Are Men Allowed to Wear Rings Made from Gold and Other Materials?

Answered by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari

Question: Are men allowed to wear white gold rings or those that are made from metal, wood, brass, etc.?

Answer: In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

It is unlawful for men to adorn themselves with any type of jewelery besides a silver ring. Gold has been decisively prohibited for men by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:

“Gold and silk have been made lawful for the women of my Ummah and prohibited for men” (Sunan Tirmizi  & Sunan Nasa’i).

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) held silk in his right hand and gold in his left, and then said: “These two have been prohibited for the males of my Ummah” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan Nasa’i & Musnad Ahmad.

Sayyiduna Ali (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) forbade the wearing of gold rings (Sahih Muslim).

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) saw a man wearing a gold ring. He (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) took of the ring, flung it and said: “One of you desires the live coal of fire, thus places it in his hand.” (Sahih Muslim)

Due to the above narrations, it is unlawful (haram) for men to wear any type of gold jewelery. This also includes white gold, as the ruling is for gold regardless of the colour. Gold is Haram whether it is white or yellow.

Rings made from other than gold

In the Hanafi Madhhab, the only jewellery men are permitted to wear is a silver ring. Rings made from other than silver are impermissible, such as rings made from stone, metal, brass, platinum, etc.

Imam al-Haskafi (may Allah have mercy on him) states in his famous treaties in Hanafi Fiqh, Durr al-Mukhtar:

“It is not permissible for a man to adorn himself with any type of gold and silver besides a ring… And it is impermissible to wear a ring except that which is made from silver, as silver rings are sufficient (for stamping. m), thus it will be unlawful (haram) to wear rings made from other then silver”.

The great Hanafi jurist, Allama Ibn Abidin (may Allah have mercy on him) comments on the above in his super commentary (hashiya) saying:

It is Haram to wear other than a silver ring, because of what Imam Tahawi related with his chain of narrators to Sayyiduna Imran ibn Husain and Sayyiduna Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with both of them) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) forbade the wearing of gold rings. And it is narrated that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) wearing a ring made of brass. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “What is it that I smell the odour of idols from you,” so he got rid of the ring. Then he came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) wearing a ring made of iron. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “What is it that I find on you the adornment of the people of hellfire”, so he got rid of it and said: “From what substance should I make my ring O Messenger of Allah?” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Make it from silver that is less then one Mithqal”.

It becomes clear from the above narrations that to wear a ring that is made from gold, iron, metal and brass is Haram. (Radd al-Muhtar, 6/359, fasl fi al-libas).

The above statement of one the major Hanafi Imams is clear in determining the prohibition of wearing rings that are made from other than silver. However, it should be remembered here that consideration is taken of the ring itself and not the stone, as mentioned in Durr al-Mukhtar.

Is wearing a ring Sunnah?

According to the Hanafi understanding (ijtihad), wearing a (silver) ring is only considered a Sunnah for those who need to stamp with it, such as a judge (qadhi) or an author.

It is best for other than those who need to use a ring for stamping not to wear a ring. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is understood to have worn a ring for stamping, not adornment. As such, it is only a sunnah for those who have this need. However, as Imam Ibn Abidin mentions, it is permissible for men to wear a silver ring that is equivalent or less than 2.975grams (mithqal).

And Allah knows best

Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK
www.daruliftaa.com