Which is the lesser sin: dyeing the beard black or shaving it?

Shaving the beard is not permissible. As for dyeing it black, the preponderant and authoritative opinion among us is that it is forbidden. Nevertheless, it has not been reported that any of the righteous predecessors shaved their beards, whereas it has been reported that a number of them dyed their beards black, including some of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, some of the Ten Promised Paradise, the Household of the Prophet, and others.

By comparison, it becomes clear that the prohibition against shaving the beard is stronger than the prohibition against dyeing it black. However, piety requires abstaining from everything that has been forbidden.