Question:

Is it permissible for the Muslim to wash his face with water and soap and shave his beard with shaving creams and foam while fasting in Ramadan? May Allah reward you.

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to wash the face with water and soap while fasting. The eminent scholar Ibn Baaz said, "It is permissible for the fasting person to use soap, creams, henna, makeup, and the like which beautify the face and are applied to the skin." The eminent scholar Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said, "All types of ointment which are applied to the face, back or any other part of the body do not affect the fasting or break it." Therefore, creams and shaving foam do not break the fast.

However, shaving the beard is prohibited and it is not permissible for the Muslim to do it either on a day in Ramadan or at any other time, and it is worthier for the fasting person to avoid shaving the beard. The Prophet said: "Whoever does not eschew false statements, acting according to them and ignorance, Allah has no need that he should abstain from his food and his drink." [Al-Bukhari]

No doubt, shaving beards pertains to a form of ignorance that the fasting Muslim must avoid because it is disobedience to Allah The Almighty.

Allah Knows best.