Description of washing the beard during wudoo’ and ghusl

Rubbing is mustahabb in
wudoo’ and ghusl according to most of the scholars, except for the
Maalikis. 

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo’ (2/214):  

Our view is that rubbing
the parts of the body when doing ghusl and wudoo’ is Sunnah and is not
obligatory. If (a person) pours water over himself and makes it reach (the
skin) without his hands touching it, or he immerses himself in a large
amount of water, or stands beneath a downspout or in the rain with the
intention of doing ghusl, and it reaches his hair and skin, that is
sufficient for wudoo’ and ghusl. This is the view of all the scholars except
Maalik and al-Muzani, who stipulated that (rubbing is essential) in order
for ghusl and wudoo’ to be valid. End quote. 

Facial hair – including the
beard, moustache, tuft of hair beneath the lower lip (“soul patch”) and
eyebrows – is subject to further discussion. 

If it is thin and the skin
can clearly be seen beneath it, then it is obligatory to make the water
reach the bottom of it. If it is thick and the skin cannot be seen through
it, the outer surface only has to be washed, but it is mustahabb to run the
fingers through it. This applies in the case of wudoo’; when it comes to
ghusl, both the outer surface and lower layer must be washed. 

It says in Zaad
al-Mustaqni’: And he should wash his face from the hairline to the lower
edge of the beard and chin lengthwise, and from one ear to the other
crosswise, along with whatever thin hair may be present, and the outer
surface of thick hair and however far it extends. End quote. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Sharh:

The words “along with
whatever thin hair may be present, and the outer surface of thick hair”
mean: that through which the skin is visible. Thick hair is that through
which nothing is visible. 

In the case of thin hair,
both it and what is beneath it must be washed. With regard to thick hair,
the outer surface, but not the inner layer, must be washed.  

Similarly it is essential
to wash whatever hair there is on the face, such as the moustache, “soul
patch”, eyelashes, eyebrows and sideburns. 

It is mustahabb to run the
fingers through thick hair, because the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to run his fingers through his beard
when doing wudoo’. 

End quote from al-Sharh
al-Mumti’ (1/212). 

It says in Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (5/206): It is essential to wash the outer surface
of a thick beard, but it is not obligatory to wash the inner layers or the
skin beneath it, but it is prescribed to run the fingers through it.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: There is no difference of
opinion that it is obligatory to wash the thick beard, but it is not
obligatory to wash the inner layer of the beard or the skin beneath it,
according to scholarly consensus. This is the view of all the scholars among
the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and those who came after them. Ibn Rushd said: This
is something that is too well known for there to be any dispute. End quote. 

As for a thin beard through
which the skin may be seen, both the inner layer and outer surface must be
washed. End quote. 

And Allaah knows best.