# Is it haram for men to wear gold or silk? *Men wearing gold and silk: the hadith, the Companions who wore them, and karaha* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f4r0nxnympc/s/1/ - Date: 2018-07-10 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Why it is Not Haram for Men to Wear Gold or Silk -Mufti Abu Layth (0:00–15:13) - Status: a more recent answer exists: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/3/; general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R0NXnYmpc&t=0s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f4r0nxnympc/ **Topics:** Jewellery, gold and silk for men; Legal theory and method **Question as asked:** What is your view on men wearing gold, and on men wearing silk? **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** In Mufti Abu Layth's view the prohibition of gold and silk for men is a matter of dislike (karaha), not a categorical haram, since many Companions wore both all their lives and the Prophet's aim was to keep people focused in hard times. He notes the popular opinion is that it is haram and says nobody has to follow his understanding. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he is in line with the ulama who held that the Prophet's prohibition of gold and silk for men was a matter of karaha intended to keep the early community focused and away from luxury in a dangerous time, not a categorical haram, while noting that the popular opinion is that it is haram. **Evidence, his words at 14:00:** “when he told people off from gold and silk in I fall in line with those Olimar who felt that this was who say who felt that this was to do with the kuraha and to keep people focused” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4R0NXnYmpc&t=840s) ## Longer summary Mufti Abu Layth takes two questions together, one asking his view on men wearing gold and another on men wearing silk, and says there is a difference of opinion. He cites the hadith that Allah made these two things haram upon the males of the ummah, and another narration that whoever wears them is deprived of them in Jannah, and says that a comprehensive approach must ask why silk and gold in particular, since this is not a ritual: nobody says diamonds, which are worth more than gold, are haram for men. He then says that many Companions continued to wear silk and gold throughout their lives, asking the audience not to shoot the messenger. He reports the narration that the Prophet permitted al-Zubayr and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf [?] to wear silk because of an itch, which many ulama treated as a medicinal dispensation, and that others found the dispensation unconvincing for men of that time and argued instead that the silk the Companions wore was mixed silk, the cloth known as khazz [?], which most ulama hold to be fine, and he recites a verse of poetry about a donkey dressed in khazz. He cites al-Shawkani in Nayl al-Awtar, who lists up to twenty Companions including al-Bara ibn Azib [?] who wore pure silk all their lives and concludes that silk is not haram but makruh, and Ibn Hazm, who lists five or more Companions including Anas ibn Malik who wore gold until they died. He then states his own view: he is in line with the ulama who held the prohibition to be a matter of karaha, meant to keep people focused and away from luxury in a rough and dangerous time, comparing it to someone taking a spa day during a crisis. He adds that the popular opinion is that it is haram, that this is fine, and that nobody needs to follow his understanding. Comments from viewers are addressed in passing and a troll is blocked. ## Sources and names cited - report: allah has made these two gold and silk haram upon the males of my ummah (unresolved) - report: whoever wears silk in this world is deprived of it in jannah (unresolved) - report: the prophet permitted al-zubayr and abd al-rahman ibn awf to wear silk because of an itch (unresolved) - al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam [?] - Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf [?] - al-Shawkani - Nayl al-Awtar - al-Bara ibn Azib [?] - Ibn Hazm - Anas ibn Malik - khazz (silk mixed with other fibres) [?] - makruh - a prophetic prohibition explained by the circumstances of the early community ## Transcript (machine tier, 0:00–15:13) [0:00] nah man Hussein asks what is your view two men wearing gold that is a good question and there's another question in here as well that ties into the and I was asked about men wearing silk now there is a right of just mean right of just oh yes alarm I've just lost my page of questions but let me deal with those two questions and I'll go back into that you have to understand that there is a difference of opinion on these things [0:38] there is a hadith that the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that he he said that in Allah hirama that these two things he had made them Haram upon my Ummah upon Allah Zachery almighty upon the male's of this Ummah and in another another rewire that they who so ever wisdom is deprived of them in Jannah this is the in reference to silk and gold what's interesting however is you see we have to take in a comprehensive approach [1:17] okay what one way okay one approach is we've got this hadith the hadith is fine and we've understood that so many people have said okay these things are just hot off fine we just leave it to them those of you just tuning in if you just like and click share share the live feed get out there let others benefit - inshallah spread the corruption somebody's got to do it think about it you can't just let [1:54] the devil do it right so let's get more evaluative right now so we're looking at that is the understanding that these hadith of the silk and gold one question comes straight away that why silk and why gold shall we take a look at the meanings because nothing this is not a ritual a ritual is just worship so we don't even if you don't understand it you understand it's a ritual but this is not a ritual so why why is the big deal behind these two so [2:34] nobody will say for example diamonds are haram so you know diamonds are worth much more than gold so nobody's gonna say diamonds are haram for men so man could be bling bling bling bling people bling bling in diamonds could have you know like some of these people have their teeth coated in so you could you could do all of this and that's not Haram but you could wear like this is probably silver presumably presumably right so this could be gold and it could [3:12] be haram but it could be you know laced with diamonds and it's absolutely fine so the question is what what's going on here if we take a look at trying to understand another interesting angle or another interesting part ingredient to this equation is that many Sahaba companions messy companions of the messenger of allah salallahu alaihe salam or all the elohim continue to wear [3:50] silk and gold throughout their lifetimes now brace yourselves people before you start declaring me to be a kaffir brace yourselves I'm only a harmonic don't shoot the messenger I'm only quoting the facts oh so now the question is well we know some companions like for example is available on Brody Alon Abdul Rahman Amina of the Prophet said to them why don't you silkie Allah he told them to whistle because some according to the narrations [4:30] they're the haka they had an itch hmm okay fair enough let's take that as a dispensation so many alumni in the past took that as a dispensation firstly some people problematized this dispensation dispensation meaning that it's an it's a license because they kind of ill let's say a medicinal license some olam are problematized this dispensation why because you gotta remember these people were from back in the days people the [5:09] warrior times you know the Viking when men were men you're back in those days they were from that time so and each doesn't quite cut it as they you know like today obviously the likes of you and me with like oh I've got an itch oh yeah I can't go into work I've got an itch but back then you know when people one guy would be walking around with an amputated arm and it just like just pick up his arm and just carry on it's [5:47] they were like men were men well you know it wasn't like it was like what but it's okay I've got another arm it was like back then so so in each hat cap didn't quite cut it for them but some people thought look okay maybe it was a serious each look like it's like a a rash kind of thing going around fair enough fair enough let's let's let's roll with it let's [6:22] roll with it so yeah Bartek about it right so so some people thought let's just take it as a medicinal license a dispensation other people they so many of the self now thought look you know what I'm not buying this whole dispensation thing so what they did is they said are this silk [7:01] that's the weight of not remember the long iron and even Abdul Edna surveyed used to weigh the son of zoo bait they said well maybe it was mixed silk so maybe it wasn't pure silk it was mixed rough a hey nothing not a maybe the itch is in a place but only someone special King right so look so they said maybe this silk is mixed silk so it's not pure silk it's like an [7:40] equivalent I'm not saying it was this but let's say it's an equivalent of like cotton and silk oh I don't know wool and silk woven together so there was a cloth which came out and because it came out sorry became prevalent in the time of the selleth and that cloth was known as Fez and it was like a cloth made out of silk but it was also mixed in with other kind of materials so they said well hers is what it must have been them and therefore hers is categorically fine [8:19] so mostly Olimar say that hers is absolutely fine you know to the you have that poem that Lola Bissell hey marula Barajas in LA Poland NASA yeah like I mean hey Marie [Laughter] if the donkey came out wearing a tire clothes of hers of this kind of silk refined artificial silk people would have said Wow what a donkey meaning that even when [8:58] they try to praise it they still ended up cussing and dissing it because at the end of the day is still a donkey so they just said wow what a donkey I'm sorry anyway coming back to this right so some anima made a dispensation of saying well that's what is the problem persists let me continue the problem persists [9:29] Schieffer in our email more forum so till today be here so I'll talk a villa shukran yeah I mean for in me cobbler Leone I couldn't re food early I mean just tell me I'm gonna end up meeting with with my lord I said yeah thanks I wasn't really aware of that before today right so the thing is now okay so let's move Vaughn there's another ingredient to this equation that [10:07] problematizes it and that is that several other companions a man show Connie in the nadolol pod brings up to 20 companions which include me they include many companions you've got in that borrow if not our zip this I believe sir I didn't have you accost these other many other they bring he brings a list of companions up to 20 companions who continued to wear silk absolute silk right throughout their lives now based on that Imam show Kang [10:45] II concludes by saying I don't believe that silk is haram that it is only macaron it is discouraged because that's what he says similarly you have other Allah man bringing up to isodyne obnoxious I'm sorry I stand corrected even idiotically heat brings up to five companions including Barack agnostic so heap if I'm so habe this there's a few others but it brings at least five and [11:25] other examples of companions anas bin malik these very close and prominent companions who died and up until the death war gold so it's interesting that you see you've got this is the equation now many people feel the right many people feel sorry I just got a block some trolls right so many people feel the gold is just categorical Haram I [12:03] would some ulema felt that it wasn't it was either mikaru based on it being to kind of keep people away from that luxury and that's what I'm in line with I I'm in line with these kind of Allah ma on this Masada I feel that what the prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was advising these people was that because they lived in a very rough and tough kind of world we're being on edge or sorry or being on edge doesn't sound right but being on kind of standby [12:41] for the necessary threats that they were facing and just the kind of pressures that the community was being engulfed by it wasn't the time to be indulging in these kind of luxuries right your nose is bigger than your face the topic I've got here what can we do there's only so much that my DNA could play with my DNA was like Oh what the hell man there's only [13:21] you know like come on give us some clay well well I hope don't worry I'll I'll go into right Ziya are coming to your I'll come into your profile later on snapchat and then you'll see my response right so now coming back to this right so the the point is that you've that the Prophet was trying to keep these people focused [14:00] that you have to stay focused okay that you are in very serious times it's not that things you know it's like if somebody for example imagine you've got some serious stuff going down and somebody says oh well I'm just going to take a spa day and you think like you're gonna make me sway you think like spa day is that do you understand the the kind of seriousness that we're in so it's a bit like that so in this understanding that the Prophet when he told people off [14:39] from gold and silk in I fall in line with those Olimar who felt that this was who say who felt that this was to do with the kuraha and to keep people focused but if people want to if they want you know like generally the popular opinion is that it's Haram and that's fine you don't need to follow my understanding I'm just saying okay right let's move on people ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment f4R0NXnYmpc/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f4r0nxnympc/s/1/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.