Question Summary:
Are Women allowed to wear gold bangles/gold rings ??

Question Detail:

As-salaamu alaikum, i was wondering if you could clarify if women are allowed/not allowed to wear gold bangles/gold rings (etc.) as I found teh followig on a website & am a bit confused:

Know that women, like men, are prohibited to wear gold rings. Likewise gold bangles or necklaces. This is based on specific hadith narrated about the prohibition with regard to women. And so because of these specific hadith, it is clear that women are included in the above mentioned hadith which are stated in a general way and not explicitly to men. The following are the authenticed hadith which have been narrated in this respect:

FIRST: "Whoever would like to put a ring of fire on his beloved, let him put on him (1) a ring of gold, and whoever would like to put a necklace of fire on his beloved, let him put on him a necklace of gold, and whoever would like to put a bracelet of fire on his beloved, let him put on him a bracelet of gold. Rather, go to silver and play with it, play with it, play with it." (Abu Dawud and Ahmad: Hasan)

(1) The word for "beloved" (i.e. Habeeb) is neuter and could be either male or female, but the construction for "put on him" uses a pronoun which can only be male singular (i.e. -hu). Since when do males, old or young, wear rings, necklaces or bracelets of either gold or silver?? Then if we take it to refer to small boys - then we are saying that minors are punishable for acts they commit - which is obviously incorrect, or rather that they are punishable for acts of their fathers, who dress them with that!! And taking it to refer to males does not solve anything, since the majority of scholars who forbid gold for men also forbid silver. So the end of the hadith remains a problem for them.)

SECOND: On the authority of Thaubaan (RA) who said: "Bint Hubaira came to the Prophet (SAW) wearing large rings of gold on her hand. The Prophet (SAW) began hitting her hand with a small stick which he had saying,

"Would it please you for Allah to put rings of fire on your hand?"

And so she went to Fatimah to plead her case." Thaubaan said: "The Prophet (SAW) went to Fatimah and I was with him. She had taken a gold chain from around her neck and she said: 'Tihs was given to me by Abu Hassan (i.e. Ali, her husband), and the chain was in her hand. The Prophet (SAW) then said,

"O Fatimah would you be pleased if the people were to say that Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad has a chain of fire on her hand?"

Then he became harsh with her, and left without sitting. She took the chain, sold it, and bought the freedom of a number of slaves. When that reaches the Prophet (SAW) he said,

"All praise be to Allah who has saved Fatimah from the fire." (Ahmad, an Nasaa'ee and others: Saheeh)

THIRD: On the authority of Aisha (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) saw two twisted bracelets made of gold on her wrist. He said,

"Cast them away from yoursel, and put in their place two bracelets made of silver and dye them yellow with Saffron." (An Nasaa'ee and others: Sahih)

FOURTH: On the authority of Umm Salama (RA) wife of the Prophet (SAW), who said: " I put some gold bead-shaped ornaments around my neck. The Prophet (SAW) came in and turned away from it. I said to him: 'Will you not look at its beauty?' He said,

"It if from your ornaments which I have turned away."

Then I broke the necklace, and he turned to face me." The narrator said: "They believed that thte Prophet (SAW) then said,

"How will it harm one of you women if you make earrings out of silver, and then dyed them (yellow) with Saffron?" (Ahmad and others: Sahih)

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh

Women are allowed to wear gold bangles/gold rings etc.
 
The Ahaadith in question have been explained by the scholars of Hadith in one of the following three ways:
 
1.         The initial law regarding gold was prohibition for both males and females. The prohibition for females was then abrogated.
2.         The prohibition is directed to those females who don gold with the sole intention of boastfully displaying their beauty.(Nasai 4237)
3.         The prohibition is directed to those women who do not discharge their zakaat.
(Ma’aalimus Sunan, V4 pg 200, Bazlul Majhood v 6  pg87, Awnul Ma’bood v7 pg300)
 
Ahaadith permitting women to wear gold:
 
1.         Abu Musa (ra) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Verily Allah has permitted gold and silk for the women of my ummah and prohibited them for the men.” (Nasai 9386)
2.         Abu Musa (ra) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The donning of silk and gold has been prohibited for the males of my ummah, but permitted for the females.” (Tirmizi 1720. Imam Tirmizi has classified this has as authentic i.e. Hasan Saheeh)
3.         Ibn Zurain narrates that he heard Ali (ra) saying that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) took hold of silk in his right hand and gold in his left hand saying, “Verily these two have been prohibited upon the males of my ummah.” (Nasai 9382  Abu Dawood  4057)
4.         “Verily these two (gold and silk) have been prohibited upon the males of my ummah, but permitted for the females.” ( Ibn Majah 3595)
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Shabeer Moosa,
Final Year Student
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah