Question : A question was asked regarding [the validity of] wearing a ring, while engaged or married. However, [this is with the knowledge that] the ring must not be made of gold.

Fatwa in Brief: Wearing a ring [regardless of the metal used] is an innovation; and it may be among those acts prohibited by law.

Shaykh Ibn al-‘Uthaymin, Majmu‘ Fatawa, 18/100

Shaykh Yassir Birhami, www.alsalafway.com

Response:

As long as one does not wish to imitate the non-believers (kuffar) through doing so, then wearing a ring is not legally forbidden to Muslims. Indeed, if this ring is silver, it is permitted to both men and women; if, however, the ring is fashioned from gold, it is forbidden to men, and allowed to women.

Commentary:

The idea of a ring being used to signal an engagement or marriage goes back thousands of years. It is thought that the first to do so were [Egypt’s] Pharaohs; [later] the Greeks also wore rings; and, ultimately, the practice of wearing a ring [to signify engagement and/or marriage] became known around the world. The fact that one wears this ring on the ring-finger of the left hand is due to the Greeks, who believed that a vein from the heart passed through this finger. The English are the most likely to wear rings; and this habit may be described as an essentially Christian one.

Muslims adopted the same habit, regardless of the reasons behind it. The important thing, here, is to be aware of the legal consequences involved. Specifically: the wearing of a ring is, in itself, permitted. For, no [authoritative] text prohibits this action. One must not, of course, wear a ring in order to imitate the non-Muslim (kuffar). Such imitation is forbidden, especially if it carries a religious meaning that is not consonant with [the values and principles of] Islam. If this ring is silver, it is permitted to both men and women; if, however, the ring is fashioned from gold, it is forbidden to men, and allowed to women.

Some hadiths are concerned with this matter. Among these is a hadith included by al-Tirmidhi, with a good (hasan) chain of tradition (isnad). According to this, “Wearing silk and gold has been made unlawful for the men of my people, but lawful for our women”. There is another hadith, included by Muslim: “He forbade us wearing gold rings”. Likewise, there is another hadith [in Muslim] which recalls that, when the Prophet (upon him be peace) saw a man wearing a gold ring, he reached forward, and removed it, saying: “Would one of you seek a burning charcoal and place it on his hand?!”

And Allah knows best.

Dr. Anas Abu Shadi