The Arab Shaykh and Mufti of Iraq, Mufti Abd al-Malik Sa'di was asked about cutting the beard before fist length and he replied that this is the act of the effeminate one [mukhannath]. See this topic on an Arabic forum where this brother asked his own Shaykh about this and posted about it: http://www.aslein.net/showthread.php?t=10519 A short biography and interview in Arabic can be found here: http://al-raeed.com/preview.php?id=1872 His advice to the Mujahideen in Iraq can also be found here: http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php?t=254524