There was no dispute between ‘Umar and his son over trimming the beard
10-1-2015 | IslamWeb
Question:
Is it true that Abdullah ibn Umar engaged in argument with his father Umar on the issue of trimming beard? As Umar trimmed something from his beard, Abdullah ibn Umar stopped talking to his father till the latter`s death.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
had a dispute with his son ‘Abdullaah about the matter of trimming the beard. If such a dispute occurred to the extent that he did not speak with him until he died, then it would have been reported to us.
In fact, some scholars reported about ‘Umar what proves that he held the view that it is permissible to trim the beard; At-Tabari, Ibn Battaal and Al-‘Ayni quoted in the commentary of Al-Bukhari's Saheeh that ‘Umar saw a man whose beard had grown much, so he took him by the beard, ordered scissors, and then ordered a man to cut what was beyond his hand. Then he said: "Go and take care of your hair or ruin it; one of you leaves himself until he looks like a beast of prey." [End of quote]
If this narration is authentic, then it is interpreted as meaning that it is permissible to take from the beard what exceeded the fist, not to shave it.
Indeed, ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Umar used to take what exceeded his fist when he performed Hajj and ‘Umrah as we have already clarified in Fatwa 90437.
Allaah Knows best.