everyone!
This is a very interesting topic, and the issue is debatable depending on your personal translation and understanding on the Quraan. The only other verse in the Quraan that mentions cutting the hair as one of the rites of Hajj is in 2:196, which says:
"You shall observe the complete rites of Hajj and`Umrah for Allah. If you are prevented, you shall send an offering, and do not resume cutting your hair until your offering has reached its destination. If you are ill, or suffering a head injury, you shall expiate by fasting, or giving to charity, or some other form of worship. During the normal Hajj, if you break the state of Ihraam between `Umrah and Hajj, you shall expiate by offering an animal sacrifice. If you cannot afford it, you shall fast three days during Hajj and seven when you return home - this completes ten - provided you do not live at the Sacred Masjid. You shall observe Allah, and know that Allah is strict in enforcing retribution." (Al Quraan 2:196)
Alhamdulillaah, because of the way God worded this verse, it's evident that the only obligatory cutting that was to be done was the cutting of the hair on the HEAD, since it mentions recompassing for it if you have a head injury. Since the statement in 48:27 simply says to cut (or shorten) the hair, not "shave", it gives the impression of cutting the hair on the HEAD, not the beard. The only verse that specifically mentions anything about having a beard is in 20:94:
"He said, "O son of my mother; do not pull me by my beard and my head. I was afraid that you might say, 'You have divided the Children of Israel, and disobeyed my orders.'"" (Al Quraan 20:94)
This is speaking about Moses and Aaron, who were also Muslims (submitters to God's will), and they had beards. This doesn't make it obligatory for all Muslim men to have beards, though, especially a so-called "Sunni beard" (or a "lihiya"). From my interpretation, it sounds like having a beard is a matter of personal choice, and the OBLIGATORY practice of it was invented by students of the sunna and ahadiyth. It's definately not against Quraanic principles to have a beard, though... I'd think the verse at 7:31 is speaking INDIRECTLY about the beard, since it mentions matters of cleanliness, neatness, and dressing nicely, especially when entering the masjid. This would include the beard - if a Muslim man keeps a beard, he would be required to keep it neat and trimmed to present a good and acceptable appearance, which is similar to the message of neatness emphasized in 22:29. This is completely contrary to the ahadiyth, which says that men are FORBIDDEN from shaving or even trimming their beards since, according to them, it alters the creation of God (even though they're instructed to trim their mustaches
). Outside of the hadiyth and sunna accounts, there is nowhere in the infallible Quraan of Allah, which is PERFECT and FULLY DETAILED, that says that Muslim men are REQUIRED to have beards, but it also doesn't say that they CAN'T have beards either, as long as they keep them neatly trimmed and groomed... I hope this helps...
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