Is placing the ring (the band) at the engagement so that the young man or woman is known to be engaged part of the Sunnah, and did he (peace and blessings be upon him) wear a ring on his finger as I have heard from some people?
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The questioner : You are asking about placing the ring at the engagement so that the young man or woman is known to be engaged, and also after marriage, and whether the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wore a ring on his hand like a band as you have heard from some people? We ask for your guidance. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : The wearing of the ring is of two types.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first type is when it is accompanied by a belief, such as believing that each of the spouses believes that the ring remaining on their finger is a cause for the continuation of their marriage. From this, you will 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 type is forbidden and not permissible, because it is a type of tawil, which is a type of minor shirk. 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 from 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 type, it is wearing the ring to indicate that he is engaged or that she is engaged, or that he has entered into marriage with his wife and she has entered into marriage 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, lest he falls into the state of following these Christians who first established it, and thus he perishes. 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 wearing of the ring is of two types.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The first type is when it is accompanied by a belief, such as believing that each of the spouses believes that the ring remaining on their finger is a cause for the continuation of their marriage. From this, you will 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 type is forbidden and not permissible, because it is a type of tawil, which is a type of minor shirk. 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 from 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 type, it is wearing the ring to indicate that he is engaged or that she is engaged, or that he has entered into marriage with his wife and she has entered into marriage 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, lest he falls into the state of following these Christians who first established it, and thus he perishes. 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.