Editing Beard (section)

==In religion==
Beards also play a [[Symbol|symbolic]] role in several [[List of religions and spiritual traditions|religious traditions]].<ref name="Innes 2021"/>

In [[Greek mythology]] and art, [[Zeus]] and [[Poseidon]] are always portrayed with full beards, but [[Apollo]] never is. A bearded [[Hermes]] was replaced with the more familiar beardless youth in the {{BCE|5th century}}. [[Zoroaster]], the ancient Iranian prophet and founder of [[Zoroastrianism]], is always depicted with a long beard. In [[Norse mythology]] and art, [[Odin]] and [[Thor]] are always portrayed with full beards.

===Christianity===
[[File:A01 5873.JPG|thumb|right|[[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] monk with a full beard playing the [[semantron]]]]
[[File:Antiochian Orthodox Founders, 1923.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antiochian Greek Christians|Rûm]] founders of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]]]

[[Iconography#Christian iconography|Iconography]] and [[Christian art]] dating from the 3rd century onwards almost always portray [[Jesus Christ]] with a long beard. In paintings and statues most of the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|biblical patriarchs]] and [[Prophets of Christianity|prophets]] of the [[Old Testament]], such as [[Moses]] and [[Abraham]], and the [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples of Jesus]] in the [[New Testament]], such as [[Peter the Apostle]], appear with beards, as does his predecessor [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="marginal">{{cite book|last=Meier|first=John|author-link=John P. Meier|title=Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Vol. 2)|publisher=Anchor Bible|year=1994|volume=2|isbn=0-385-46992-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mentormessagemir00john}}</ref> However, Western European art generally depicts [[John the Apostle]] as clean-shaven, to emphasize his relative youth. Eight of the figures portrayed in the painting entitled ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] are bearded. [[Mainstream Christianity|Mainstream Christians]] believe that [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] {{bibleverse-nb|Isaiah|50:6|NASB}} is a prophecy foretelling the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]], and as such, as a description of Christ having his beard plucked by [[Passion of Jesus|his tormentors]].

====Eastern Christianity====
In [[Eastern Christianity]], members of the [[Priesthood (Eastern Orthodox Church)|priesthood]] and [[Eastern Christian monasticism|monastics]] often wear beards, and religious authorities at times have recommended or required beards for all male believers.<ref>Note for example the [[Old Believers]] within the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] tradition: {{cite encyclopedia |last= Paert |first= Irina |editor-first= John Anthony |editor-last= McGuckin |editor-link= John Anthony McGuckin |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity |title= Old Believers |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C |access-date= 28 October 2014 |year=2010 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |volume=2 |isbn=9781444392548 |page=420 |quote=Ritual prohibitions typical for all sections of the Old Believers include shaving beards (for men) and smoking tobacco.}}</ref> Traditionally, [[Saint Thomas Christians|Syrian Christians]] from [[Kerala]] wear long beards. Some view it as a necessity for men in the Malayali Syrian Christian community because icons of Christ and the saints with beards were depicted from the 3rd century onwards.

====Western Christianity====
At various times in the history of the [[Western world]] and depending on various circumstances, the [[Catholic Church]] permitted or prohibited facial hair (''barbae nutritio'', literally meaning "nourishing a beard") for [[Hierarchy of the Catholic Church|its clergymen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02362a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia entry |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> A decree of the beginning of the 6th century in either [[Carthage]] or the south of [[Gaul]] forbade clerics to let their hair and beards grow freely. The phrase "nourishing a beard" was interpreted in different ways, either as imposing a clean-shaven face or only excluding a too-lengthy beard.<ref>{{harvnb|Constable|1985|pp=103–114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nicholas |last=Rogers |chapter=English episcopal brasses, 1270–1350 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Coales |title=The Earliest English Brasses: patronage, style and workshops, 1270–1350 |location=London |publisher=Monumental Brass Society |year=1987 |isbn=0-9501298-5-2 |pages=8–68 (18) }}</ref> In relatively modern times, the first pope to wear a beard was [[Pope Julius II]], who in 1511–12 did so for a while as a sign of mourning for the loss of the city of [[Bologna]]. [[Pope Clement VII]] let his beard grow at the time of the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sack of Rome in 1527]] and kept it. All his successors did so until the death in 1700 of [[Pope Innocent XII]]. Since then, no pope has worn a beard.

Beards have been associated at different dates with particular [[Religious order (Catholic)|Catholic religious orders]]. In the 1160s [[Burchard of Bellevaux|Burchardus]], abbot of the [[Bellevaux Abbey|Cistercian monastery of Bellevaux]] in the Franche-Comté, wrote a treatise on beards.<ref>''Apologiae duae: Gozechini epistola ad Walcherum; Burchardi, ut videtur, Abbatis Bellevallis Apologia de Barbis''. Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis LXII. Edited by R.B.C. Huygens, with an introduction on beards in the Middle Ages by Giles Constable (Turnholt: Brepols, 1985). Translation: McAlhany, J. ''Beards & Baldness in the Middle Ages: Three Texts''. (Brooklyn, NY: Leverhill, 2024), pp. 43-115.</ref> He regarded beards as appropriate for lay brothers, but not for the priests among the monks. In about 1240, [[Alberic of Trois-Fontaines]] described the [[Knights Templar]] as an "order of bearded brethren"; and, on the eve of the [[Knights Templar#Arrests, charges and dissolution|suppression of the order]] in 1312, out of nearly 230 knights and brothers questioned by the papal commissioners in Paris, 76 are described as wearing a beard (in some cases specified as "in the style of the Templars"), while another 133 are reported to have shaved their beards, either in renunciation of their vows or in a bid to escape detection.<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|pp=124–125}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Helen |title=The Knights Templar: a new history |publisher=Sutton |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7509-2517-4 |location=Stroud |pages=48, 124–27 }}</ref> [[Randle Holme#Randle Holme III (1627–1700)|Randle Holme]], writing in 1688, associated beards with Templars, [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]], [[Order of Saint Augustine|Austin Friars]], and [[Gregorian mission|Gregorians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|2013|p=127}}</ref> Most [[Latin Church]] clergy are now clean-shaven, but [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]] and some others are bearded. Present [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|Canon law]] is silent on the matter.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McNamara|first1=Edward|title=Beards and Priests|url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/beards-and-priests|website=Zenit news agency|date=13 January 2015|access-date=13 January 2015}}</ref>

Although most [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]] regard the beard as a matter of choice, some have taken the lead in fashion by openly encouraging its growth as "a habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial" ([[Charles Spurgeon|C. H. Spurgeon]]).<ref>Spurgeon, C. H., ''Lectures to My Students, First Series, Lecture 8'' (Baker Book House, 1981) p. 134.</ref> [[Amish]] and [[Hutterite]] men shave until they marry, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see [[Visual markers of marital status]]). [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], professor of [[Church history|ecclesiastical history]] at the [[University of Oxford]], writes: "There is no doubt that [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]] mourned the dead king ([[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]])",<ref>{{cite book |last=MacCulloch |first=Diarmaid |author-link=Diarmaid MacCulloch |year=2017 |orig-year=1996 |title=Thomas Cranmer: A Life |location=New Haven, Connecticut|publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |edition=Revised |page=361 |isbn=978-03-00-22657-7}}</ref> and it was said that he showed his grief by growing a beard. However, MacCulloch also states that during the [[Reformation Era]], many [[Protestant Reformers]] decided to grow their beards in order to emphasize their break with the Catholic tradition:
{{blockquote|it was a break from the past for a clergyman to abandon his clean-shaven appearance which was the norm for late medieval priesthood; with [[Martin Luther|Luther]] providing a precedent [during his exile period], virtually all the continental reformers had deliberately grown beards as a mark of their rejection of the old church, and the significance of clerical beards as an aggressive anti-Catholic gesture was well recognised in mid-[[Tudor England]].}}

<gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Johannes Bessarion aport012.png|[[Basilios Bessarion]]'s beard contributed to his defeat in the [[1455 papal conclave|papal conclave of 1455]].<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Soykut|first1 = Mustapha|chapter = Chapter Nine: The Ottoman Empire and Europe in political history through Venetian and Papal sources|editor1-last = Birchwood|editor1-first = Matthew|editor2-last = Dimmock|editor2-first = Matthew|title = Cultural Encounters Between East and West, 1453-1699|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U5zTAHQfI4MC|location = Newcastle-upon-Tyne|publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press|date = 2005|page = 170|isbn = 9781904303411|access-date = 2014-10-28|quote = [...] Bessarion later embraced the Catholic faith and in 1455 lost the election to become Pope with eight votes against fifteen from the cardinals. One of the arguments that was used against the election of Bessarion as Pope was that he still had a beard, even though he had converted to Catholicism, and insisted on wearing his Greek habit, which raised doubts on the sincerity of his conversion.}}</ref>
File:Titian - Pope Paul III - WGA22962.jpg|[[Pope Paul III]] (Alessandro Farnese), [[Bishop of Rome]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 1534 to 1549.
File:Thomas Cranmer.png|[[Thomas Cranmer]], Archbishop of Canterbury and architect of the [[English Reformation]], wore a long beard in his later years.
File:Thomas Bramwell Welch.jpg|[[Thomas Bramwell Welch]] was a [[Methodism|Methodist]] minister and [[Temperance movement|Temperance activist]]
File:Solanuscasey.jpg|Roman Catholic [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin friar]], blessed [[Solanus Casey]] (1870–1957)
File:Amish Man in straw hat, suspenders, and shenandoah beard.jpg|An Amish man with a [[Shenandoah (beard)|Shenandoah]] beard
</gallery>

====The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
[[File:Brigham Young by Charles William Carter.jpg|thumb|upright|Many early LDS Church leaders (such as [[Brigham Young]], pictured) wore beards.]]
[[File:Lorenzo Snow 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lorenzo Snow]], Mormon missionary and [[List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|fifth president]] of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

Since the mid-20th century, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) has encouraged its male members to be clean-shaven,<ref name="oaks">{{cite journal|last=Oaks|first=Dallin H.|author-link=Dallin H. Oaks|title=Standards of Dress and Grooming|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1971/12/standards-of-dress-and-grooming?lang=eng|journal=[[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]|date=December 1971|publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]}}</ref> particularly those that serve in [[Priesthood (LDS Church)|ecclesiastical leadership positions]].<ref>{{citation |first= Peggy Fletcher |last= Stack |author-link= Peggy Fletcher Stack |date= 5 April 2013 |title= How beards became barred among top Mormon leaders |url= http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56042739-78/beard-beards-byu-church.html.csp |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref> The church's encouragement of men's shaving has neither scriptural nor theological basis, but stems from the general waning of facial hair's popularity in Western society during the 20th century and its association with the [[hippie]] and [[drug culture]] aspects of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]],<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |last=Millward |first=David |date=18 November 2014 |title=Mormon students fight beard ban |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11239320/Mormon-students-fight-beard-ban.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |location=London |access-date=23 February 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and has not been a permanent rule.<ref name="oaks" />

After [[Joseph Smith]], many of the early presidents of the LDS Church, such as [[Brigham Young]] and [[Lorenzo Snow]], wore large beards. Since [[David O. McKay]] became [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] in 1951, most LDS Church leaders have been clean-shaven. The church maintains no formal policy on facial hair for its general membership.<ref>{{cite news |first= Lynn |last= Arave |date= 17 March 2003 |title= Theology about beards can get hairy |url= http://www.deseret.com/2003/3/17/19709622/theology-about-beards-can-get-hairy/ |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref> However, formal prohibitions against facial hair are currently enforced for young men providing two-year [[Mormon missionary|missionary]] service.<ref>{{cite journal |title= FYI: For Your Information |journal= [[New Era (magazine)|New Era]] |date= June 1989 |pages= 48–51 |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1989/06/fyi-for-your-information?lang=eng |access-date= 18 February 2011}}</ref> Students and staff of the church-sponsored higher education institutions, such as [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU), are required to adhere to the [[Church Educational System Honor Code]],<ref name="BYUhouse3">{{cite book |last1= Bergera |first1= Gary James |last2= Priddis |first2= Ronald |year= 1985 |chapter= Chapter 3: Standards & the Honor Code |chapter-url= http://signaturebookslibrary.org/?p=13895 |title= Brigham Young University: A House of Faith |place= Salt Lake City |publisher= [[Signature Books]] |isbn= 0-941214-34-6 |oclc= 12963965 }}</ref> which states in part: "Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable", although male BYU students are permitted to wear a neatly groomed moustache.<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Dress and Grooming Standards|url=https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards|publisher=Brigham Young University|website=Policy.BYU.edu|access-date=17 October 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927225321/https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards |archive-date=2021-09-27 }}</ref> A beard exemption is granted for "serious skin conditions",<ref>{{citation |url= http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services/beard.php |contribution= Services: Beard Exception |title= Student Health Center |publisher= BYU |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125225757/http://health.byu.edu/index2.php?page=services%2Fbeard.php |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |url-status= dead |access-date= 16 December 2018 }}</ref> and for approved theatrical performances, but until 2015 no exemption was given for any other reason, including religious convictions.<ref>{{citation |first= Julie |last= Turkewitznov |date= 17 November 2014 |title= At Brigham Young, Students Push to Lift Ban on Beards |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141118191241/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/us/campaigning-to-change-the-cleanshaven-look-at-brigham-young-university.html |archive-date= 18 November 2014 |url-status= live }}</ref> In January 2015, BYU clarified that students who want a beard for religious reasons, like Muslims or Sikhs, may be granted permission after applying for an exemption.<ref>{{citation |first= Abby |last= Phillip |date= 14 January 2015 |title= Brigham Young University adjusts anti-beard policies amid student protests |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/14/brigham-young-university-adjusts-anti-beard-policies-amid-student-protests/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 15 January 2015 |title= BYU clarifies beard policy; spells out exceptions |url= http://www.sltrib.com/2057823-155/ |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Amy |last= McDonald |date= 17 January 2015 |title= Muslims celebrate BYU beard policy exemption |url= http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |newspaper= [[Provo Daily Herald]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 14 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151014203438/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/education/college/byu/muslims-celebrate-byu-beard-policy-exemption/article_ed90845c-677a-5ade-9e24-9350ba33e68f.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url= http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |title= BYU beard ban doesn't apply to Muslim students |newspaper= [[Standard-Examiner]] |agency= ([[Associated Press|AP]]) |date= 19 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150121001249/http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/01/19/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban.html |archive-date= 21 January 2015 |url-status= dead |access-date= 21 January 2015 }} Reprinted by ''[https://www.deseret.com/2015/1/21/20476253/byu-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban/ Deseret News]'', [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=33159783 KSL], and [http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml KUTV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121023802/http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local-news/stories/BYU-makes-clear-there-are-3-exceptions-to-beard-ban-69912.shtml |date=2015-01-21 }}.</ref>

BYU students led a campaign to loosen the beard restrictions in 2014,<ref name="Telegraph" /><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students rally for beard 'revolution' in Provo |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140928143332/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865611874/Students-rally-for-beard-revolution-in-Provo.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= September 28, 2014 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 26 September 2014 |title= BYU student asks school to chop beard ban |url= http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date= 22 December 2017 |archive-date= 25 November 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141125224803/http://www.sltrib.com/58458452-219/university-beards-beard-campus.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Whitney |last= Evans |date= 27 September 2014 |title= Students protest BYU beard restriction |url= http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=31728643 |publisher= [[KSL-TV|KSL 5 News]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Cutler |date= 26 September 2014 |title= 'Bike for Beards' event part of BYU students' fight for facial hair freedom |url= http://fox13now.com/2014/09/26/bike-for-beards-event-part-of-byu-students-fight-for-facial-hair-freedom/ |publisher= [[KSTU|Fox 13 News (KSTU)]] }}</ref> but it had the opposite effect at [[Church Educational System]] schools: some who had previously been granted beard exemptions were found no longer to qualify, and for a brief period the [[LDS Business College]] required students with a registered exemption to wear a "beard badge", which was likened to a "[[badge of shame]]". Some students also join in with shaming their fellow beard-wearing students, even those with registered exemptions.<ref>{{citation |first= Annie |last= Knox |date= 24 November 2014 |title= Beard ban at Mormon schools getting stricter, students say |url= http://www.sltrib.com/1867918-155/beard-ban-at-mormon-schools-getting |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref>

===Islam===
[[File:Konstantin Kapidagli 002.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of an [[Ottoman dynasty|Ottoman]]-style beard: [[Sultan of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan]] [[Selim III]].]]

In the [[Quran]], the Israelite patriarch [[Aaron in Islam|Aaron]] is said to have had a beard ({{Cite Quran|20|94|expand=no|style=nosup}}). In the [[Hadith|''ḥadīth'' literature]], it is reported that [[Muhammad]] sported a thick beard along with long head hair that reached his shoulders.<ref>Al-Tirmidhi, [https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 Shama'il Muhammadiyah] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326230223/https://sunnah.com/shamail/1 |date=26 March 2017 }} Book 1, Hadith 5 & Book 1, Hadith 7/8.</ref>

==== Sunni ====
[[File:Elderly Man with Hennaed Beard - Old City - Dhaka - Bangladesh (12850630365).jpg|thumb|upright|An elderly [[Bengalis|Bengali]] man with a beard dyed in [[henna]].]]

In [[Sunni Islam|Sunnī]] [[Islamic jurisprudence]], there are three scholarly opinions on the beard according to the [[Sunnah|Islamic tradition]] (''sunnah'').

The first one is that growing the beard is obligatory and that shaving it is ''[[haram]]'' (forbidden) with the main source for this position being this narration: ''[[Sahih Bukhari]]'', Book 72, Hadith #781 ([[USC-MSA]]), narrated by [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab|Ibn ʿUmar]]: Allah's Apostle said, "Cut the moustaches short and leave the beard (as it is)."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/072-sbt.php |title=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |access-date=2019-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417050422/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/072-sbt.php |archive-date=2016-04-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The second one, which is the official position of the [[Shafiʽi school|Shāfiʿī]] school of Islamic jurisprudence, asserts that the beard is only ''[[mustahabb]]'' (recommended), and shaving the beard is only ''[[makruh]]'' (disliked), but not ''[[haram]]'' (forbidden).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-09 |title=Fatawa - The ruling of keeping the beard? |url=https://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewFatwa.aspx?ID=5968 |access-date=2022-06-09 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609111918/https://www.dar-alifta.org/Foreign/ViewFatwa.aspx?ID=5968 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The third one among some contemporary [[Ulama|Sunnī Muslim scholars]], such as the [[Grand Mufti of Egypt]] [[Shawki Allam]], is that keeping the beard is permissible and that shaving it is also permissible.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 October 2018 |url=https://egyptindependent.com/beard-is-just-an-appearance-grand-mufti/ |title=Beard is just an appearance: Grand Mufti |work=[[Egypt Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609113747/https://egyptindependent.com/beard-is-just-an-appearance-grand-mufti/ |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-status=dead |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>

====Shia====
[[File:Portrait of Shah Ismail I. Inscribed "Ismael Sophy Rex Pers". Painted by Cristofano dell'Altissimo, dated 1552-1568.jpg|thumb|upright|An example of a [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]]-style beard: [[Shah]] [[Ismail I]].]]

According to the [[Twelver]] denomination of [[Shia Islam|Shīʿa Islam]], as per ''[[sunnah]]'' custom, the length of a beard should not exceed the width of a fist. Trimming of facial hair is allowed; however, shaving it is ''[[haram]]'' (forbidden).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english.shirazi.ir/ufaqs/what-is-the-ruling-on-mens-beards/|title=What is the ruling on mens beards|author=Office of the Grand Ayatollah Sayid Sadiq Al-Shirazi|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=29 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529204105/http://www.english.shirazi.ir/ufaqs/what-is-the-ruling-on-mens-beards/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sistani.org/english/qa/01136/|title=Beard - Question & Answer - The Official Website of the Office of His Eminence Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husseini Al-Sistani|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leader.ir/en/book/23?sn=5211|title=Practical Laws of Islam|access-date=11 March 2017}}</ref> About the permissible size of it, according to a few [[List of Shia Muslim scholars of Islam|Shīʿīte]]  ''[[Marja'|marjiaʿ]]'' such as [[Seyyed Ali Khamenei]], [[Ali al-Sistani|Seyyed Ali Sistani]], and others, if this (its size) is ''[[Urf|ʿurfly]]'' applicable (true of) beard, it will not be ''haram''.<ref>[https://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=196&pid=196&tid=-1 Ayatollah Khamenei; issue of beard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010070025/https://farsi.khamenei.ir/treatise-content?id=196&pid=196&tid=-1 |date=2020-10-10 }} khamenei.ir Retrieved 7 October 2020</ref><ref>[https://hadana.ir/%D8%AD%DA%A9%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B9/ Issue of Beard / Maraja's] hadana.ir Retrieved 7 October 2020</ref>

===Judaism===
{{Main|Shaving in Judaism}}

[[Talmud]]ic tradition holds that a man may not shave his beard with a razor with a single blade, since the cutting action of the blade against the skin "mars" the beard. Because scissors have two blades, some opinions in ''[[halakha]]'' (Jewish law) permit their use to trim the beard, as the cutting action comes from contact of the two blades and not the blade against the skin. For this reason, some ''[[Posek|poskim]]'' (Jewish legal deciders) rule that [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] may use [[Electric shaver|electric razors]] to remain clean-shaven, as such shavers cut by trapping the hair between the blades and the metal grating, [[Halakha|halakhically]] a scissor-like action. However, other ''poskim''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://holmininternational613.com/books/BEARD_JEWISH_LAW-E.pdf|author= Gross, Rabbi Sholom Yehuda|title=The Beard in Jewish Law|access-date= June 23, 2011}}See Zokon Yisrael KiHilchso</ref> maintain that electric shavers constitute a razor-style action and consequently prohibit their use. The [[Torah]] forbids certain shaving practices altogether, in particular [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|19:27|HE}} states: "You must not round off the hair at the sides of your head, or destroy the corners of your beard."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leviticus 19:27 {{!}} Sefaria |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.19.27?lang=bi&lang2=en |access-date=26 April 2017 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>
[[File:Orthodox Man with Beard by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|left|[[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jew]] in [[Jerusalem]] with a long, unshaved beard and ''[[peyos]]'' (sidelocks)]]

The ''[[Mishnah]]'' interprets this as a prohibition on using a razor on the beard.<ref>Talmud, Makot 20a</ref> This prohibition is further expanded upon in the [[Kabbalistic texts|Kabbalistic literature]].<ref>"The punishment for this [shaving with a razor] is delineated by the holy Zohar and the books of the Mekubalim, and is considered a great and terrible sin, among the most grievous." – ''Shaving With a Razor'', by Rabbi Meir Gavriel Elbaz, http://halachayomit.co.il/EnglishDefault.asp?HalachaID=2355, dated 4 January 2012.</ref> The prohibition carries to modern Judaism to this day, with [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic opinions]] traditionally forbidding the use of a razor to shave between the "five corners of the beard"—although there is no uniform consensus on where these five vertices are located. [[Moses Maimonides]] criticized the shaving of the beard as being the custom of "idolatrous priests".<ref>Maimonides, ''Moreh'' 3:37</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellinson |first=Getsel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpYRAQAAIAAJ&q=rabbinic+opinion+forbidding+the+use+of+a+razor+to+shave |title=Woman and the Mitzvot: The modest way: a guide to the Rabbinic Sources |date=1992 |publisher=Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora, World Zionist Organization |language=en}}</ref>

The ''[[Zohar]]'', one of the primary sources of [[Kabbalah]] ([[Jewish mysticism]]), attributes Sacred to the beard, specifying that hairs of the beard symbolize channels of subconscious holy energy that flows from above to the human soul. Therefore, most [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]], for whom Kabbalah plays an important role in their religious practice, traditionally do not remove or even trim their beards.

Traditional Jews refrain from shaving, trimming the beard, and haircuts during certain times of the year like [[Passover]], [[Sukkot]], the [[Counting of the Omer]], and [[the Three Weeks]]. Cutting the hair is also restricted during the 30-day mourning period after the death of a close relative, known in Hebrew as the ''[[Bereavement in Judaism#Shloshim – Thirty days|Shloshim]]'' (thirty).

===Hinduism===
The ancient [[Hindu texts]] regarding beards depend on the ''[[Vedas]]'' and other teachings, varying according to whom the devotee worships or follows. Many [[sadhu]]s, [[yogi]]s, or yoga practitioners keep beards in all stages of life. [[Shaivism|Shaivite]] ascetics generally have beards, as they are not permitted to own anything, which would include a razor. The beard is also a sign of a [[Vagrancy|nomadic]] and [[Asceticism|ascetic]] lifestyle. [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] men, typically of the [[ISKCON]] sect, are often clean-shaven as a sign of cleanliness.

<gallery class="center" widths="180" heights="145" caption="Hindu [[Sadhu]]s with beards">
File:Hindu sadhu with painted face-3311230.jpg
File:Baba in Kathmandu.jpg
</gallery>

===Sikhism===
[[File:Sikh man, Agra 02.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sikhism|Sikh]] man with a long, unshaved beard and [[Sikh turban|turban]] (''dastār'') covering his uncut hair]]

[[Guru Gobind Singh]], the tenth Sikh Guru, commanded the [[Sikhs]] to maintain unshorn hair, recognizing it as a necessary adornment of the body as well as a mandatory [[The Five Ks|Article of Faith]]. Sikhs consider the beard to be part of the nobility and dignity of their manhood. Sikhs also refrain from cutting their hair and beards out of respect for the God-given form. Keeping the hair uncut is ''[[Kesh (Sikhism)|kesh]]'', one of [[the Five Ks]], the compulsory articles of faith for a baptized Sikh. As such, a Sikh man is easily identified by his [[Sikh turban|turban]] (''dastār'') and uncut hair and beard.

===Rastafari movement===
Male [[Rastafari|Rastafarians]] wear uncut hair and beards in conformity with injunctions given in the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Christian Bible]], such as [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] {{bibleverse-nb||Leviticus|21:5|NASB}}, which reads: "They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh." The beard is a symbol of the covenant between God ([[Jah]] or [[Jehovah]] in Rastafari usage) and his people.