The ruling on wearing a wristwatch, glasses, and artificial teeth for a person in ihram
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : If someone came to us and asked, “What do you say about wearing a wristwatch on the hand for a person in ihram? Is it among the prohibited things of ihram or not?”
The Shaykh : The answer is no, it is not among the prohibited things. Because the default is permissibility, and we say to the one who claims it is among the prohibitions: bring the evidence. Bring the evidence. If he brings the evidence, otherwise the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He does not wear such and such, and he does not wear such and such, and he does not wear such and such,” and this means that whatever is other than that is lawful to wear. So it is lawful to wear, and it is not permissible for anyone to make things difficult for the servants of Allah by forbidding them what Allah has not forbidden, because Allah says:[An-Nahl 16:116] And who is the judge between His servants?
Who? Allah the Exalted is the judge. He is the judge between His servants and the judge over His servants. So it is not for us to say this is forbidden except with evidence, because Allah will question us. He will say, “Why did you forbid My servants from such and such when you do not know?” And we also say: wearing a ring is permissible according to you. You say wearing a ring is permissible. What is the difference between wearing a ring that is placed on the finger encircling it, and placing a watch on the wrist encircling it? Is there a difference? Each one encircles. Now, if someone came and asked, “What do you say about wearing eyeglasses? Is it lawful or forbidden?” Lawful. The evidence?
The evidence: we say there is no evidence. The evidence is the absence of evidence, because you have no evidence for the prohibition. So if you have no evidence for the prohibition, the default is permissibility. Now, another man came and said, “I do not hear well, and I wear a hearing aid in my ear. Is it permissible or not?” It is permissible if he hangs it around his neck. Yes, it is permissible. So if someone says this is forbidden, we say: bring the evidence, otherwise the default is permissibility. Now, someone came and said, “I do not have teeth. My teeth have fallen out, and I have made artificial teeth. Is it permissible for me to wear them while I am in ihram?” It is permissible. If someone asks, “What is the evidence?”
I say the evidence is on you. You, if you say it is forbidden, then you must bring the evidence, otherwise the default is permissibility. The important thing is that I may not be able to cover everything that is done, but I am giving you the principle. What is the principle regarding what a person in ihram wears? Is it the lawful or the forbidden? The principle is the lawful. What is the evidence? That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when asked what a person in ihram wears, answered by mentioning what he does not wear. So it is as if he said to the questioner: wear everything except these things. So if someone claims that this is forbidden, if it is among these things or in the category of these things, we accept his statement that it is forbidden. Otherwise, we reject his statement that it is forbidden. And let it be known that giving is more beloved to Allah than
The Shaykh : The answer is no, it is not among the prohibited things. Because the default is permissibility, and we say to the one who claims it is among the prohibitions: bring the evidence. Bring the evidence. If he brings the evidence, otherwise the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He does not wear such and such, and he does not wear such and such, and he does not wear such and such,” and this means that whatever is other than that is lawful to wear. So it is lawful to wear, and it is not permissible for anyone to make things difficult for the servants of Allah by forbidding them what Allah has not forbidden, because Allah says:
And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, "This is lawful and this is unlawful," to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed.
وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ الْكَذِبَ هَٰذَا حَلَالٌ وَهَٰذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَWho? Allah the Exalted is the judge. He is the judge between His servants and the judge over His servants. So it is not for us to say this is forbidden except with evidence, because Allah will question us. He will say, “Why did you forbid My servants from such and such when you do not know?” And we also say: wearing a ring is permissible according to you. You say wearing a ring is permissible. What is the difference between wearing a ring that is placed on the finger encircling it, and placing a watch on the wrist encircling it? Is there a difference? Each one encircles. Now, if someone came and asked, “What do you say about wearing eyeglasses? Is it lawful or forbidden?” Lawful. The evidence?
The evidence: we say there is no evidence. The evidence is the absence of evidence, because you have no evidence for the prohibition. So if you have no evidence for the prohibition, the default is permissibility. Now, another man came and said, “I do not hear well, and I wear a hearing aid in my ear. Is it permissible or not?” It is permissible if he hangs it around his neck. Yes, it is permissible. So if someone says this is forbidden, we say: bring the evidence, otherwise the default is permissibility. Now, someone came and said, “I do not have teeth. My teeth have fallen out, and I have made artificial teeth. Is it permissible for me to wear them while I am in ihram?” It is permissible. If someone asks, “What is the evidence?”
I say the evidence is on you. You, if you say it is forbidden, then you must bring the evidence, otherwise the default is permissibility. The important thing is that I may not be able to cover everything that is done, but I am giving you the principle. What is the principle regarding what a person in ihram wears? Is it the lawful or the forbidden? The principle is the lawful. What is the evidence? That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when asked what a person in ihram wears, answered by mentioning what he does not wear. So it is as if he said to the questioner: wear everything except these things. So if someone claims that this is forbidden, if it is among these things or in the category of these things, we accept his statement that it is forbidden. Otherwise, we reject his statement that it is forbidden. And let it be known that giving is more beloved to Allah than
Source
جلسات الحج 1409هـ - 3 — binothaimeen.net
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.