You have clearly stated previously that every Muslim should wear a beard because this is the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Then there should not be "ifs and buts," and every Muslim should wear a beard. A person leading prayers must be bearded. Could you please, then, answer the following questions: 1.) Is it not obligatory on the part of every Muslim to obey what the Prophet, peace be upon him, has ordered? 2.) Is there any incident during the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and of the rightly guided caliphs when prayers were led by an iman without a beard? If not, then this cannot be approved according to your own verdict in the case of the celebration of the Prophet's birthday and similar situations. You have stated that in these cases that if an action was not practiced by the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions, then it is an innovation and against Islam. By the same argument, it is not possible for an imam to be without a beard.
The simple answer to your first question is "Yes, indeed." It is certainly obligatory on the part of a Muslim to obey what the Prophet, peace be upon him, has ordered. This is stated clearly in the Qur'an when Allah says: "Take whatever the Prophet gives you and desist from anything he forbids you." With regard to wearing a beard, I have already stated [on other occasions] that every Muslim should do so. I have nothing to add on this.
Turning away from the subject of wearing a beard for a moment I would like to explain that not everything stated in the Qur'an and Hadith in the imperative form constitutes an obligation in the strict sense of the word. Take for example Verse 31 of Surah 7 which speaks of how to dress when one goes to the mosque. This is given in the imperative form and addressed to "the children of Adam," which means that the order is given to all mankind. Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Translators of the Qur'an render its meaning in a variety of forms. These are four of them:
1) Beautify yourself for every act of worship; 2) Take to your adornment at every mosque; 3) Dress well every-time you pray; and 4) Wear your best clothes to every place of worship.
My own understanding of this verse is that it relates to how one should dress when one stands up for prayer, whether at home or in the mosque, although it should be observed more carefully in the latter case. Whether we take it to mean dress only or adornment in general, it tells us to take care of our appearance when we pray. Once again it is expressed in the imperative form. Now, does this constitute an obligation which must be observed literally and strictly every-time we pray, or every time we go to the mosque? If so, what do we say to a construction worker who hears the call to prayer and goes to the mosque wearing his working gear? Do we tell him not to go to the mosque for the congregational prayer because he has at home better clothes which he must wear in fulfillment of this order given in the Qur'an? Furthermore, if you are at home wearing ordinary clothes which are clean and you hear the call to prayer, do you have to change into your best gear before you go to the mosque. If you say that it is not obligatory to do so, how do you explain this Qur'anic order? I am sure you will agree with me when I tell you that this Qur'anic verse indicates a preference rather than a commandment. In other words, if you wear clean, presentable clothes when you go to the mosque, you have fulfilled this order. If you go to the mosque wearing your working gear, your prayer is still valid. It is certainly better for someone whose job causes his clothes to be dirty to have near at hand a clean dress into which he could quickly slip before he goes to the mosque. But if he does not do so, we do not tell him not to come to the mosque.
I have given this example in order to explain to you that some orders are given to indicate preference, not obligation. These must not be understood in their strictly literal sense. Otherwise, things will become very difficult for people. If we make things difficult, we run the risk of doing the opposite of what the Prophet, peace be upon him, commands us: "Make things facile, not difficult."
The answer to your second question is that I do not know. I very much doubt whether anyone led the prayer during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his companions when he was not wearing a beard but it was the general practice at the time to follow the Prophet's Sunnah more strictly. Moreover, it was socially unacceptable that one should appear without a beard.
Having said that, I must admit that I am amazed at your analogy which equates this with celebrating the Prophet's birthday and similar actions. Such an analogy does not hold. When we speak about a person without a beard, we are speaking of an omission. When we speak about celebrating the Prophet's birthday, we are speaking of an addition. The two are not only different; they are worlds apart. In the second case, i.e. that of addition, one is introducing into the religion something which is not part of it. In other words, this constitutes an allegation that our religion could be improved upon, or that the form which has been conveyed to us by the Prophet, peace be upon him, was not complete. Allah forbids that any of us should think so for a moment. Our religion is complete since Allah has made it so. It is perfect as the Prophet, peace be upon him, conveyed it to us. No addition can be made to it.
The case of an omission is certainly different. What it means is that someone neglects a duty or a Sunnah. If we treat this neglect or omission on the same basis as we treat addition, we are demanding that every Muslim should be perfect. While we should always try to improve ourselves, perfection cannot be expected from anyone. Allah describes the believers with whom He is pleased as those who "avoid the cardinal of sins and gross indecencies, with the exception of minor offenses." In other words, these good believers who earn the pleasure of Allah commit minor sins. I will go further than that and say that even a person who commits a grave sin may still earn the pleasure of Allah, if he works hard for His forgiveness.
Brother, I am sure you agree with me that we strive all our lives to be among those whose good deeds exceed by a fraction their bad deeds, and we may, with His grace, scrape through into heaven. If you agree to that, I say that there is a world of difference between this concept and the strict, perfectionist discipline you try to impose. I beg you to reflect on what I have said to appreciate the difference. [Strive for excellence and not perfection, because perfection belongs to Allah alone.]
What you are saying is that a person who does not wear a beard must not lead prayer. May I ask: should he pray or not? If you say he should pray, is his prayer acceptable to Allah and rewarded by Him? Is it valid? If it is, then he may lead the prayer. If you say that he must not lead the prayer, you are in effect saying that his prayer is not valid. You have to prove this with strong evidence. I do not think you can provide any. It is not for us human beings to say to anyone among us that his prayers are not valid.
Not only that, but the prayer of any Muslim who may have committed even a cardinal sin, is valid and acceptable, as long as he believes in the Oneness of Allah and in the message of the Prophet, peace be upon him. What do you do if you see someone doing something which is clearly forbidden, then coming to the mosque to offer his prayers? Do you tell him to go away? Obviously not. Can we say that his prayers are not valid? Decidedly not. It is only Allah who decides whose prayers to accept and whose to reject. Because He is so merciful to us, He accepts our prayers as long as we do not associate partners with Him and do not intend our prayer to be a means to show off or to deceive people. In other words, if we genuinely address our prayer to him, He accepts it. Moreover, He credits it to our account with Him. In other words, it offsets some of our sins. When Allah's mercy is so encompassing, how can we restrict it with rules of our own?
Let me put to you this question: If you go to a mosque and find that the congregation has already started the prayer, led by an imam who is without a beard, what do you do? Do you join that prayer? If so, then you admit that it is valid. If you do not, then you are disobeying the Prophet, peace be upon him, who tells you, and all Muslims, to join a congregation even when the imam's behavior leaves something to be desired. This he has ordered us to do, so that the Muslim community will always be united. Moreover, wearing a beard is not one of the criteria for the selection of an imam. The Prophet, peace be upon him, tells us that the one of us to lead the prayer should be the one who recites the Qur'an best. If two or more recite the Qur'an equally well, then the one of them with the greater knowledge of Islam should lead the prayer.
I have discussed your objection at length because what worries me is the attitude which it betrays. It is unfortunately an attitude which has spread among certain sections of the Muslim community. It seeks to impose a narrow interpretation on everything Islamic. I am afraid that by doing so, they deprive Islam of one of its greatest assets which Allah has made inherent to Islamic faith and practice, namely, ease and flexibility. Islam is a religion which is easy to follow. Anyone who tries to impose a mantel of rigidity on it does a disservice to Islam. This is what we understand from the Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, which may be rendered in translation as follows: "Indeed, this religion is characterized by ease; then go through it gently. Anyone who tries to impose rigidity on this religion will be defeated by it."
• Prayers: Interrupting prayer
In what situation is it permissible to abandon or interrupt prayer?
In normal circumstances, there is no situation which allows a worshipper to cut short his prayer or abandon it before he finishes it. Even if one finds himself facing a snake or a wild animal while praying, he should not abandon his prayer.
He may kill the snake or hide from the animal, but he may and should continue with his prayers.
If a mother, for example, sees her young child about to fall or harm himself or cause some harm to the house, or cause trouble, she may move to prevent him from doing what mischief he intends to do or to protect him from an unwelcome accident. She may do all this, however, while continuing praying.
If one is alone in the place where he is offering his prayer and someone knocks at the door, he may raise his voice to make that person aware of his presence, or he may walk to the door to open it without turning away from the qiblah, but he may not cut his prayer short.
• Prayers: Iqamah — Is it obligatory before a congregation?
We were about to offer prayers in congregation at the office, when the telephone rang. The imam answered it while iqamah was being said. When he had finished, he asked for the iqamah to be said again. Should he have done that, considering that we were only three persons joining the prayer?
The iqamah, or a shortened call to prayer, is said immediately before an individual or a congregation start their prayer. It serves to put the worshipper in a frame of mind most suitable for his worship. It is recommended or encouraged, i.e. sunnah, not obligatory. If a person does not say it, or if the congregation start without any one of them saying it, that does not detract in any way from the validity of the prayer.
If one has said iqamah and then something took place to delay him from starting his prayer, it is open to him to decide whether he wants to say the iqamah again or not. However, if the distraction is short, then the iqamah need not be said again. Suppose that when the imam answered the telephone, he explained to his caller that he was just about to pray and he would return the call after he had finished, then it would have been more appropriate if he started the prayer without repeating the iqamah. On the other hand, if the caller was his boss and he wanted to ask him about a certain matter and the telephone conversation took a few minutes, then repeating the iqamah is perhaps more preferable.