Question

Is the soul patch(hair under the bottom lip) part of the beard?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

According to the view we adopt here in Islamweb, the hair of the soul patch is forbidden to shave in the same manner it is forbidden to shave the hair of the beard. Rather, some jurists considered the soul patch as part of the beard. Indeed, Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked ‘Is it permissible to trim the soul patch or does it take the same ruling of the beard?’ and he replied saying: “If we refer to the (Arabic) dictionary, it says that ‘the beard is the hair growing on the face and cheeks…’, so, in the absolute sense, it is the ‘hair growing on the face’; this necessitates that the soul patch which is between the bottom lip and the beard is part of the beard.”

 Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb