Regarding your fatwa concerning gold jewelry: Is this specific to the one who has not paid zakah on it?

The questioner : There have been many questions—also—regarding your fatwa concerning gold: the prohibition of gold jewelry for women—also. So, for example, a question came in saying: There is a hadith that a woman came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and she had worn a bracelet of gold, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is obligatory for her to pay zakah on it, and that she will be encircled with fire on the Day of Resurrection. They said: This is in the case where one does not pay zakah on the gold, it becomes forbidden. There are also many questions related to this topic: Is zakah paid on this gold that a woman wears? And is it permissible for a man to pay zakah from his wealth on this gold that his wife wears? And is it possible that we separate the gold ring with silver or with a thread or with something like that so that it returns to being lawful? All these matters are related to gold jewelry for women.

The Shaykh : Before answering these questions, I ask the women present, and those who hear my voice or my answer, to educate themselves, and to become knowledgeable in the religion, and to read what Allah has made easy for them of the books written on the methodology of the Book, the Sunnah, and the righteous Salaf. I say this because all the questions that have come in now are fully elaborated in my book "Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah," and I hope that in the future the educated woman among you will refer to this book so that the truth becomes clear to her with the clearest explanation. After this introduction, I say:
There are many hadiths regarding the prohibition of a specific type of gold, and other hadiths regarding the obligation of zakah on this gold that a woman adorns herself with. It is not permissible to mix the two types of hadiths: a hadith that obligates zakah on jewelry, and another hadith that prohibits that type of jewelry without addressing the obligation of zakah. All these hadiths are found in that book, "Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah."
The hadith that came in the question contains the statement that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said to the woman: . She said: No. Then he said (peace be upon him): . But this is one thing, and another hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw on a woman’s hand a ring of gold—and the fatkh is a ring, and it is said to be a large ring—a ring of gold. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) struck her finger with a stick that was in his hand . Without any mention in this hadith of his (peace and blessings be upon him) command to obligate the payment of zakah. So mixing that hadith with this hadith is a matter that is not permissible Islamically; especially if it is from the callers to Allah or the female callers. It is obligatory for us Salafis, all of us, women and men, to be clear in our religion, as our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) said: . So if it came in a hadith that the Messenger (peace be upon him) asked the woman who had a ring of silver on her hand: . She said: No. He said: . And another hadith came that he struck her because she adorned herself with a ring of gold, without addressing her with the question he asked the first one; then at that time we take a ruling from each of the hadiths, not from the other hadith. So in the first hadith we take the ruling of the obligation to pay zakah on jewelry. The other hadith: we take the ruling that it is not permissible to adorn oneself with what is gold. And look, also, that there is a difference: the hadith in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: came regarding the silver ring, the silver ring that is permissible for a man, let alone a woman, to wear.
So the subject of the hadith is the subject of the ruling of the obligation to pay zakah on jewelry, regardless of whether this jewelry is permissible or forbidden. As for the other hadith, it explicitly states that he saw a ring on a woman’s hand and struck her with a stick that was in his hand. Then this woman went to Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and soon the Messenger (peace be upon him) entered upon her and found on her hand a chain of gold. So he said (peace and blessings be upon him): , -pardon me- , and he struck her severely. So what did she (may Allah be pleased with her) do but go and sell the chain and buy with its price a slave and free him. When that reached the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: .
So in this hadith, also, we do not see any mention of the issue of zakah. Rather, the hadith revolves entirely around adorning oneself with gold. The adorning at the beginning of the story was with the ring, and at the end of the story related to Fatimah, a chain of gold that she hung around her neck, so he (peace be upon him) prohibited that. When the Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) repented and completed her repentance by fulfilling a well-known hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is his saying: . When the Lady Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) sold the chain and bought with the value of this chain a slave and freed him, he said (peace be upon him), being happy and joyful: .
What did Fatimah do here such that her father praised Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that He saved his daughter from the Fire? Did she not pay zakah? The mention of zakah did not come in this story at all, neither at its beginning nor at its end. But the Messenger (peace be upon him) explicitly stated: ; because she adorned and decorated herself with what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has forbidden.
And another thing—or another hadith—I hope it remains preserved in your minds; namely the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): .
If some people mix the hadith of the obligation of zakah on jewelry with the hadith of the prohibition of adorning oneself with gold; is there also a mix between that hadith and the hadith of Fatimah, and between that hadith and the last hadith: ? It is an excess, and even an aggression upon the texts of the Shari'ah, to attribute all these hadiths to a single hadith in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) rebuked the woman because she did not pay zakah on that jewelry. So this is a point that we should be clear about. In brief, there are various hadiths, all of which revolve around the prohibition of gold jewelry for women. One of them revolves around the obligation of zakah on jewelry, even if it is silver, which the Messenger (peace be upon him) permitted a woman to adorn herself with.
And another reality I have heard here and there, which is a rumor spread by some envious, malicious people with ulterior motives; they spread among the people that no one among the scholars of the Muslims, from the day Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) until the time of Al-Albani, has said what Al-Albani says regarding the prohibition of gold rings for women. This is a lie. I hope that we Salafis, whom Allah has blessed by uniting us in our agreement upon the Book of Allah, the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, and the methodology of the righteous predecessors, will not fall into this. There is disagreement in this issue, and there are opinions that agree with our position, and there are opinions that disagree with our position. Even if the disagreeing opinions are more numerous than the agreeing ones, I believe we are all convinced that the truth is not known by men, but rather men are known by the truth. Know the truth, and you will know the men. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: . So we are not a majority that follows people based on who has the most followers, which is the stronger position in our view, and who has fewer followers is the weaker position. No, if there were a rule in this issue, following the smaller number would be preferable to following the larger number if they differed; because we find in the texts of the Book and the Sunnah that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) condemns the multitude and praises the few, and not the other way around. But we do not make the rule either this way or the opposite; rather, we say: we are followers of the evidence, with whoever it is, whoever it may be. But the point is that the claim that this issue is not held by anyone except so-and-so is a lie and slander for which Allah has not sent down any authority. And whoever wants elaboration and clarification, let him refer to "Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah" as we mentioned.

The questioner : Is it permissible to separate the gold ring...?

The Shaykh : As for the question of some people about the bracelet and the ring if it is separated; that is, it does not form a complete circle, but has an opening, this does not change the ruling; because this bracelet, whether it is a closed circle or an open circle, is called a bracelet, and we do not depart from the Arabic language. Therefore, the bracelet is a bracelet whether it is closed or open, so it is not permissible in any case. But if the thing ceases to be a gold bracelet, or a gold necklace, or a gold ring; at that point it takes on another ruling. For example, a silver bracelet with a button or a gem of gold; this bracelet is not linguistically called a gold bracelet, but it is a silver bracelet even if it has a gem or engraving of gold. Similarly, if we assume another scenario; a necklace that encircles the neck made of cloth, of velvet, a beautiful color, soft fabric, and so on, with a piece of gold hanging from its bottom; this is not called a gold necklace, it is a cloth necklace, but a piece of gold is hanging from it. This piece is permissible for a woman to use; because we only mentioned that the encircling item—that is, the one that encircles the neck—is what those hadiths prohibited. The hadiths did not prohibit gold for women absolutely, as some people may imagine, but rather they prohibited the encircling gold; either it encircles the finger, or it encircles the wrist, or it encircles the neck. So if a woman took a gold comb and attached it to her hair, there is no harm in that; because it is permissible in the generality of his (peace be upon him) saying: .
So the question of some women, as many of them and their husbands say, "What have you left for us, O Shaykh, for adornment? If this is forbidden and this is forbidden and this is forbidden, then nothing remains." The answer is: Nothing remains because they have become accustomed to a type of adornment that the Sharī‘ah has prohibited. But if a woman took buttons of gold, a comb of gold; all of this is permissible; because it is not encircling gold. So the fact that the bracelet is open does not remove from it the name of bracelet. But this bracelet that is open is silver, and in this opening, a piece of gold is attached as adornment, and there is no harm in that; because the bracelet in this form is not described linguistically or religiously as a gold bracelet. And so, apply this analogy to all the types that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited.