Malik said: The area between the beard and the ear is not part of the face and its washing is not obligatory, because the face is that with which one confronts others, and this area is not for confrontation. Ibn Abd al-Barr (6) said: I do not know of any jurist of the major cities who held this view of Malik.

Our evidence against al-Zuhri is the statement of the Prophet - peace be upon him -: "The ears are part of the head." In the hadiths of Ibn Abbas, al-Rubayyi', and al-Miqdam, it is reported that the Prophet - peace be upon him - wiped his ears along with his head, and we have mentioned both of them (7). No one has reported that he washed them with the face; he only attributed them to the face due to their proximity to it, and a thing is sometimes called by the name of that which is adjacent to it.

Our evidence against Malik is that this area is part of the face in the case of one who has no beard, so it remains part of it in the case of one who does have a beard, just like the rest of the face. As for his statement that the face is that with which one confronts others, we say: A boy’s face also provides such confrontation (8).

It is recommended to attend to this area with washing because it is among the places people neglect. Al-Marrudhi said: Abu Abd Allah showed me the area between his ear and his temple and said: This is a place that should be attended to. This area is the joint of the jaw with the face, and that is why al-Khiraqi called it a "joint."

Section: The "idhar" (sideburn) is included in the face; it is the hair on the protruding bone that is level with the ear canal, and what descends from it to the tragus of the ear. The "arid" (cheek hair) is what descends from the limit of the idhar; it is the hair on the jaws. Al-Asma'i (9) and al-Mufaddal ibn