Is Brass the Ornament of Idols?
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
Is wearing brass jewelry considered the ornament of idols?
The Answer
Wearing a brass ring or jewelry is permissible. There is no authentic ḥadīth proving its prohibition.
The Report
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Buraydah رضي الله عنه:
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ wearing a brass ring. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Why do I smell the stench of idols from you?”
So he threw it away. Later he came wearing an iron ring, and the Prophet ﷺ said:
“I see you wearing the ornament of the people of Hellfire.”
He threw that away too and asked:
“O Messenger of Allah! What should I wear?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“A silver ring — but do not exceed one mithqāl in weight.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4223; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 9442; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1888)
Chain Analysis
- The chain is weak (ḍaʿīf).
- ʿAbdullāh ibn Muslim al-Marwazī Abū Ṭayyib’s reliability has not been established.
Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله:
“His ḥadīth may be written, but it is not a proof.”
(al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 5/165)
Imām Ibn Ḥibbān رحمه الله:
He mentioned him in al-Thiqāt (7/49) but gave no supporting strength.
Imām al-Nasāʾī رحمه الله:
Declared this narration munkar.
Conclusion
- The narration about brass being the “ornament of idols” is weak and unreliable.
- Therefore, wearing brass jewelry is permissible; there is no authentic prohibition in Islam.
