Which Hand Should a Ring Be Worn On?
Source: Fatāwā Amun Pūrī by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amun Pūrī
The Question
In Islam, should a ring be worn on the right hand or the left hand?
The Answer
Both right hand and left hand are permissible for wearing a ring. Authentic narrations support both practices.
Evidence for the Right Hand
❀ Sayyidunā Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه reported:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to wear a silver ring on his right hand, and its stone was Abyssinian, facing the palm.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2094)
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said:
“The Prophet ﷺ used to wear a ring on his right hand.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4226; Sunan al-Nasāʾī: 5203 — sanad ḥasan)
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made a gold ring and wore it on his right hand.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1741 — ṣaḥīḥ; Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ)
❀ Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār رحمه الله reported seeing Ṣalt ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Nawfal ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib wearing a ring on his right little finger. He explained:
“I saw ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما doing this, and he said the Prophet ﷺ wore his ring in this manner.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4229; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1742 — sanad ḥasan; al-Bukhārī: graded ḥasan)
Evidence for the Left Hand
❀ Sayyidunā Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه also reported:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to wear a ring on his left hand.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2095)
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:
“The Prophet ﷺ used to wear a ring on his left hand, with the stone facing the palm.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4227 — sanad ḥasan)
❀ Nāfiʿ رحمه الله reported:
“ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to wear a ring on his left hand.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 4228 — ṣaḥīḥ)
❀ Imām Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Bāqir رحمه الله reported:
“Al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn رضي الله عنهما used to wear rings on their left hands.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1743 — sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
Scholarly Consensus
❀ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (463H):
“The scholars interpret the two types of aḥādīth as permissibility. Both are allowed.”
(al-Tamhīd: 17/109)
❀ al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (463H):
“Both ways are permissible; whichever hand one chooses, there is no harm.”
(al-Jāmiʿ li Akhlāq al-Rāwī: 1/387)
❀ al-Nawawī (676H):
“The fuqahāʾ are unanimous on the permissibility of wearing a ring on either hand. There is no dislike in either choice.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 14/72)
Conclusion
- Wearing a ring on the right hand or the left hand is both permissible.
- The Sunnah accommodates both practices, and the matter is one of choice and personal preference.
