Did God tell Abraham to grow a beard?

[sum]

Would those who are familiar with the Bible or other non-Islamic sources please tell me if God told Abraham to grow a beard?

sum

[pr126]

The tests attributed to Abraham may be the low water mark for Islam’s credibility thus far. This strand of pearls begins to unwind in Tabari's second volume, Prophets and Patriarchs: Tabari II:97 "After Allah had put Abraham to the test - when Nimrod bin Cush tried to burn him in the fire, when He commanded him to sacrifice his son after he had become old enough to walk, when He made him raise the foundations of the House, and devote himself to its rituals - after all of this, He put Abraham to the test with still further commands which He has mentioned. He said, 'And when his Lord tried Abraham with commands and he fulfilled them.' [Qur'an 2:124] The earliest scholars of the Islamic community (ummah) disagreed about the nature of these commandments with which Allah tested Abraham and which Abraham obeyed."

These tests were crucial because Islam - according to Muhammad - was the result of Abraham's obedience. Yet the Qur'an is deficient - completely silent on the nature of these trials and their significance. So rather than let Allah wallow in blissful ignorance, the Companions rushed in to save the day. Tabari II:98 "Islam consists of thirty parts, and no one ever tested with this obligation carried it out, except Abraham." "'And when his Lord tried Abraham with commands' means that Allah tested him with the acts of ritual purification, five in the head and five in the body. [5+5=30] Those in the head are: trimming the mustache, rinsing the mouth, cleansing the nostrils with water, using the toothstick, and parting the hair with the fingers. Those in the body are: paring the nails, shaving the pubic hair, circumcision, plucking the armpit, and washing off traces of feces and urine."

Can't be! Surely this is a misprint. There is no way that the adoptive father of the world's fastest growing religion earned the dubious honor by passing such an inane "test." Let's examine another Hadith to make sure we've got this right. "Allah’s words, 'When his Lord tried Abraham with commands.' mean that Abraham was tested by circumcision, shaving his pubic hair, washing the fore-part and rear, using a toothstick, trimming the mustache, paring nails, and plucking his armpits.'"

That wasn't any better. How about this: Tabari II:99 "Abraham was tested with ten Islamic practices: rinsing the mouth, cleansing the nostrils with water, trimming the mustache, using a toothstick, plucking the armpit, paring the nails, washing finger joints, circumcision, shaving pubic hair, and washing the rear and vulva." So after adding: "bathing on Friday," a fourth version gets ritualistic with: "walking around the Ka'aba, running between Safa and Marwah, stoning pillars, and hurrying." I disdain ritual. I am, therefore, unimpressed with its justification. Ritual is a tool used by power-hungry men to condition the masses and subject them to their rule. It is a control device for the oppressor to use against the ignorant. It separates men from God and discourages rational inquiry. But no ritual has ever been this ridiculous.

source

No mention of beard.

What does Allah care about trimming the mustache? Or plucking the armpit? Ouch! Shaving pubic hair? Oy wey"
Allah has nothing better to do?
.

[frankie]

Would those who are familiar with the Bible or other non-Islamic sources please tell me if God told Abraham to grow a beard?

sum

Hi sum,
As far as I am aware, God did not tell Abraham to grow a beard in the O.T.I would be most interested to be told otherwise.

It was probably practical under the circumstances for men to grow beards in those times,maybe for protection and warmth,but also they may not have had the means to cut hair,and it probably was easier to leave well alone.

[sum]

Hello frankie

Do you know if it is recorded in the OT that Abraham did have a beard?

sum

[sum]

It would appear that Abraham did have a beard -

<< Leviticus 19:27 >>

New International Version (©1984)
"'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

New Living Translation (©2007)
"Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.

English Standard Version (©2001)
You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)'
You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"Never shave the hair on your foreheads, and never cut the edges of your beard.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
You shall not shave around the sides of your heads, neither shall you disfigure the corners of your beard.

American King James Version
You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of your beard.

American Standard Version
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

Bible in Basic English
The ends of the hair round your face and on your chin may not be cut off.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Nor shall you cut your hair roundwise: nor shave your beard.

Darby Bible Translation
ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.

English Revised Version
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

Webster's Bible Translation
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

World English Bible
"'You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your heads, neither shall you clip off the edge of your beard.

Young's Literal Translation'
Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard.

The only difference with the Islamic beard is the Islamic ruling regarding the length of the beard. I am assuning that this relates to the time of Abraham and includes Abraham.

sum

[pr126]

Who knew? The lord of the universe has a fetish about beards.

But seriously, all religious hair fashions, clothing, symbols are there to recognize fellow believers.
An advert for faith. It's a uniform for religions.
That includes circumcision.

[sum]

Hello pr126

Your quote -
But seriously, all religious hair fashions, clothing, symbols are there to recognize fellow believers.
That includes circumcision.

This made me laugh. If circumcision is a sign to others that you are one of the "team" you would have to go through the ritual of asking the other chap - or even woman! - if you could both flaunt what you had in order to prove "team" membership!!! Interesting!

sum

[Lyzandra Daria]

Hello pr126

Your quote -
But seriously, all religious hair fashions, clothing, symbols are there to recognize fellow believers.
That includes circumcision.

This made me laugh. If circumcision is a sign to others that you are one of the "team" you would have to go through the ritual of asking the other chap - or even woman! - if you could both flaunt what you had in order to prove "team" membership!!! Interesting!

sum

>>>
Probably have some severe consequences to 'failure to make the cut', I'm thinking.

But seriously...

Leviticus 19:27
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Leviticus 19:28
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."

PS:
Numbers 15:38 (NIV)
"Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel."
[and make the tassel w/ blue cord…only blue? Dark blue or sky blue?]


>>>

[pr126]

1 Samuel 18:27

David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.