it is not a fardh like salaat and saum and even hijab....you might be confusing wajib with fardh.
as I promised to get back on this one. allhamdulillah, I was wrong and you are right: beard is wajib and not fardh. barak Allahu feekee
However, such difference is only theortical when the application of two terms is same. They both mean an obligation and only the ahnaf make distinction between the two terms due to them being Ahl al-Rai'i.
Hilali and Muhsin khan's translation has been condemned by so many scholars and experts.
like who? your sufi ashari scholars who call for shirk and bidah? Maybe you can give us list of all these "so many scholars"; I am sure it would start with Nuh keller and end with Hamza Yusuf.