Is the Hadith About the Beard of the Envoys of Persia Authentic?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is the hadith below about the mustache and beard of the envoys of Persia authentic or not, since the authenticity of this hadith is different?
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, while reporting the visit of two emissaries of the King of Persia to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), records:
Two [emissaries] with shaven faces and dangling mustaches came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Disgusted to see their faces, he turned away from them. Then he faced them and said: “Woe be to you! Who told you to adopt such an appearance.”
They replied: “Our Lord, the King of Persia, bade us so.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) then remarked: “But my Lord has directed me to shorten the mustache and lengthen the beard [instead].”
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
The hadith is classified as mursal. However, this particular chain is weak. Many scholars, such as Imam Tabari, Ibn Bishran, and Abu Nu‘aym, have cited similar narrations. Therefore, it holds strength due to these multiple narrations.
The Mursal Hadith
The Hanafis accept the mursal hadith. This is a hadith in which there is a skip in the chain of transmission. Some may describe the mursal as the hadith in which a Companion is omitted. But if it was known a Companion was missing, there would be no point of disagreement.
[Kawthari, Fiqh Ahl al-‘Iraq wa Hadithuhum]
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Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
وقال الطبري في ” تاريخه “ (2/ 654):
حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ حميد ، قال: حَدَّثَنَا سلمة ، عن محمد بن إِسْحَاقَ عن يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي حَبِيبٍ .. فذكر الحديث ، وفيه : ” ودخلا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وَقَدْ حَلَقَا لِحَاهُمَا، وَأَعْفَيَا شَوَارِبَهُمَا، فَكَرِهَ النَّظَرَ إليهما، ثم أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِمَا فَقَالَ : ( وَيْلَكُمَا! مَنْ أَمَرَكُمَا بِهَذَا ؟ ) ، قَالا: أَمَرَنَا بِهَذَا رَبُّنَا- يَعْنِيَانِ كِسْرَى- ، فَقَالَ رسول الله : ( لَكِنَّ رَبِّي قَدْ أَمَرَنِي بِإِعْفَاءِ لِحْيَتِي وَقَصِّ شَارِبِي) .
وهذا مرسل أيضا ، ولكن إسناده واه ، ابن حميد كذبه ابن خراش وأبو زرعة الرازي ، وقال النسائي: ليس بثقة .
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
