Islamic Ruling on Wearing Platinum and Gold Rings for Men
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
••─━══★Justification for Men Wearing Gold and Jewelry★══━─ ••
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✍ A common question that is asked is whether men are allowed to wear gold and jewelry, but the real question should not be about whether men are allowed to wear gold or how much gold is permissible, rather the correct question is: under what circumstances is it allowed for men to use silver or gold? For example, a silver ring is permissible for men because it is proven from the actions of the Prophet ﷺ and the companions. But is a man allowed to wear silver on his hands, such as silver bangles or bracelets, or chains around his neck, or earrings in his ears? The answer is no because these adornments are specific to women, and thus men are prohibited from wearing them. This is also a case of resemblance with women, and men are prohibited from imitating women.
By nature, men should maintain their masculinity, and women should maintain their femininity. One of the grave issues in Western-influenced societies is that men adopt feminine traits, such as growing long hair and styling it like women, wearing earrings, bracelets, chains, and shaving their beards. At the same time, women adopt masculine traits, such as keeping short hair, rolling up their pants, and wearing men’s clothing. The Prophet ﷺ cursed those who imitate the opposite gender.
Hazrat Ibn Abbas (RA) narrates:
لَعَنَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰہِ ۖ الْمُتَشَبِّھِیْنَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ بِالنِّسَاء وَالْمُتَشَبِّھَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاء بِالرِّجَالِ (13)
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed those men who imitate women and those women who imitate men.”
Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ cursed men and women who wear the clothes of the opposite gender. Hazrat Abu Hurairah (RA) narrates:
((اَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰہِ ۖ لَعَنَ الرَّجُلَ یَلْبَسُ لُبْسَةَ الْمَرْأَةِ وَالْمَرْأَةُ تَلْبَسُ لُبْسَةَ الرَّجُلِ)) (14)
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the man who wears women’s clothing and the woman who wears men’s clothing.”
⛔ Fatwa
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Wearing rings made of iron or brass has been prohibited in some narrations, though there is some debate about these narrations: (باب ماجاء فی خاتم الحدید سنن ابو دائود) (صححه الالباني صحيح ابي دائود كتاب الخاتم باب ماجاء في خاتم الحديد (٤٢٢٥) والنسائي (٥٢١٢-5210)).
The author of عون المعبود says:
’’ والحديث يدل علي كراهة لبس خاتم الحديد ’’ (4/144)
“This hadith indicates the dislike of wearing an iron ring.”
However, wearing a ring with a gem like a pearl or diamond appears permissible as proven by the hadith:
’’ كان خاتم النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم من ورق فصه حبشي ’’
(Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Libas, Bab Fi Khateem al-Waraq Qisah Habashi (5487), Abu Dawood (4216), Mishkat (4388))
“The Prophet’s ﷺ ring was made of silver, and its gemstone was from Abyssinia.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RA) states:
’’ اي كان حجرا من بلاد الحبشة او علي لون الحبشة او كان جزعا او عقيقا لان ذلك قد يوتي من بلاد الحبشة ’’ (فتح الباري 10/322)
“Meaning it was a stone from Abyssinia or its color, or it could have been agate, as such stones were imported from Abyssinia.”
Fatwa al-Thana’iya Madaniya
Is it true that it is not allowed to pray wearing copper or iron rings or chains?
No, this is not true. There is no harm in praying while wearing a ring made of gold (for women), or silver, or iron, and no harm in wearing any of these during prayer. The prohibition on iron rings mentioned in some narrations is weak and isolated, and contradicts the authentic hadiths.
The Prophet ﷺ allowed a man who wanted to give a ring as a gift for marriage, but had nothing except a ring of iron. He was instructed to look for an iron ring and use it in the marriage contract. This hadith is an evidence for the permissibility of wearing iron rings. The complete hadith is:
Translation:
Hazrat Sahl ibn Sa’ad (RA) reported that a woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “I give myself to you as a gift.” She stood there for some time, and then a man said, “If you do not need her, may I marry her?” The Prophet ﷺ asked: “Do you have anything to give her as a dowry?” He replied, “I have nothing except this garment (tahmad).” The Prophet ﷺ said: “If you give her this garment, you will have no garment left to wear.” “Look for something else.” The man replied: “I have nothing.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Search for something, even if it is an iron ring!” When he could not find even that, the Prophet ﷺ asked: “Do you know any Qur’an?” The man replied, “Yes, I know so-and-so surahs.” The Prophet ﷺ then said, “Then we marry you to her for the Qur’an you know.”
As for the hadith where it is mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ saw a person wearing an iron ring and said: “Why do I see you wearing the jewelry of the people of Hell?” or saw another person wearing a brass ring and said: “Why do I smell the odor of idols from you?” This hadith is weak and isolated, and contradicts the authentic narrations.
Imam Tirmidhi states:
- This hadith is rare.
- Abdullah ibn Amr also narrates in this context, and his Kunya is Abu Taybah, but he is known for being weak in narration.
The chain of narrators is weak, and therefore the hadith cannot be used as evidence.
(Collected from Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan an-Nasa’i, Musnad Ahmad, and Tirmidhi.)
(Shaykh Albani declared it weak, Mishkat, 4396, and Adab al-Zafaaf, 128).
Men’s Use of Platinum Rings
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This question was presented to Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al-Uthaymeen (رحمه الله), and his response was:
It is conditional upon two factors:
First Condition:
There should be no extravagance or wastefulness, meaning that a man should not wear such jewelry if he is not worthy of it.
Second Condition:
It should not cause fitnah (corruption or temptation), for example, if the person is young, and there is a fear that others may be tempted by his appearance.
This is because, in general, wearing jewelry is permissible, except for wearing gold rings, which is known to be forbidden for men.
Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Uthaymeen
Gold for Men – In the Light of Hadith
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➖ 1 Narrated by Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهم) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saw a man wearing a gold ring, and he took it off and threw it away. He said: “One of you is intending to wear a piece of hellfire.” After the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had left, the man was told to pick up the ring and benefit from it, but he said: “No, by Allah, since the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) threw it away, I will never wear it again.”
(Sahih Muslim: 2090)
➖ 2 Narrated by Abu Umama (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not wear silk or gold.”
(Musnad Ahmad: 261/5, and its chain is trustworthy)
Hafidh al-Mundhiri and Hafidh al-Haythami (رحمه الله) have confirmed the trustworthiness of the narrators in this hadith. (Majma’ al-Zawa’id: 174/5)
➖ 3 Narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (رضي الله عنه) that a man from Najran came to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wearing a gold ring. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) turned away from him and said: “You have come to me while you are wearing a piece of hellfire.”
(Nasa’i: 5191, Musnad Ahmad: 14/3, and its chain is trustworthy)
Imam Ibn Hibban (رحمه الله) has authenticated this narration. The narrator Abu al-Najib al-Masri is considered trustworthy. Imam Ibn Khuzaymah and Imam Ibn Hibban have confirmed his reliability. (Sahih Ibn Hibban: 5489)
➖ 4 Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to wear a gold ring (before its prohibition). Afterward, he threw it away, saying: “I will never wear this again.” The people also threw away their rings.
(Sahih Bukhari: 5865, Sahih Muslim: 53/2091)
➖ 5 Narrated by Bara bin Azib (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) forbade us from wearing seven things, one of which was a gold ring.
(Sahih Bukhari: 5863)
➖ 6 Narrated by Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
“Whoever wants to adorn his friend with a piece of fire, should give him a gold bracelet. Whoever wants to adorn his friend with a piece of fire, should give him a gold necklace. Whoever wants to adorn his friend with a piece of fire, should give him a gold ring. Use only silver (and do not exceed).”
(Abu Dawood: 4236, Musnad Ahmad: 334/2, and its chain is trustworthy)
Hafidh al-Mundhiri (رحمه الله) has declared the chain of this hadith to be authentic. (al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib: 273/1)
➖ 7 Narrated by Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) held silk in his right hand and gold in his left hand, and said:
“These two are forbidden for the men of my Ummah.”
(Abu Dawood: 4057, Nasa’i: 160/8, Ibn Majah: 3595, Musnad Ahmad: 115/1, and its chain is trustworthy)
Hafidh Abdul-Haq al-Ishbili (رحمه الله) reports in his “Ahkam” that Imam Ali bin Madini (رحمه الله) said:
“This hadith is authentic, and its narrators are known for their reliability.”
➖ 8 Narrated by Muslimah bin Makhlad (رحمه الله) that he said to ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir (رضي الله عنه): “Please stand and convey to the people what you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم).” He said:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) say:
‘Whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his place in hell.’
And I heard the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) say:
‘Silk and gold are forbidden for the men of my Ummah, but allowed for their women.'”
(Al-Ma’rifah wa al-Tarikh by Ya’qub bin Sufyan al-Fasawi: 506/2, Bayhaqi: 276/3, and its chain is trustworthy)
Yahya bin Ayyub and al-Hasan bin Thawban are considered trustworthy narrators, and Hisham bin Abi Ramiya has been declared trustworthy by Imam Ibn Hibban and Ya’qub bin Sufyan.
➖ 9 Narrated by Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) forbade men from wearing gold rings.
(Sahih Bukhari: 5864, Sahih Muslim: 2089)
➖ 10 Narrated by Najashi (the king), who sent a gift to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), which included a gold ring with an Abyssinian gem. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) turned away from it and picked it up with a stick or his finger. He then called his granddaughter, Imamamah bint Zaynab, and said: “O my daughter! Wear this.”
(Abu Dawood: 4235, Ibn Majah: 3644, and its chain is trustworthy)
⏸ Despite this prohibition, in cases of necessity, there is a concession for men to use gold. For example, it is allowed to have gold in the nose, teeth, or to use gold wire for dental work. As narrated by ‘Urfajah bin As’ad (رضي الله عنه):
“On the day of the Battle of Khilab, my nose was cut off, and I had a silver nose inserted. It began to emit a bad odor, so the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) commanded me to have a gold nose inserted.”
(Musnad Ahmad: 23/5, Abu Dawood: 4232, Tirmidhi: 1770, Nasa’i: 5164, and its chain is trustworthy)
This hadith is classified as “Hasan” by Imam Tirmidhi (رحمه الله) and “Sahih” by Imam Ibn Hibban (رحمه الله).
However, it is important to note that some people wear gold jewelry for aesthetic purposes, which is absolutely not permissible.
And Allah knows best.
This is what I have, and Allah knows best about the correct answer.
وَبِاللّٰہِ التَّوْفِیْقُ
وَالسَّــــــــلاَم عَلَيــْـــــــكُم وَرَحْمَــــــــــةُاللهِ وَبَرَكـَـــــــــاتُه