Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!rex!samsung!crackers!m2c!wpi.WPI.EDU!bigboote.wpi.edu!shari
From: khan@romulus.RUTGERS.EDU (Farrukh Shah Khan)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Goats,Beards,and Action (Article from MuslimWise).
Message-ID: <1990Dec12.154553.28131@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 12 Dec 90 15:45:53 GMT
References: <1990Dec9.012045.22045@nntp-server.caltech.edu> <1990Dec11.170212.372@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Sender: news@wpi.WPI.EDU (News)
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 41
Approved: shari@wpi.wpi.edu
Originator: shari@bigboote.wpi.edu
Nntp-Posting-Host: bigboote.wpi.edu


In article <1990Dec11.170212.372@wpi.WPI.EDU> zvs@bby.oz.au (Zev Sero) writes:

> I would like to know more about this.  Is it a requirement of Islam
> that Muslims wear beards?  Or is it perhaps only required of `clergy'?
> Is trimming permitted?  ...

Islam gives a lot of importance to cleanleness. Mohammad PBUH said
that cleanleness is half of your faith. Muslim has to be clean all the
time (and specially at prayer time). Since muslim has to say prayer 5
times a day so he/she cleans him/her self 5 times a day (at least).
Muslims should not eat pork because it is DIRTY (in what sense, that
is not important in current context). Muslim has to be circumcised
(sp?) because a lot of germs can devalop in the foreskin and specially
in the hot places where people sweat a lot.

In Islam a muslim has to clean (shave) all unwanted hair. That is
because of the same reason as circumcision (and bad smells). Same is
(almost) true for the hair on the face. But people like beards, so
Mohammad PBUH put an upper bound on the size of the beard. It should
not be more than the width of your knuckle. This so that you won't dip
it in the gravy when you are eating and is easy to clean. 

So the conclusion is that it not required at all infact it is
preferable not to have one. "But they don't understand ..."

> Thanks.  		Zev (a bearded Jew)
-- 

   ^  ~  / * 
   *   '   _  
  __   w  (_) 				Live long and prosper.
 ' _/    __/		   		Farrukh Shah Khan.
  (__, _/		  		khan@remus.rutgers.edu


"MEN MUST CHANGE BEFORE THE KINGDOMS"
                              (Jesus)

"Peace is as much an art to learn as war"
                   Sen. Matsunaga (Hawaii)