that which is external to the location of the obligatory act, so it resembles what descends of the hair of the head beyond it. It has been narrated from Abu Hanifa that it is not obligatory to wash a thick beard, because Allah the Almighty commanded the washing of the face, and that is a name for the skin of the face with which one faces others, and hair is not skin, and what is beneath it does not allow for facing others. Al-Khallal said: What has been established from Abu 'Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding the beard is that he does not wash it, and it is not part of the face at all. He said: Bakr ibn Muhammad (25) narrated from his father, saying: I asked Abu 'Abd Allah: Which is more pleasing to you, washing the beard or tahlil (combing through it with fingers)? He replied: Washing it is not from the Sunnah, and if he does not perform tahlil, it suffices him. This is the apparent school of Abu Hanifa in the report mentioned from him. It is possible he meant that which has extended beyond the limits of the face of it, and this is a view of Abu Hanifa and one of the two sayings of al-Shafi'i. The well-known view from Abu Hanifa is that one must wash a quarter of the beard, based on his principle regarding wiping the head. The apparent school of Ahmad, which his companions follow, is the obligation to wash the entire beard that grows within the area of the obligatory act, whether it aligns with the area of the obligation or extends beyond it, and this is the apparent view of al-Shafi'i. Ahmad's statement regarding the negation of washing refers to washing its interior, meaning that washing its interior is not from the Sunnah. It has been narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man who had covered his beard in prayer and said: "Uncover your face; for the beard is from the face (28)." And because it is growth in the area of the obligatory act, it enters into its name as an outward feature, so it resembles a superfluous hand. Furthermore, it is something used for facing others, so it enters into the name of the face, and it differs from the hair of the head, for what descends from it does not enter into its name, [and it is not required to wipe the entire khuff, unlike the case we are in] (29).