Ring
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
SUNNAH OF THE RING
O Allah (The Exalted) bless our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in every breath of every soul from the moment You created them.
Alhamdulillah! The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also wore a ring made from silver. At times he a ring with a stone in it, and also a ring with a stamp. Let us learn more about the type of ring that is permissible and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
Stamp
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that, “When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to write letters to the kings of ‘Ajam (non-Arabs), inviting them to Islam, the people said that they did not accept letters without a seal (stamp) on them. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) therefore had a ring made, the whiteness of which is still before my eyes.” i
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that, “When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to write letters to the kings, Kasra, Qaysr and Najashi, someone said that they did not accept letters without a seal (stamp) on them. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) therefore had a silver ring made, which said, ‘Muhammadur Rasool-Allah’ ” ii
The Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ring
Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wore a gold ring or a silver ring and placed it’s stone towards the palm of his hand and had the name “Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah”’ (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) engraved on it. The people also started wearing gold rings like it, but when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saw them wearing such rings, he threw away his own ring and said, “I will never wear it,” and then wore a silver ring, whereupon the people too started wearing a silver ring. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) added, “After the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ‘Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) wore the ring, and then ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and then ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) wore it till it fell in the Aris well from ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).” iii
Anas (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) states that, “The Messenger of Allah’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ring was of silver and had a stone in it.” iv
Anas (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) states that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wore a silver ring on his right hand and the stone was of Habashi and was facing the palm.” v
Anas (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) states that, “The Messenger of Allah’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ring was in that finger.” vi Meaning the left hand next to the little finger.
We find that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had worn the ring on either the right or left hand.
Ablution
Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) states that, “When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) performed ablution he moved his ring around his finger.” vii
When making wudhu remember to take the ring off, if not at least move it so water reaches under the ring. To wash the arm is an obligation and if a pinpoint is left dry then the ablution will not count.
Right or Left
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would wear his ring on the left hand third finger (the one next to the small finger). viii 2 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stopped me from wearing a ring on the middle finger or the index finger.” ix
Gold Ring
‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) states that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saw a person wearing a gold ring so he took it and threw it away and said, ‘Does anyone like to hold (hot) coal in his hand?’ When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) left, someone said, ‘Pick up the ring and use it for something.’ He said, ‘I swear by Allah (The Exalted) I will never take it when the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has thrown it.’” x
Allahu Akbar! Look at the love they had for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Gold was expensive at that time as it is today, however, the companions did not look at that. They looked at what pleased and displeased the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Those males who wear gold jewellery should understand that it is forbidden and is unlawful and if you do wear gold jewellery then you will be given the jewellery from the hellfire to wear on the day of judgement! Allah (The Exalted) forbid. May Allah (The Exalted) give us this love for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in everything we do, Ameen.
Bracelet of fire
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “If anyone wants to put a ring of fire on the one he loves, let him put a gold ring on him. If anyone wants to put a necklace of fire on the one he loves, let him put a gold necklace on him, and if anyone wants to put a bracelet of fire on the one he loves let him put a gold bracelet on him. Keep to silver and amuse yourselves with it.” xi
Allahu Akbar! For sisters it is permissible to wear gold but prohibited for brothers. We should abstain from making male children from wearing gold.
Threw the ring
Once a person came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wearing a copper ring. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “What is it that I can smell an idol from you.” The person threw the ring away. The next time the person came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wearing an iron ring, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “I can see the jewellery of hell on you.” The person took the ring off and said, “O beloved Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in what metal can I wear the ring” the messenger replied, “Silver” and not over one Mithqal.” xii
Meaning not over four and a half grams. Only one silver ring with a stone is permissible. It is forbidden to wear two rings or a silver chain/bracelet etc. xiii Many are aware of gold being unlawful but not about silver. We hear many excuses that silver is permissible etc. This is due to their ignorance of the rules of Shari’ah. The above hadith backs up the rulings of the Scholars of its unlawfulness.
Manners of the ring
1. To wear a gold or silver chain around the neck, around the wrist or to hang is not permissible. xiv
2. To wear any type of jewellery for males, except a silver ring which is less than 4.5 grams is unlawful. xv This also includes two silver rings, silver chain and if worn when praying Salaah then it is Wajib to repeat your Salaah again.xvi
3. To wear jewellery of other metals such as iron, brass, bronze, copper or zinc is forbidden for both males and females. xvii
4. There is no problem in wearing an iron ring that has been covered in silver and the iron can not be seen. xviii
5. One can engrave their name on a ring, and the name of Allah (The Exalted) and the name of the Prophet too. But do not get “Muhammad Rasool-Allah” (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) engraved as
3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
i Shamail-e-Tirmidhi
ii Muslim
iii Bukhari
iv Bukhari & Muslim
v ibid
vi Muslim
vii Ibn Majah
viii Muslim
ix ibid
x ibid
xi Abu Dawood
xii Tirmidhi
xiii Ehkam-e-Shariat
xiv Raddul Mohtar
xv Durre Mukhtar & Raddul Mohtar. Akhlaaq aur Aadaab, p. 79
xvi Fatawa-e-Razawiyya
xvii Durre Mukhtar & Raddul Mohtar. Akhlaaq aur Aadaab, p. 79
xviii Alamgiri. Akhlaaq aur Aadaab, p. 80
xix Durre Mukhtar & Raddul Mohtar
xx Bukhari
xxi Muslim
xxii Muslim, Durre Mukhtar & Raddul Mohtar. Ibn Majah & Abu Dawood
xxiii Hidaya
xxiv Raddul Mohtar
xxv Durre Mukhtar & Raddul Mohtar
xxvi ibid
xxvii ibid
xxviii Durre Mukhtar
this was only for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and he said no one else should get this engraved on his or her ring. xix
6. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wore a ring that was made of silver containing one stone. xx
7. The stone was green in colour and was kept facing inside the palm of the hand. xxi
8. The ring was worn in either the right or left hand, next to the small finger. xxii
9. Before going to the toilet, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would take off the ring.
10. It is Sunnah to have the stone facing the palm and for a female to keep the stone vice versa as for them to wear it is for beauty. xxiii
11. It is permissible to have a stone; however, if it has many stones then it is not permissible for men whether it be made of Silver. xxiv
12. To wear a bracelet on the wrist is also not permissible.
13. When performing ablution take the ring off or if tight then move the ring so water reaches under the ring.
14. Do not wear on the index or middle finger.
15. The weight of the ring should not be more than 4.5 grams according to the Shari’ah. xxv
16. To wear more than one silver ring is unlawful and forbidden for males, to wear jewellery made from any other material is unlawful for males, and females can wear silver and gold. xxvi
17. To make young boys’ wear gold jewellery is forbidden and the one who made them wear it is sinful, it is similarly forbidden to put henna on young boys’.xxvii Males are only allowed to wear henna in their hair or beard.
18. To wear a ring with any type of stone is permissible i.e. ‘Aqeeq, Yaqoot, Zamurd, Firoza etc. xxviii
May Allah (The Exalted) give us all the ability to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).