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Is it permissible to shave the beard in order to join the military, knowing that leaving the job will result in losing the family's sole source of income?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Shaving the beard is forbidden (haram), and it is not permissible to compel soldiers to do so, as it constitutes an order to disobey Allah. However, if military service is compulsory and a soldier is forced to shave his beard, then there is no sin upon him, because he is under duress and necessity, as Allah the Almighty says: (But whoever is forced by necessity, neither intending wrongdoing nor transgressing, there is no sin upon him) and (And He has already explained to you what He has forbidden to you, except for that to which you are compelled). The Permanent Committee has issued a fatwa stating that it is impermissible to engage in something that necessitates these forbidden acts, but if a person is compelled by force, then the matter is not in his hands.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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