What is the ruling on growing a beard, and what is the ruling on a goatee, and does shaving the beard or keeping part of it affect one's repentance?

The prophetic command to grow the beard has been narrated in dozens of hadiths, and the majority of scholars are of the opinion that shaving it is forbidden. It is permissible, according to most jurists, to trim what exceeds a handful of the beard, and this has been narrated from a number of companions and their successors. Whoever shaves most of his beard and leaves a small part of it (a goatee) is in violation of the Prophet's guidance, peace and blessings be upon him.

Repentance for one sin is valid even with persistence in another sin. If one repents sincerely and then commits the sin again, the second sin is recorded against him, but his previous repentance is not invalidated. Sincere repentance (Tawbah (definition) Nasuh) entails encompassing all sins, a sincere and unwavering resolve to abandon them, and purifying it from impurities and defects so that it is solely for the sake of Allah the Almighty.