Assalaamo alaykum. I have recently shaved my beard and deeply regret it. My parents tell me that the first or the natural beard is more special than the ones that come after shaving. Is this true? Also, does this mean that I should keep shaving, or should I let the second one grow and trim it only when it reaches a fist's length? Lastly, is this a major sin or a minor sin?

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

There is no special merit for the first natural beard in comparison to the one that grows after shaving. It is impermissible to shave the beard at any stage. It is incumbent on you, dear Brother, to grow your beard as an act of obedience to the Prophet who said, "Trim the mustache and let the beard grow." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Growing the beard means letting the beard grow freely without cutting or trimming it. As for trimming what exceeds the fist's length, the permissibility of such an act has been reported on the authority of some Companions such as Ibn ʻUmar and Abu Hurayrah . Ibn ʻUmar did so (trimmed what exceeded the fist's length) during Hajj and ʻUmrah only. Naafiʻ reported that when ʻAbdullaah ibn ʻUmar finished the fast of Ramadan and intended to perform Hajj, he would not cut his hair or beard at all until he had performed Hajj. [Maalik]

The scholarly view adopted in Islamweb is that it is prohibited for the Muslim man to shave his beard and that it counts as a minor sin unless the doer persistently commits it, because insistence on committing minor sins and proclaiming them render them major sins, as the scholars asserted.

Please refer to Fataawa 84474 and 25544on the obligation of growing the beard and the prohibition of shaving it and to fatwa 86527 about the conditions of sincere repentance.

Allaah knows best.