Why did the prophet of islam have a beard?

Question

It's fairly clear that the prophet of islam had a beard, and it's also clear that the prophet of islam liked the beard.

But did the prophet of islam have a beard because it was a cultural thing at that time and the area he lived, or did he have a beard because he received an order from god that he must keep a beard?

I ask because, if it was a cultural thing and not an order from god, doesn't that imply that you should follow the cultural norm of your time and area?

In other words, if the prophet had a beard because it was a time/area based trend thing, does that make it a sunnah to follow time/area based trends?

Of-course, that would depend on why the prophet had a beard, i.e. an order from god, or cultural/time based reasons.

So my question, did the prophet of islam have a beard because it was a cultural thing, the norm where he lived and the norm for the time in which he lived, or did he have a beard because it was an order from god.

If it was an order from god, some authentic text references would be appreciated.

Answer 1

No, the Prophet had a beard not because it was a cultural thing, rather because it is part of Human nature, and his Sunnah, as well as it is a characteristic of previous Prophets (peace be upon them). Furthermore, The Sunnah of the Prophet is a revelation from Allah like the Quran, and Allah had guided Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) and the previous Prophets

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۖ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهْ ۗ قُل لَّا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا ۖ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْعَالَمِينَ

Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example. Say, "I ask of you for this message no payment. It is not but a reminder for the worlds."

Suratul An'aam Ayah 90

So in short, yes keeping the beard is from Allah, not only because it was ordered to be kept and is part of divine guidance, but also because it is part of human nature/Fitrah that Allah had created and put in us. And the Prophet did not have a beard because it was a cultural thing of his time.

Answer 2

First of all, you need to know that as Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhahammad, He showed himself as a ROLE model by Acting on Quran with DIVINE guidance from Allah.

Prophet Muhammad said that

“Trim the moustache and let the beard grow; be different from the mushrikeen.” (Agreed upon).

As Every order by prophet Muhammad is Divinely guided, this order too was divinely guided. Hence it was not a cultural practise due to which he said so, but surely a divine order.

2ndly, ALL previous prophets of Islam had beard as well.

Answer 3

When i read this hadith:

“Trim the mustache and let the beard grow; be different from the mushrikeen(pagans).”

Trimming the mustache and letting the beard grow is a tool to be different from mushrikeen(pagans). Imho, being different from mushrikeen(pagans) is important aspect here.

Prophet order this to Muslims to have their way and life style other then Pagans.

Answer 4

There are many authentic hadiths wherein the prophet SAWS ordered to sport the beard and it is natural to grow. It reflects the manhood and hence it is to be displayed and not take the similitude of opposite sex i.e females.

Answer 5

Assalamu alikum to all my brothers and sisters. I would like to pose a thought on this topic. I am familiar with the Hadith used to back up the reasoning behind the beard. I recognize that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) lived his life as a role model and he did what he was commanded by Allah (SWT). I also understand that in these time of conquest it was vital to be able to identify ally versus foe. So from a logical prespective, could it not be the case when the prophet was saying, "be not like the pagans", he was suggesting it so that there would be no confusion in identification. Also, I have read about this topic on many sites, and the approach quite frankly has not seemed very level headed or logical in it's understanding. Admins on websites are quoting weak hadiths which are so harsh in their undertone and condemning people so harshly that it may turn non Muslims away from Islam altogether. We know this was not the way of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to be rude in speech, for then many would not have entered the fold of Islam. The big issue I have with those websites is they go onto say that shaving your beard at all is Haram. No one has the right to decide what is Haram or Halal, rather we can discuss sunnah, but we are not allow to change permisiblity. Allah (SWT) has already perfected our religion. So I would like to thank you here for being kind in your speech to questioners. May Allah reward you.