al-Radd ala man ajaza tahdhib al-lihya

al-Radd ‘ala man ajaza tahdhib al-lihya (The Refutation of Whosoever Allowed Trimming the Beard) is a legal treatise written by the Saudi Hanbali scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (1334–1413 AH / 1916–1992 CE) to argue for the obligation of leaving the beard untrimmed and to refute contemporary claims that wearing a beard is merely a cultural tradition rather than an Islamic religious practice al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…+1.

Background and Purpose

Al-Tuwayjiri composed the work in response to an article titled Mubaya‘at al-muwazzafin published in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Siyasa on 16 Rajab 1404 AH (17 April 1984 CE) al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…. The newspaper article claimed that the beard was merely an Arab cultural symbol (ramz ‘arabi) rather than an integral part of Islam al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…. Al-Tuwayjiri wrote the treatise to invalidate this assertion and demonstrate that growing the beard (i‘fa’ al-lihya) is a mandated practice across the prophetic traditions al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…+1.

Contents and Arguments

The author structures his argument around textual evidence from the Quran, Hadith, and scholarly consensus:

• Prophetic practice and commands: Al-Tuwayjiri cites multiple hadiths commanding the trimming of the mustache and the preservation of the beard, including narrations that describe the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as having a thick and full beard al-Radd ala man ajaza tah….
• Traditions of earlier prophets: He argues that maintaining a beard was the practice of earlier prophets such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Aaron, citing Quranic verses and historical narrations al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…+2.
• Prohibition of shaving: He cites Ibn Hazm's transmission of consensus that growing the beard is obligatory (fard), as well as rulings from Ibn Abd al-Barr and Ibn Taymiyyah stating that shaving the beard is prohibited (haram) and constitutes an imitation of the Zoroastrians or of women al-Radd ala man ajaza tah…+1.

Reception and Scholarly Critique

The treatise was evaluated by the hadith scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani Jami Turath al-Allama al-…. Al-Albani concurred with al-Tuwayjiri's refutation of the newspaper author and commended his defense of the beard as an Islamic religious obligation rather than an Arab cultural symbol Jami Turath al-Allama al-…. However, al-Albani criticized the work on two fronts:

1. Title inaccuracy: Al-Albani noted that the treatise's title, al-Radd ‘ala man ajaza tahdhib al-lihya ("Refutation of Whosoever Allowed Trimming the Beard"), does not correspond with the core text, which refutes the complete denial or shaving of the beard rather than those who allow trimming while forbidding shaving Jami Turath al-Allama al-…. He also noted that the blanket title unintentionally encompasses scholars of the Hanafi school and early authorities—such as Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayrah, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal—who permitted trimming what exceeds a fistful Jami Turath al-Allama al-….
2. Hadith authenticity: Al-Albani criticized al-Tuwayjiri for relying on weak narrations, such as a report concerning Aaron transmitted via Abu Harun al-‘Abdi, whom hadith critics classified as severely weak or abandoned Jami Turath al-Allama al-…+1.

Publication History

A revised edition of the treatise was published in Riyadh by Maktabat al-Ma‘arif in 1406 AH (1985/1986 CE), comprising 54 pages Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif…+1.