yes. he has now passed into the mercy of Allah. may ALlah ta'ala have mercy upon him.
he passed away in 2001. may Allah have mercy on him.
in case someone sees his pics being clean shaven, as some desi folks are super quick to judge and jump to conclusions -
do note that during the cold war and some of the following years, people were persecuted just for having beards, in communist and semi countries like Syria, Egypt, Turkey, (USSR) Russia and so on. the current Turkish administration for all its simultaneous, two faced games with the yahood and Muslim world, is more Muslim-friendly or tolerant than the hardcore kemalists that were in power in the 70's 80's 90's etc.
i have known Egyptian imams who were expatriates in other non-commie non-baathist countries and had full beards and they used to shave before going for vacations to Egypt. in such circumstances it was perfectly permissible (even recommended) for him and others like him to shave if they would be persecuted or hounded every living moment by secret police just for having a beard.
now they (lots of different powers) still see Islam as a threat, but some social dynamics have shifted - hijab is a fashion statement or a religious practice depending on the wearer's instagram account;
beards and turbans don't mean much in and of themselves unless your social media profile corroborates your status (pardon the pun) and calls out injustices and aggression against Islam and Muslims, or you demand some sort of accountability from the rich and powerful or you post ahadith and verses that "they" don't want to see.