How should I wash my light beard in Wudhoo’ (ablution)? Should it be washed along with the face? Or should it be washed independently along with running the fingers through?

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If one's beard is not heavy, he does not have to run his fingers through it. He is required to wash it and be certain that water has reached the underneath skin like the other parts of the face. Sufficing with just wiping or running the wet fingers through is not enough in this case. The criteria to consider one's beard light is that others easily see the skin underneath when they address him in the usual way. Moderate sight is a prerequisite, for one should neither be blear-eyed nor sharp-eyed to judge this.

Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami said: "The second obligation of Wudhoo’ is washing the face from outside including hair of the beard (the hair that grows on the cheeks and the chin) as well as the hair that grows between the beard and the sideburns when it is not heavy. It is not considered heavy when others can see the underneath skin when they are addressing the person. In such a case, the hair will be washed even if it grows beyond the limits of the face. If the beard is heavy, however, so that others can not see the underneath skin, the external part only should be washed. It is not required to wash the internal part, in case he is a man, in order to avoid hardship. If she is a woman or hermaphrodite, however, the internal part must be washed in all cases. If some parts are heavy and others are light, for each part its specific ruling if they are distinguished; otherwise, all must be washed."

Allaah Knows best.