A Muslim man incarcerated in an Arkansas prison has the right to grow a 1/2-inch beard in accordance with his religion, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday, despite the state’s corrections system’s rules prohibiting the beard.

The decision hinged on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, also known as RLUIPA, a federal statute that says that governments receiving federal funding cannot impose a substantial burden on an institutionalized person’s exercise of religious expression unless it furthers a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of doing so. The high court’s decision overturned rulings against the inmate – who is listed in the case as Gregory Holt, but also goes by Abdul Maalik Muhammad – in district and federal appeals courts.

