The Ruling on Wearing Iron Rings
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Wearing an iron ring is not permissible, as proven by several narrations.
① Hadith of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (رضي الله عنهما)
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ wearing a gold ring, and the Prophet ﷺ turned away from him. When the man noticed the dislike of the Prophet ﷺ, he removed the gold ring and instead wore an iron ring.
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
هذا شر هذا حلية أهل النار
“This is worse! This is an ornament of the people of Hell.”
The man then threw it away and wore a silver ring, upon which the Prophet ﷺ remained silent.
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ādāb al-Zafāf, p. 217; Ghāyat al-Marām, p. 68; Ahmad: 2/163–179; al-Adab al-Mufrad: 1021]
Imām al-Albānī (رحمه الله) said: This hadith indicates the prohibition of iron rings, since the Prophet ﷺ considered them even worse than gold rings.
[Ādāb al-Zafāf, p. 218]
② Hadith of Buraydah (رضي الله عنه)
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ wearing a brass ring, and the Prophet ﷺ said:
ما لي أجد منك ريح الأصنام؟
“What is this? I sense from you the smell of idols.”
The man threw it away, then came back wearing an iron ring. The Prophet ﷺ said:
مالي أرى عليك حلية أهل النار
“What is this? I see on you the ornament of the people of Hell.”
The man threw it away and asked: “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, what should I make my ring from?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
اجعلها من ورق، ولا تتمها مثقالا
“Make it of silver, but do not complete one mithqāl (4.5 grams).”
[Weak: Abū Dāwūd: 4223; Nasāʾī: 5210; Tirmidhi: 1785; al-Bayhaqī in al-Shuʿab: 6350; Ibn Ḥibbān: 1467]
Though declared weak by Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله), this narration reaches the level of ḥasan according to other scholars.
[Nayl al-Maqṣūd, 4223]
Additional Clarifications
- The narration that claims:
كان خاتم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم من حديد ملوى عليه فضة...
“The ring of the Prophet ﷺ was made of iron plated with silver…”
is weak.
[Daʿīf Abū Dāwūd: 907; Abū Dāwūd: 4224; Nasāʾī: 5220; al-Bayhaqī: 6352]
- As for the narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
التمس ولو خاتما من حديد
“Seek even if it is only an iron ring.”
[Bukhārī: 5121, 2310, Kitāb al-Nikāḥ: Bāb ʿArḍ al-Marʾah Nafsahā ʿalā al-Rajul al-Ṣāliḥ]
Imām Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) clarified:
This hadith does not prove the permissibility of wearing an iron ring, because the command was regarding bringing a ring, not necessarily wearing it. It may also imply that the ring was meant only as mahr (dowry), so the woman could benefit from its value.
[Fatḥ al-Bārī, 10/323]
Conclusion:- Wearing an iron ring is prohibited, as it is described as the “ornament of the people of Hell.”
- The Prophet ﷺ permitted a silver ring, but with a weight less than one mithqāl (approx. 4.5 grams).
