Trim Beards & True Love?

It's a very interesting point you mentioned that your shuyukh in fiqh in Damascus had less than fistful beards and I have noticed that of all the scholars coming from Syria I haven't seen a single one with a beard complying with the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw), i.e. not fist-length or longer. And as you mentioned "...for obvious reasons of safety." and this may most-likely be true as I have heard that the Syrian authority/government is "corrupt" and "westernised", wAllahu a'lam. I sent the same exact question about the beard in Hanafi madhhab to a scholar who has studied in Syria and this is the reply he gave me:

"Assalamu Alalikum,

Here are some brief answers

(1)     From what I have read there is no traditional opinion in the Hanafi madhab for a beard less than a fistful. Know that every traditional scholar (both Hanafi and non-Hanafi) has had a beard which matched the sunnah of the Prophet. This remains a sunnah today and remains a marker for true scholarship.

The issue which you have raised with the beard is a very important one. Unfortunately in this day and age, many people hold the opinion that shortening the beard is beneficial for the sake dawah. Nothing can be further from the truth. The blessings that are attracted by emulating the sunnah far outweight any "outward benefit" of trimming the beard. Note that the mashaikh of tasawwuf have always emulated each act of the Prophet and, throughout our history, they have been successful in bringing millions of people into the fold of Islam Whereas, today we leave the sunnah and cannot even bring ourselves into the masjid. I hope this answers your questions. "

[The brother continues by saying:]

I agree 100% with this reply from this scholar and personally I feel that true love of the  Prophet (saw) and his blessed Sunnah is by following each and every act he (saw) did, even if it's something "small", such as the correct length of the beard and I also feel that anyone who goes contrary in any way (even a 'grain's size'-metaphorically speaking) cannot claim to truly love the Best of Creation (saw). wAllahu a'lam.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, and all blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, his Folk, Companions and those who follow their noble way,
 
Walaikum assalam,
 
Sidi, the answers are nice, but not true: many classical scholars before this century had beards less than a fist full. In the Shafi`i school, there is nothing wrong with a trim beard (even though it is somewhat disliked)... So great Yemeni fuqaha (and there have been many throughout the centuries) and Malikis (with their goatee position, which is sounder linguistically than you'd imagine) have had trim beards or goatees.. Even others.
 
There is little doubt that one of the most influential scholars of Ahl al-Sunna in the 20th century was Imam Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, the great Hanafi hadith expert, faqih... Non-fistful beard...  [You'll find his picture attached, for historical interest....]
 
Things are not so clear cut sometimes, Sidi. Yes, a Hanafi's beard should be a fist full. But to say that a fistful beard "remains a marker for true scholarship" is an exaggeration. If the Hadrami Shafi`is of Yemen aren't true scholars, then who are? Is Shaykh Buti not a true scholar? Or, Imam al-Kawthari?
 
And how can we judge  the trueness of a person's love of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) by the length of his beard, especially when they are following a sound fiqhi position (in the Shafi`i and Maliki schools, for example, which every morally responsible person has a right to follow)? At best, it is one non-perfection. Someone could have great love for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and be tremendous in following him outwardly and inwardly, and have a trim beard. Who would say that Shaykh Muhammad Ya'qoubi is not a great believer, a great lover of the Prophet, a scholar...? Or Shaykh Buti? Or...? Or...? [Or, for example, for those of you who know him, my dear friend and teacher, Shaykh Iyad al-Ghawj, who is one of the best living examples of the akhlaq of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that I have seen.]
 
We do not live in a one dimensional world.
 
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani