Is it permissible to use and sell some utensils and furnishings plated with gold?

The questioner : The second part of the question: Is it permissible to use and sell some utensils and furnishings plated with gold?

The Shaykh : If the plating is a small amount, there is nothing wrong with it. However, if it is a large amount such that it is accurate to say that gold is being used, then at that point, the ruling must be distinguished between men and women. Gold is forbidden for men and lawful for women, as some hadiths indicate, which support one another. Yes.

Another questioner : As for women...

The Shaykh : Wearing it, or?

Another questioner : ... .

The questioner : Using it, I mean. He wants to distinguish between wearing and using.

The Shaykh : As for women? As for women, there is no difference; all gold is lawful, except for the detail I hold in "Etiquette of the Wedding" and similar works, which distinguishes between gold rings and other gold. The original ruling for women regarding gold is permissibility, and the original ruling for men is prohibition. In both of these rulings concerning men and women, there is some specification. For example, the disagreement regarding gold rings for women is well known, but there is another matter that few people pay attention to on such an occasion: it is not permissible for them to eat or drink, like men, from gold or silver vessels. This is based on his saying (peace be upon him): . This ruling includes women just as it includes men. Therefore, this ruling is an exception to the generality of his saying (peace be upon him): . Likewise, gold rings are an exception based on the many hadiths, which are more numerous than the hadiths prohibiting eating and drinking from gold and silver vessels. This exception and that one pertain to the permissibility of gold for women. Conversely, the prohibition of gold for men is excepted for what a man needs to use gold for, such as when some people today are compelled to have gold teeth due to the medical necessity of preserving a tooth that required filling. This is, of course, restricted by the rule: "Necessities permit the prohibited," coupled with another rule: "Necessity is estimated by its amount." From this, a ruling results: if there is another metal... for example, what is called today white gold, which serves the function of gold in preserving the tooth, then at that point, applying the rule: "Necessity is estimated by its amount," it is not permissible for a man specifically to have that tooth made of gold. The evidence for this exception is the hadith of 'Urfajah ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), whose nose was injured in the Battle of Kulab during the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. When he embraced Islam and had made a nose out of silver (i.e., silver), he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained about the foul smell of his nose. This is due to the nature of silver; when it comes into contact with certain moistures, it develops a type of rust similar to the rust of copper, unlike the rust of iron, which results in a bad odor. He complained about this matter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who ordered him (peace and blessings be upon him) to make a nose out of gold. Since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted this man to make a nose out of gold, and he was in a state of abundance such that he did not need it out of necessity, but rather he was ordered to do so (peace and blessings be upon him) only to restore the creation that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created to its natural state within the limits of human capability, then if that is the case, it is even more permissible for a man to have a gold tooth if nothing else suffices for him. This detail must be remembered on this occasion.

The questioner : He has zakah due on him?

The Shaykh : No, he does not owe zakah on it.

Another questioner : Does this ruling, O Shaykh, apply to white gold and red gold?

The Shaykh : White gold today is of two types. The first type, which is the original as I hinted at earlier, is platinum. There is nothing in the Shari'ah that prohibits platinum, like gold, for example. Therefore, we cannot declare it forbidden, because what is lawful is what Allah has made lawful, what is forbidden is what Allah has forbidden, and what He has been silent about is a concession. However, when this white gold, which is platinum, became the object of attachment for the hearts of women and men, the goldsmiths rushed to craft gold chemically so that it would have a color close to the color of platinum. By way of comparison, they called it white gold. If the white gold is originally red gold (which is forbidden according to the previous detail), then it is not permissible to use it. This is in contrast to white platinum by nature, which is permissible to use.
Yes.