Short answer: Many Muslim men grow a beard because the Prophet ﷺ told men to let the beard grow and to trim the moustache. He had a full beard himself, as did the prophets before him. The Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools treat growing the beard as a religious duty, not just a style. A Muslim beard does not have to be long and untidy: it can be combed, kept clean and, in the Hanafi school, trimmed once it passes a fist's length.
What the Quran says
The Quran does not give a command about beards, but it shows that the prophets had them. When Prophet Musa (Moses) came back to find his people worshipping the calf, he took hold of his brother Harun (Aaron):
قَالَ يَبْنَؤُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِى وَلَا بِرَأْسِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَيْنَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِى ﴿٩٤﴾
Qaala yabna'umma laa taakhuz bilihyatee wa laa biraasee innee khashetu an taqoola farraqta baina Baneee Israaa'eela wa lam tarqub qawlee
[Aaron] said, "O son of my mother, do not seize [me] by my beard or by my head. Indeed, I feared that you would say, 'You caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not observe [or await] my word.' "
Quran 20:94 · Sahih International · Read Surah Taha
What the Prophet ﷺ taught
خَالِفُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ، وَفِّرُوا اللِّحَى، وَأَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ
Be different from the polytheists: let the beard grow and trim the moustache.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5892; Sahih Muslim 259 · narrated by Ibn Umar · sahih
The narrator, Ibn Umar, used to hold his beard in his fist when he did Hajj or Umrah and cut whatever was longer (Sahih al-Bukhari 5892). The Prophet ﷺ also listed the beard among the habits of fitrah, the natural way people were created on:
عَشْرٌ مِنَ الْفِطْرَةِ قَصُّ الشَّارِبِ وَإِعْفَاءُ اللِّحْيَةِ وَالسِّوَاكُ وَاسْتِنْشَاقُ الْمَاءِ وَقَصُّ الأَظْفَارِ وَغَسْلُ الْبَرَاجِمِ وَنَتْفُ الإِبْطِ وَحَلْقُ الْعَانَةِ وَانْتِقَاصُ الْمَاءِ
Ten things are of the fitrah: trimming the moustache, letting the beard grow, the tooth stick, sniffing water into the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the armpit hair, shaving the pubic hair, and washing with water after the toilet.
Sahih Muslim 261 · narrated by Aishah · sahih (one narrator said he had forgotten the tenth, perhaps rinsing the mouth)
The wisdom scholars mention
- Following the Prophet ﷺ out of love. Many men grow the beard simply to look like the one they love and follow.
- Fitrah. The hadith counts it among the natural habits shared by the prophets.
- A visible identity. The hadith itself gives the reason "be different from the polytheists". A beard shows a man's faith openly.
Wisdom, not the reason. These are benefits scholars have reflected on. Muslims follow this because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded it, and would follow it even if none of these benefits were known.
The ruling, Hanafi first
Letting the beard grow is wajib for men. Shaving it, or cutting it shorter than a fist's length, is makruh tahrimi (sinful). Trimming what is longer than a fist, and tidying the cheeks and neck, is allowed. The moustache is trimmed short so the upper lip shows.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki, Hanbali
- Shaving the beard is haram. The Maliki school dislikes trimming it unless it becomes very long.
- Shafi'i
- Shaving it is makruh (disliked) in the school's relied-upon view, while some Shafi'i scholars held it to be haram.
More daily sunnahs
The beard and moustache, sleeping, eating, the right hand, sneezing and more, each with its hadith.
Read the daily sunnahsMore "why do Muslims" questions
- Why do Muslims not eat pork?
- Why do Muslims wear the hijab?
- Why do Muslims wash their feet?
- Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
- Why do Muslims go to Makkah?
- Why do Muslims eat halal?
- Why do Muslims say peace be upon him?
- Why do Muslims shave a baby's head?
- Why do Muslims face Makkah when praying?
- Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
- Why do Muslims get circumcised?
- Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
FAQ
Do Muslim men have to grow a beard?
In the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools, yes, it is a duty. In the relied-upon Shafi'i view, shaving is disliked rather than sinful. All agree it is the sunnah.
How long should a Muslim beard be?
In the Hanafi school, at least a fist's length, following Ibn Umar. Hair beyond that may be trimmed. Other schools do not fix a minimum in the same way, but forbid or dislike shaving.
Why do some Muslim men dye their beards with henna?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The Jews and the Christians do not dye, so be different from them" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3462). Henna gives an orange or red colour. He told men to avoid pure black dye (Sahih Muslim 2102).
Is it a sin if a man cannot grow a beard?
No. Nobody is blamed for what Allah did not give them. The duty is only not to remove a beard that grows.
Why do some Muslims trim the moustache very short?
Because the hadith says to trim it closely. In the Hanafi school, trimming it short is the sunnah; the Maliki school dislikes shaving it off completely.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Sources
- Quran 20:94, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5892 and 5893, and Sahih Muslim 259, from Ibn Umar.
- Sahih Muslim 261, from Aishah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3462 and Sahih Muslim 2103, from Abu Hurayrah; Sahih Muslim 2102, from Jabir.
- Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Sawm (what does not break the fast, on the beard), for the Hanafi position.
- The other schools' positions are summarised from their standard manuals, as on our daily sunnah page.
Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English translation by Sahih International. Hadith gradings are those of the hadith scholars named. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas.