Is it permissible to wear a ring at the engagement so that the young man or woman is known to be engaged, and likewise after marriage? And did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wear a ring on his hand like an engagement ring, as I have heard from some people?
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The questioner : You are asking about wearing a ring at the engagement so that the young man or woman is known to be engaged, and likewise after marriage, and whether the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wore a ring on his hand like an engagement ring, as you have heard from some people? We ask for your guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : The ruling on wearing the ring falls into two categories.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first category is when it is accompanied by a belief, such as each of the spouses believing that keeping the ring on their finger is a cause for the continuation of their marriage. From this, you find the man writing his wife's name on the ring he wears, and the woman writing her husband's name on the ring she wears. There is no doubt that this category is forbidden and not permissible, because it is a type of tawilah, which is a type of minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is because this husband and wife have believed in a matter that it is a cause without any scriptural evidence or tangible reality. Whoever establishes a cause among the causes without scriptural evidence or tangible reality has committed minor shirk, because he has made something that Allah did not make a cause into a cause.
As for the second category, it is wearing the ring to indicate that he is engaged or that she is engaged, or that he has entered into marital relations with his wife and she has entered into marital relations with her husband. In my view, this is a matter of hesitation, because some scholars have said that this custom is taken from the Christians and that its origin is from their symbol. There is no doubt that the precaution for the Muslim is to stay away from it and avoid it, so that he does not fall into the state of following these Christians who first established it, and thus perish.
As for the types of jewelry sent to the fiancée at the engagement, there is nothing wrong with it, because it is a gift intended to fulfill the husband's desire for his fiancée. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : The ruling on wearing the ring falls into two categories.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first category is when it is accompanied by a belief, such as each of the spouses believing that keeping the ring on their finger is a cause for the continuation of their marriage. From this, you find the man writing his wife's name on the ring he wears, and the woman writing her husband's name on the ring she wears. There is no doubt that this category is forbidden and not permissible, because it is a type of tawilah, which is a type of minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is because this husband and wife have believed in a matter that it is a cause without any scriptural evidence or tangible reality. Whoever establishes a cause among the causes without scriptural evidence or tangible reality has committed minor shirk, because he has made something that Allah did not make a cause into a cause.
As for the second category, it is wearing the ring to indicate that he is engaged or that she is engaged, or that he has entered into marital relations with his wife and she has entered into marital relations with her husband. In my view, this is a matter of hesitation, because some scholars have said that this custom is taken from the Christians and that its origin is from their symbol. There is no doubt that the precaution for the Muslim is to stay away from it and avoid it, so that he does not fall into the state of following these Christians who first established it, and thus perish.
As for the types of jewelry sent to the fiancée at the engagement, there is nothing wrong with it, because it is a gift intended to fulfill the husband's desire for his fiancée. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.