Prohibition of Sitting on Silk and Men Wearing Red Clothes
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Islam has prohibited men from both using silk as bedding and wearing red-colored clothing.
① Hadith of Ḥudhayfah (رضي الله عنه)
He said:
نهانا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن لبس الحرير والديباج وأن نجلس عليه
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us from wearing silk and dibāj (both types of silk), and from sitting on it.”
[Bukhārī: 5837, Kitāb al-Libās: Bāb Iftirāsh al-Ḥarīr]
- According to the majority of scholars, the clear wording of this hadith proves that sitting on silk is haram.
[al-Umm: 1/185; Ḥilyat al-ʿUlamāʾ: 2/67; al-Inṣāf: 1/475] - However, Ḥanafī scholars permitted making silk as bedding.
[Multaqā al-Abḥur: 2/232–233] - Some narrations from Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) and Anas (رضي الله عنه) also exist regarding allowance.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/561] - Imām al-Zaylaʿī (رحمه الله) admitted that the hadith of Ḥudhayfah (رضي الله عنه) posed a difficulty for the Ḥanafī school.
[Naṣb al-Rāyah: 4/227] - The stronger opinion (rājiḥ) is that sitting on silk is haram.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 11/472; Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/562] - Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said: Even if no direct prohibition existed, the general prohibition of wearing silk would be enough to include using it as bedding, because linguistically and legally it falls under “wearing.”
[Aʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/366]
② Hadith of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه)
He said:
رأى رسول الله على ثوبين معصفرين فقال: إن هذه من ثياب الكفار فلا تلبسها
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw me wearing two garments dyed red (with yellowish safflower) and said: These are garments of the disbelievers, so do not wear them.”
[Muslim: 2077; Ahmad: 2/162; Nasāʾī: 8/203]
③ Hadith of ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه)
He said:
نهائي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن لباس المعصفر
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade me from wearing garments dyed red (with safflower).”
[Muslim: 2087; Muwaṭṭa: 1/80; Abū Dāwūd: 4044; Tirmidhī: 264; Nasāʾī: 2/189; Ahmad: 1/92]
④ Clarification Regarding al-Barāʾ (رضي الله عنه)
He said:
رأيته فى حلة حمراء
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ wearing a red suit.”
[Bukhārī: 3551; Muslim: 2337; Abū Dāwūd: 4072; Tirmidhī: 1724]
This narration does not contradict the previous prohibitions, because the ban refers specifically to that pure safflower-dyed red, not to mixed red garments or other shades.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/571; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 5/393]
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) recorded seven different scholarly opinions regarding this matter. For details, refer to:
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 10/318; Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/575]
Conclusion:- Sitting on silk is prohibited for men.
- Wearing garments dyed purely with safflower (bright red) is prohibited.
- Other types of red garments mixed with different colors are permissible.
