Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 505
In Islam, wearing gold is prohibited for men, but is it also prohibited for women? Please provide clear guidance with evidence from the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
According to Islamic teachings, wearing gold is permissible for women, provided they pay zakāh on it. There are multiple authentic aḥādīth permitting the use of gold for women.
1 – Ḥadīth:
«أُحلَّ الذَّهَبُ والحَريرُ لإناثِ أُمَّتي، وحُرِّمَ على ذُكُورِها»
“Gold and silk have been made lawful for the women of my ummah, and prohibited for its men.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Libās, ḥadīth 1720; Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Vol. 8, p. 161, ḥadīth 5151 – authentic chain)
2 – Ḥadīth:
A woman came to the Prophet ﷺ with her daughter, whose hands had two gold bangles.
The Prophet ﷺ asked:
«أتُعطين زكاةَ هذا؟» – “Do you give zakāh on this?”
She replied: “No.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«أَيَسُرُّكِ أن يُسَوِّرَكِ اللهُ بهما سِوارَينِ من نارٍ يومَ القيامةِ؟»
“Would you like Allah to make you wear two bangles of fire on the Day of Judgement?”
The woman immediately removed them and placed them before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Zakāh, ḥadīth 1563 – ḥasan li-dhātih; Ibn al-Qaṭṭān al-Fāsī authenticated it; Naṣb al-Rāyah, Vol. 2, p. 370)
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله considered wearing gold as adornment to be makrūh. However:
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Question:
In Islam, wearing gold is prohibited for men, but is it also prohibited for women? Please provide clear guidance with evidence from the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
According to Islamic teachings, wearing gold is permissible for women, provided they pay zakāh on it. There are multiple authentic aḥādīth permitting the use of gold for women.
Evidences from the Sunnah:
1 – Ḥadīth:
«أُحلَّ الذَّهَبُ والحَريرُ لإناثِ أُمَّتي، وحُرِّمَ على ذُكُورِها»
“Gold and silk have been made lawful for the women of my ummah, and prohibited for its men.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Libās, ḥadīth 1720; Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Vol. 8, p. 161, ḥadīth 5151 – authentic chain)
2 – Ḥadīth:
A woman came to the Prophet ﷺ with her daughter, whose hands had two gold bangles.
The Prophet ﷺ asked:
«أتُعطين زكاةَ هذا؟» – “Do you give zakāh on this?”
She replied: “No.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«أَيَسُرُّكِ أن يُسَوِّرَكِ اللهُ بهما سِوارَينِ من نارٍ يومَ القيامةِ؟»
“Would you like Allah to make you wear two bangles of fire on the Day of Judgement?”
The woman immediately removed them and placed them before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Zakāh, ḥadīth 1563 – ḥasan li-dhātih; Ibn al-Qaṭṭān al-Fāsī authenticated it; Naṣb al-Rāyah, Vol. 2, p. 370)
Rulings Derived from These Aḥādīth:
- Wearing gold is permissible for women, whether as jewellery or in any other form.
- Zakāh is obligatory on gold if it reaches the niṣāb (approx. 7 tolas).
- The female companions acted promptly on the Prophet’s ﷺ instructions, as seen in the example of the woman removing her bangles immediately.
- The Prophet ﷺ did not have knowledge of the unseen regarding whether she gave zakāh, proving that such knowledge is with Allah alone.
Regarding Shaykh al-Albānī’s Opinion and Its Refutation:
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله considered wearing gold as adornment to be makrūh. However:
- This view is against authentic aḥādīth.
- His evidences relate more to makrūh tanzīhī or zakāh payment, not prohibition.
- Many ḥadīth scholars and fuqahāʾ refuted his view and affirmed the permissibility for women with zakāh obligation.
Summary Ruling:
- Permissible for women to wear gold, provided zakāh is paid.
- There is ijmāʿ (consensus) and authentic textual proof on this.
- Prohibited for men to wear gold, but lawful adornment for women.
- Shaykh al-Albānī’s view is marjūḥ (weak) as it contradicts sound evidence.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
