Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote:
Yes, the cheeks are part of the beard, because this is what is implied by the language in which sharee'ah came. The definition of the beard (al-lahyah) as stated by the scholars of the (Arabic) language is the hair of the face, jawbone and cheeks, in the sense that everything that grows on the cheeks, jawbone and chin is part of the beard. Removing any part of it also comes under the heading of sin. [Fataawa Hammah, p. 36]
It says in al-Qaamoos al-Muheet (p. 387): Lihyah (beard) is the hair of the cheeks and chin. The one who says that the hair that grows on the cheeks is not part of the beard must bring proof of that. [Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 11/question no. 49][/quote]
[quote=Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam]In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The definition of a beard given by many scholars is "that which grows on the jawbone" even though some have defined it as "that which grows on the cheeks and the chin". (Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-Arab, 12/259).
Thus, Imam Anwar shah al-Kashmiri (Allah have mercy on him) states in his renowned commentary on Imam al-Bukhari's Sahih, Faydh al-Bari:
"A beard is that which grows on the jawbone. This is the reason why it is known in the Hindi/Urdu language as "Darhi" because it is derived from the root-word "Darh (molar teeth)" for a beard is that which grows (on the outside of the) molar teeth. As regards to the hair which grows on the two cheeks, it is not part of the beard linguistically, even though (some) jurists have disliked removing it, because shaving it with a razor causes the cheeks to become rough, and plucking it weakens the eyesight." (Faydh al-Bari, 4/380)
The great Hanafi jurist (faqih), Imam Ibn Abidin states, quoting from al-Mudmarat:
"There is nothing wrong (la ba's) in removing the hair......of the face as long as it does not cause one to resemble an effeminate." (Radd al-Muhtar, 6/407. The same has been mentioned in al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, 5/358)
Therefore, hair which grows on the jawbone is included in the beard, and above that the hair which grows on the cheeks is not considered to be part of the beard. As such, it will be permitted to remove hair of the cheeks by shaving or trimming it, as is the practice of many Scholars from Yemen and elsewhere.
It will also be permitted to remove this hair permanently via electrolysis or any other method. In fact, in my personal opinion, this would be better than shaving or plucking the hair, as Imam Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri (Allah have mercy on him) pointed out above that shaving hair from the cheeks is disliked by some Fuqaha because it causes the cheeks to become jagged and rough, whilst plucking it causes one's eyesight to become weak. As such, it would be better to have (and Allah knows best) permanent removal of this hair than to keep shaving it. (In this way, one will also be saving one's time!).
