We have a custom where, when a man marries for the first time, a silk thread is placed on his right hand and a gold crescent is placed outside his pocket, and three days before the wedding, henna is applied to his hands and feet.

The questioner : The second question says: We have customs in Sudan where, when a man marries for the first time, a silk thread is placed on his right hand and a gold crescent is placed outside the pocket in front, and three days before the wedding, a powder from henna fruits is applied to his hands and feet. Are these customs valid or not?

The Shaykh : These customs are invalid and are not correct.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : They have no effect or influence. Adorning oneself with gold is forbidden for a man and is not permissible, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade gold for the males of his Ummah. It is established in the authentic collections that he saw a ring of gold on a man’s hand, so he took it and threw it away, and said: Therefore, it is not permissible to wear this gold crescent because it is gold, and it is not permissible for a man. As for this silk thread, it appears to me that it is not free from a false belief, namely that they believe this is a bond between the man and his wife. This has no effect; rather, it is a type of minor shirk (associating partners with Allah), because anyone who makes something a cause for something else, when the Shari'ah has not made it so, and it was not a cause for it through a known sensory means, this is a type of minor shirk. As for applying henna, placing henna on the hand or the foot, this is a characteristic of women and is not something with which men adorn themselves or beautify themselves.

The questioner : Yes.