hair of an Islamic male is something up for debate.
In many ways, honoring Muhammad’s words, recounted in the Hadith, by not shaving your beard or having a mustache, is a choice and is often followed in order to emulate Muhammad and be closer to God, as well as simply showing commitment to God.
The Qur’an, the word of God as recounted to Muhammad, does not explicitly denote anything pertaining to the facial hair of a man.
It is only Muhamad who has ever said anything about growing a beard and shaving your mustache, as recounted in the Hadith. It’s often a choice by the Muslim to wear their beard in this way, in order to honor Muhamad and God.
On another note, there isn’t actually any explicit reason why a Muslim would specifically shave their mustache.
Muhammad’s words as recounted in the Hadith do specifically say ‘Let the beard grow and trim the mustache.’ In terms of why the mustache is shaved, there isn’t any clear reason.
In comparison, an Amish person will specifically shave their mustache to specifically express their unwillingness to join the military, with the military historically being related to the mustache (Also check out Why Don’t Amish People Have A Mustache?).
A Muslim might also shave their mustache but not for the same reasons, or any reason other than Muhammad denoting this in the Hadith.
