regarding gold jewelry: Is its prohibition due to the failure to pay its zakah?

The questioner : There have been many questions—also—regarding your fatwa concerning gold, specifically the prohibition of gold jewelry for women. For example, a question was raised stating that there is a hadith in which a woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and she was wearing a gold bracelet. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told her that it is obligatory for her to pay zakah on it, and that she should not be encircled by fire on the Day of Resurrection. They said: If zakah is not paid on the gold, it becomes forbidden. There are also many questions related to this topic: Is zakah required on this gold that the woman wears? Is it permissible for a man to pay zakah from his wealth on this gold that his wife wears? And is it possible to separate the gold ring with silver or a thread or something like that so that it becomes 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 be well-versed 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 detailed in my book "Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah." So I hope that the educated woman among you will refer to this book in the future so that the truth becomes clear to her with the clearest explanation.
After this introduction, I say: There are many hadiths prohibiting 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: one 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 mentioned in the question states that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to the woman: . She said: No. Then he (peace be upon him) said: . But this is one thing, and there is another hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw a gold ring on a woman's hand. A "fatkh" is a ring, and it is said to be a large ring. A gold "fatkh." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) struck her finger with a stick he was holding, without any mention in this hadith of his (peace and blessings be upon him) ordering her to pay zakah. So mixing that hadith with this hadith is not permissible Islamically; especially if it is done by male or female preachers. We Salafis, all of us, men and women, must be clear in our religion, as our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) said: . If it is mentioned in a hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked the woman who had a silver ring on her hand: . She said: No. He said: .
And there is another hadith in which he struck her because she was wearing a gold ring; without addressing her with the same question he asked the first woman. So in that case, we take a ruling from each hadith that we do not take from the other. In the first hadith, we take the ruling of the obligation to pay zakah on jewelry. In the other hadith, we take the ruling that it is not permissible to adorn oneself with what is made of gold. And look, also, that there is a difference: The hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: came regarding a silver ring, a silver ring which is permissible for a man, let alone a woman, to wear. So the subject of the hadith is 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 he was holding. Then this woman went to Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Soon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered upon her and found a gold chain on her hand. He said (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): a chain of fire on her hand. Excuse me: , and he rebuked her severely. So what did she (may Allah be pleased with her) do but go and sell the chain, and buy a slave with its price and set him free. When that reached the Messenger of Allah (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 entire hadith revolves around adorning oneself with gold, and adorning oneself with the ring at the beginning of the story, and at the end of the story related to Fatimah, a gold chain hanging around her neck. So he (peace be upon him) prohibited that. When the Lady Fatimah repented and completed her repentance by fulfilling the well-known hadith of 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 a slave with the value of this chain and set him free, he (peace be upon him) said, happy and delighted: . What did Fatimah do here such that her father praised Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for saving his daughter from the Fire? Did she not pay zakah? The mention of zakah does not appear in this story at all, neither at its beginning nor at its end. But the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) explicitly stated: ; because she was adorning and beautifying herself with what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has forbidden.
And another thing, or another hadith, I hope will remain preserved in your minds; which is the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): . If some people mix the hadith of the obligation of zakah on jewelry with the hadith prohibiting adorning oneself with gold; is there also a mix between that hadith and the hadith of Fatimah and that hadith and the last hadith: ? It is from extravagance—and indeed an encroachment on the texts of the Shari'ah—to attribute all these hadiths to the single hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (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 short: 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. Another fact I have always heard here and there is a rumor spread by some envious, malicious, and ill-intentioned people who claim that no scholar among 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 jewelry 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, do not fall into this. There is disagreement in this issue, with opinions that agree with our position and opinions that disagree with it. Even if the opposing opinions are more numerous, 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. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: . We are not a majority that follows people based on the number of followers; the one with more followers is not necessarily the stronger position for us, and the one with fewer followers is not necessarily the weaker. No, if there were a rule in this matter, following the smaller number would be preferable to following the larger number if they differed. This is 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. However, we do not adopt a rule like this or its opposite. Rather, we say: we are followers of the evidence, with whoever it is, whoever he may be. But the point is that the claim that this issue is held by so-and-so alone is a lie and a slander for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Whoever wants elaboration and explanation should refer to "Etiquette of the Wedding in the Pure Sunnah," as we mentioned.

The questioner : Is it permissible ... a gold ring ... ?

The Shaykh : As for the question some people ask about a bracelet or ring if it is open; 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. We do not deviate from the Arabic language. Therefore, the bracelet is a bracelet, whether it is closed or open!

The questioner : Ah, go ahead.

The Shaykh : So it is not permissible in any case. But if something departs from being a gold bracelet, or a gold necklace, or a gold ring; at that point it takes on a different ruling. For example, a silver bracelet with a gold button or gemstone; this bracelet is not linguistically called a gold bracelet, but rather a silver bracelet, even if it has a gemstone or design of gold. Similarly, if we assume another scenario: a necklace around the neck made of fabric, like velvet, of 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 fabric 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 surrounds the limb, is what those hadiths prohibited. The hadiths did not prohibit gold for women absolutely, as some people might assume, but rather they prohibited encircling gold; either surrounding the finger, or surrounding the wrist, or surrounding the neck. So if a woman took a gold comb and fastened it in her hair; there is no objection to that; because it is permissible in the general sense of his (peace be upon him) saying: . The question some women ask, as many of them and their husbands say: What have you left for us, O Shaykh, from adornment!! If this is haram and this is haram and this is haram; then nothing is left!! The answer: Nothing is left because they have resorted to a type of adornment that the Sharī‘ah has prohibited. But if a woman took gold buttons, a gold comb; all of this is permissible; because it is not encircling gold.
So the fact that the bracelet is open does not remove the name of bracelet from it. But this bracelet that is open is silver, and in this opening a piece of gold is attached as adornment; there is no objection; because in this form the bracelet 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.