I say, and with God's success: The issue of shaving the beard is a controversial jurisprudential matter. The matter of the beard is broad, and it is not the issue of Muslims that requires us to direct all our attention to it. The call to emulate the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his appearance is desirable; to achieve human perfection, and our dealings regarding the beard should be based on encouraging Muslims and making them fond of it, following the Prophet (peace be upon him), rather than being a matter of denouncing the wrong; because it is a matter of disagreement. It was mentioned in the fatwas of Al-Zarqa, p. 272: "Whoever tells you that one of the conditions of Islam is to grow the beard and wear the jubbah in the street, that shaving the beard is contrary to the Sunnah of Islam for men, but it is not a condition for a person to become a Muslim. Most Muslims today shave their beards, and growing the beard is not exclusive to Muslims; foreigners, both young and old, do it abundantly, and it has even become the 'fashion of modern youth!!'. The least of matters is that the violation of Islamic conduct is shaving the beard...." We present some points related to shaving and trimming the beard as follows: 1. The principles of deduction among the Hanafis do not indicate the obligation of the beard; rather, they place it in the category of Sunnah and recommendation. Al-Sarakhsi said in Al-Mabsut 4: 74: "The Sunnah is to trim the mustache and let the beard grow." 2. The beard is considered one of the Sunnah of the excesses among the Hanafis, thus taking the ruling of recommendation based on this principle; because it is a custom, not an act of worship. Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamari said in 'Iftada Dhawi Al-Afham', pp. 26-27: "Those who said from among the jurists that the beard is obligatory and that shaving it is prohibited, ruled this as we said due to the custom in which they were raised, and grew accustomed to in their social life, as was the case with us in Morocco before the spread of shaving the beard; we used to see shaving it as a major disgrace and a great sin; because it was contrary to the state of our bearded society. The evidence for this is that the jurists did not say that everything that was prohibited was due to imitation." 3. The fitrah means Sunnah in the general expression of the Hanafis. The hadiths that mention the beard as part of the fitrah indicate, according to their view, that it is a Sunnah, not obligatory. From Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Among the fitrah of Islam: washing on Friday, using the miswak, trimming the mustache, and letting the beard grow. For the Magians let their mustaches grow and shave their beards, so oppose them; trim your mustaches and let your beards grow" in Sahih Ibn Hibban 3: 24. 4. The beard is not considered a reprehensible imitation among the Hanafis unless the one shaving or trimming it intends to imitate or it becomes a symbol of non-Muslims, or the act of shaving or trimming is not a common custom in the Muslim community. However, if he shaves or trims it in a way that belittles or mocks the Sunnah of Islam, he is feared to fall into disbelief. In this regard, these controls do not apply to the beard in such a way that shaving or trimming it is considered a reprehensible imitation. From Abu Hanifa from Hamad from Ibrahim, he said: "There is no harm for a man to take from his beard as long as he does not imitate the polytheists," as mentioned in Kitab Al-Athar 1: 234. From Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Oppose the polytheists; trim the mustaches and let the beards grow" in Sahih Muslim 1: 222, and from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow; oppose the Magians" in Sahih Muslim 1: 222. Ibn Al-Humam said in Fath Al-Qadeer 2: 348: "This phrase serves as a justification": meaning the phrase: "oppose the polytheists," or "oppose the Magians," and Al-Kasani said in Bada'i Al-Sana'i 2: 141: "And because that is an imitation of the Christians, it is disliked." 5. Al-Muru'ah (nobility) is the praised custom in society. If shaving or trimming the beard is considered a disreputable custom and a breach of nobility, then shaving or trimming the beard is disliked. If shaving and trimming are common in society and not considered shameful, then shaving or trimming is not reprehensible and does not breach nobility. This is the case in Muslim societies today, where shaving or trimming is not considered a breach of nobility. Based on this principle, shaving and trimming the beard are not disliked, and this does not prevent encouraging it in following the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Al-Imadi said in Tanqih Al-Fatawa Al-Imadiyya 1: 429: "If shaving the beard undermines nobility, it prevents acceptance — meaning testimony — otherwise, it does not." Ibn Abidin explained it in Tanqih Al-Fatawa Al-Imadiyya 1: 429: "Based on this, if he is one who is accustomed to shaving and does not consider it a disgrace among them, it does not undermine his nobility, so his testimony is accepted..." 6. Imitating women is a customary matter; thus, what determines this behavior and appearance as specific to men or women is the custom. Any behavior in custom that is considered an imitation of women is reprehensible and disliked. Shaving the beard is not considered in Muslim societies as an imitation of women, nor does anyone who does so intend to imitate women. Accordingly, shaving is not considered an imitation of women, and thus it is not disliked from this perspective. From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) cursed effeminate men and masculine women, and said: 'Expel them from your houses'" in Sahih Al-Bukhari 7: 159. Al-Ayni said in 'Umdat Al-Qari' 24: 14: "And the masculine women are those women who resemble men, striving for masculinity, which is in reality the opposite of the effeminate men; because they are the ones who resemble women," as mentioned in 'Umdat Al-Ri'aya' 22: 42. 7. The general prevalence of a matter is considered one of the necessities, even if it differs from it, as it includes everything that is widespread in society, even if there is no necessity for it. If we find a principle or a saying from a respected jurist that lifts the sin from people, we act in accordance with the concept of general prevalence. In the matter of the beard, we find that the Shafi'is said: it is Sunnah to grow the beard, and there is a strong opinion among the Malikis regarding the permissibility of trimming it as long as it is not mutilation. The majority of Hanafi books indicate the Sunnah of the beard, so we do not need to pay attention to some ambiguous phrases among the Hanafis regarding prohibition and cling to them in accordance with this principle. It was said in Sharh Al-Nafrawi 2: 307: "It is forbidden to shave it if it is for a man, and as for trimming it, if it has not grown long, it is the same. However, if it has grown very long, he indicated its ruling by saying: Malik said: 'There is no harm in taking from its length if it has grown excessively, so that it exceeds what is customary for most people, and the excess should be trimmed; because its remaining would spoil the appearance, and the ruling for taking is recommended, so there is no harm here for what is better than others, and there is no limit to what is taken, and it is preferable to limit it to what enhances the appearance.'" Al-Khayr Al-Ramli Al-Shafi'i said in his fatwas 4: 69: "Shaving a man's beard and plucking it is disliked, not forbidden, and Al-Halimi's statement: 'It is not permissible for anyone to shave his beard or eyebrows' is weak." And Allah knows best.