Men should not wear pure silk
➊ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
لا تلبسوا الـحـريـر فإنه من لبسه فى الدنيا لم يلبسه فى الآخرة
“Do not wear silk, for whoever wears it in this world will not wear it in the Hereafter.”
[Bukhari: 5734, Kitab al-Libas: Bab Labs al-Harir wa Iftirashihi lil-Rijal wa Qadr ma Yajuz minhu; Muslim: 2069; Ahmad: 20/1; Nasai: 200/8]
➋ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with a silk garment and said, “O Messenger of Allah, buy it and adorn yourself with it for the Eid and for the delegations.” The Prophet ﷺ said:
إنمـا هـذه لباس من لا خلاق له فى الآخرة
“This is only the garment of one who has no share in the Hereafter.”
[Bukhari: 5835, Kitab al-Libas: Bab Labs al-Harir wa Iftirashihi; Muslim: 2068]
➌ Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
إن نبي الله أخذ حريرا فجعله فى يمينه وأخذ ذهبا فجعله فى شـمـالـه ثـم قـال: إن هذين حرام على ذكور أمتي
“Indeed, the Prophet of Allah ﷺ took silk in his right hand and gold in his left hand, then said: Verily, these two are forbidden for the males of my Ummah.”
[Sahih: Sahih Abi Dawud: 3422; Kitab al-Libas: Bab fi al-Harir lil-Nisa’; Abu Dawud: 4057; Nasai: 5145; Ibn Majah: 3595; Ibn Hibban: 1465 – al-Mawarid; Ghayat al-Maram: 77]
❀ Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) regarded silk as forbidden for women too, due to the generality of the hadith:
لا تلبسوا الحرير
“Do not wear silk”
The response to this is that it is possible that the hadith specifying women had not reached him.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 557/1]
❀ Since young children are not obligated (mukallaf), if they wear silk they will not be sinful, but those who dress them in it will be sinful. Imam al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) holds that it is permissible for children to wear silk without restriction.
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 382/5; Nayl al-Awtar: 559/1]
❀ Regarding silk that is mixed with another cloth, although there is a difference of opinion about wearing it, the preferred view is its prohibition (provided the silk exceeds four fingers’ width).
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 384/5; Nayl al-Awtar: 563/1; al-Rawdat al-Nadiyya: 456/2]
(The majority) hold this view.
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 384/5]
(Nawawi) prefers this view.
[Sharh Muslim: 299/7]
When it exceeds four fingers, it may be worn for treatment.
➊ Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن لبس الحرير إلا هكذا وصف لنا النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم إصبعيه ورفع زهير الوسطى والسبابة
“The Prophet ﷺ prohibited wearing silk except for this amount, and the Prophet ﷺ demonstrated this with two fingers. Zuhayr (the narrator of the hadith) raised the middle finger and the index finger to illustrate.”
[Bukhari: 5829; Kitab al-Libas: Bab Labs al-Harir wa Iftirashihi; Muslim: 2069; Abu Dawud: 4042; Tirmidhi: 1721; Nasai: 202/8; Ibn Majah: 3593]
➋ In another narration, these words appear:
نهي عن لبس الحرير إلا موضع إصبعين أو ثلاثة أو أربعة
“The Prophet ﷺ prohibited wearing more than two, three, or four fingers’ width of silk.”
[Muslim: 2069; Kitab al-Libas wa al-Zinah: Bab Tahrim Labs al-Harir wa Ghayr Dhalika lil-Rijal]
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that:
رخص النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم للزبير و عبد الرحمن فى لبس الحرير لمحكة بهما
“The Noble Prophet ﷺ permitted Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Abd al-Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) to wear silk because of an itch.”
[Bukhari: 5839; Kitab al-Libas: Bab ma Yurkhas lil-Rijal min al-Harir lil-Hakka; Muslim: 2076; Abu Dawud: 4056; Tirmidhi: 1722; Ibn Majah: 3592]
Scholars have differed on this issue:
(Shafi’i, Abu Yusuf, Qurtubi) Wearing silk is permissible due to a severe necessity.
(Abu Hanifa, Malik) No matter how great the necessity, wearing silk is not permissible in any case.
(Preferred) Wearing silk for a valid excuse, like the two companions mentioned in the previous hadith, is permissible. This is the position of the majority of scholars.
[Nayl al-Awtar: 565/1]
