What is the ruling on a man connecting his mustache with his beard hair?

The Sunnah concerning the mustache is to trim and thin it. Scholars have differed regarding the two ends of the mustache, "al-sabalan": are they part of the mustache, to be trimmed with it, or are they part of the beard, to be left alone?

Some Maliki and Shafi'i scholars held the view that they should be left untrimmed, citing that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to twist them, which indicates the permissibility of keeping them.

The Hanafis, Hanbalis, and some Shafi'is held the view that it is recommended to trim them along with the mustache, basing their argument on the hadith "Trim the mustaches" and on what Ibn Hibban narrated in his Sahih from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said about the Magians: "Indeed, they lengthen their sabal and shave their beards, so differ from them." Ibn Umar used to inspect his sabal and trim it.

The preponderant view in this matter is that there is latitude. Whoever leaves the ends of the mustache connected incurs no sin, following the example of Umar ibn al-Khattab, and whoever trims them incurs no sin, as Abdullah ibn Umar used to do.

However, leaving the mustache and only shaving its ends is not from the Sunnah.