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Fatwa CenterMarrying beardless man
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Shaikh, I have a question about faith. If woman marries a man without a beard because she finds men without a beard more attractive than men with beards, is she a disbeliever/hypocrite/major sinner/minor sinner because she is visually more attracted to men who do not keep a beard, which is prescribed by Islam, and marries one of them? Is her faith affected in any way if she feels more sexual attraction towards men without beards or marries one of them? Please note that she does not hate the beard and respects men with beards, but she finds men without beards more attractive visually and sexually.
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If a woman marries a beardless man or finds him more attractive, this does not make her a disbeliever, a hypocrite or a sinner, neither major nor minor. However, a Muslim woman should only accept the marriage proposal of a suitor whose religiosity and moral character are pleasing. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "If there comes to you one with whose character and religious commitment you are pleased, then marry off (your daughter or female under your care) to him, for if you do not do that there will be Fitnah (tempation/tribulaion) in the land and widespread corruption." [At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah] The command in the hadith indicates that this is a confirmed recommendation, as Al-Munaawi 
underlined in his book Faydh Al-Qadeer. This description applies to a bearded suitor with greater reason because shaving the beard is prohibited, as we have previously underlined in fatwas 90928 and 84474.
Finding a beardless man more attractive than a bearded man might be merely psychological because, in fact, beards make men more handsome. Al-Kalaabaathi said, "Beards are an adornment for men. It was narrated that ʻAa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to swear and say, 'By Allah, Who adorned men with beards...'" [Bahr Al-Fawaa’id]
Allah knows best.
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