Asalaamu alaikum -
Though I'm not very active on this site any more, I decided to come and see if I could get some advice. And by advice, I'm not talking about long extensive ahadith quotes that I already know.
I have a full beard, a nice lehya that I'm quite proud of. I even have shampoo and conditioner designed just for the beard so I can take good care of it!
Some of the drawbacks have been that I'm one of the few Muslim men who actually grow his beard. This means that I've often been mistaken for a shaykh; matter of fact in the masallah in the Dubai airport I was asked to lead the Maghrib prayer (I declined).
Here's the big problem. I am without a job and have been for over a year now. I've been trying really hard but the economy in this country sucks. But I've been offered a job a couple of times, including a teaching job in Jordan for a Muslim establishment - the brother told me that I would have to shave the beard. A friend in San Francisco told me that he could drop a word to his counterpart locally (he works for a major university) but, he said, "if I refer you, you're going to have to shave the beard". I told him its a religious expression and would tell them that if I had an interview. He said "I wouldn't recommend it".
So I'm sitting here thinking, should I cut this beard at least down to "fashionable" level so that I can get a job? Or should I remain loyal to the commandment to leave the beard & trim the mustache? The latter hasn't gotten me very far. I have asked a shaykh who lives in Jordan - my old shaykh who returned for Ramadan, alhamdulillah - who said "leave it".
Anyway... should I remain full beard and jobless, and hope that someday ALLAH subhanahu wa ta'ala will have mercy on His servant who is following His Messenger, and help me find a job? Or should I "shave now, grow it back later" and get a better chance of getting hired?
JazakumAllah khairan for your input.
Daniel
Though I'm not very active on this site any more, I decided to come and see if I could get some advice. And by advice, I'm not talking about long extensive ahadith quotes that I already know.
I have a full beard, a nice lehya that I'm quite proud of. I even have shampoo and conditioner designed just for the beard so I can take good care of it!
Some of the drawbacks have been that I'm one of the few Muslim men who actually grow his beard. This means that I've often been mistaken for a shaykh; matter of fact in the masallah in the Dubai airport I was asked to lead the Maghrib prayer (I declined).
Here's the big problem. I am without a job and have been for over a year now. I've been trying really hard but the economy in this country sucks. But I've been offered a job a couple of times, including a teaching job in Jordan for a Muslim establishment - the brother told me that I would have to shave the beard. A friend in San Francisco told me that he could drop a word to his counterpart locally (he works for a major university) but, he said, "if I refer you, you're going to have to shave the beard". I told him its a religious expression and would tell them that if I had an interview. He said "I wouldn't recommend it".
So I'm sitting here thinking, should I cut this beard at least down to "fashionable" level so that I can get a job? Or should I remain loyal to the commandment to leave the beard & trim the mustache? The latter hasn't gotten me very far. I have asked a shaykh who lives in Jordan - my old shaykh who returned for Ramadan, alhamdulillah - who said "leave it".
Anyway... should I remain full beard and jobless, and hope that someday ALLAH subhanahu wa ta'ala will have mercy on His servant who is following His Messenger, and help me find a job? Or should I "shave now, grow it back later" and get a better chance of getting hired?
JazakumAllah khairan for your input.
Daniel