Shaykh Hassan Ba Shu’aib asked:

Question:

Is it allowed to shave the (العنفقة) hair which are above the chin?

Answer:

“The (العنفقة) [the hair between the lower lip and the chin] were reported in the Hadith of Abdullah bin Busr (may Allah be pleased with him). [He was asked]:

أَرَأَيْتَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ شَيْخًا قَالَ كَانَ فِي عَنْفَقَتِهِ شَعَرَاتٌ بِيضٌ

“Did you see the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was old?” He said, “He had a few white hairs between the lower lip and the chin”

[Reported by Bukhari]

So this proves that the Prophet (ﷺ) left the hair between the lower lip and the chin. Is leaving this hair obligatory or recommended?  It is a difference of opinion which returns to the issue of whether the hair between the lower lip and the chin are [within] the boundaries of the beard or not? The people of Arabic language do not mention it from the beard. So like this, some [Scholars] have taken the opinion of the permissibility of shaving it.  What is more cautious is to leave it and at the very least it is recommended due to the action of the Prophet (ﷺ)”.

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Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked:

Question:

Regarding the hairs that are underneath the lower lip. Are they trimmed or left as they are?

Answer:

“They are called (العنفقة ) and they are not from the beard. They are left the way they are unless they harm a person”

[Liqaa Bab al-Maftooh no. 9]

Translator’s Note:

As for what is mentioned that Ibn Umar radiallahu anahumma used to trim these hairs:

وكان ابن عمر يحفي شاربه حتى ينظر إلى بياض الجلد ويأخذ هذين يعني بين الشارب واللحية

Ibn Umar radiallahu anahumma used to trim his mustache until the whiteness of his skin could be seen. And he used to take from these two, that is: between his mustache and beard

Then it was reported by al-Bukhari in Mu’allaq form and it was graded weak by Imam al-Albani in ad-Da’ifah (no.5455). As well, the way the Scholars understood the narration is that it is referring to the ends of the mustache which join the beard [See Umdatul-Qaari under Hadith no. 5887]. However the narration is weak.

So it is better to leave these hairs

And Allah Knows Best

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan