The Legal Length of the Beard and the Ruling on Shaving the Beard

Q. I request your Excellencies to make clear the ruling on shaving the beard, or removing anything from it, and what is the legislated area of the beard?

A. Shaving the beard is forbidden, because it is disobedience to the Messenger of Allaah-Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam-, for the Prophet-Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam- said :

"Grow your beards and shorten your moustaches."

And because it is a departure from the guidance of the Messengers to the guidance of the Zoroastrians and the polytheists. The legislated area or the beard is as defined by the scholars of language, which is that it is the facial hair, the jaws and the cheeks, that is, the hair on the cheeks, jaws and chin-all of that is the beard. And removing anything from it is an act of disobedience and also, because the Messenger-Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam- said:

"Grow your beards...."

and:

"Leave your beards..."

and:

"Let your beards..."

and:

"Expand your beards..."

-and this proves that it is not permitted to remove anything from it; however, acts of disobedience differ, so shaving is worse than removing a part of it, because it is a greater and clearer violation than removing a part of it.

Ibn 'Uthaimeen-Rahimahullaah

Source: Fataawa Islaamiyya