What is gold with a hole? And what is its ruling?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may the prayers and peace be upon our master Muhammad.
What is gold with a hole? And what is the ruling on women wearing it?

The Shaykh : The answer to this question is well known to those who have taken an interest in studying what I have authored, and especially my book: "Wedding Etiquette in the Pure Sunnah." However, since the question has been asked, an answer is necessary—even if brief—otherwise the discussion would become very long. I refer those who desire detail to this book, "Wedding Etiquette in the Pure Sunnah," and especially the new edition, which contains additions and information that respond to those who are biased toward what they found in the school of thought or what they found among their fathers and grandfathers. So I say:
There are many authentic hadiths that permit gold for women absolutely, but there are other hadiths that counter these first hadiths, clarifying that a type of gold is also forbidden for women. In this case, the rules of hadith science and the principles of jurisprudence indicate that one should not rely on the absolute hadiths and turn away from the restrictive hadiths. For example, of the absolute hadiths is the famous hadith that everyone who researches this issue quotes to show people that all gold is lawful for women. That hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) when he came out to his companions with gold in one hand and silk in the other, and he said (peace and blessings be upon him): . As you see, this hadith, on one hand, forbids gold for men absolutely, and on the other hand, permits gold for women absolutely. Is it knowledge to stop at these two absolute matters when there is something that restricts them? It is not knowledge at all to turn away from the restrictive text while clinging to the absolute text.
Now let us look at his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ; is gold absolutely forbidden for the males of the Ummah, and likewise silk?
In what I find in the Sunnah, I find that 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) and another Companion—I think it was Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas—complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about an itch in their bodies, so he granted them a dispensation to wear a shirt of silk. Also, countering this dispensation is another dispensation regarding the second item mentioned, whose prohibition is in this first part of the hadith; that is the hadith of 'Urfajah ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him). His nose had been injured—his nose tip was lost in a battle in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance known as "the Battle of Kalb." So he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and had made a nose of silver; it had become foul-smelling for him, so he complained of his situation to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who ordered him to make a nose of gold. We all know that having a nose with a missing tip does not harm its function, nor his speech, nor any necessity of life; the only thing is that it is ugly to look at. Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said: , Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who forbade gold for men through the tongue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nevertheless granted a dispensation to this Sa'd ibn 'Urfajah to make a nose of gold.
Some may ask about the difference between a nose of gold—whose original ruling is that it is forbidden—and a nose of silver—whose original ruling is that it is permissible; why did he complain about his silver nose and he (peace and blessings be upon him) granted him a dispensation to make a nose of gold?
The secret of that goes back to the nature of these two metals; for when the metal of silver comes into contact withThe questioner : what comes out of the nose, rust is found afterwards, like the rust of iron and the rust of copper. This rust, over time, becomes foul-smelling, so the owner of this silver nose—meaning silver—suffers from it, unlike gold, for the nature of gold is that it does not rust and does not become foul-smelling. Therefore, you find today that doctors—dentists—always care about making artificial teeth from gold; because it is capable of remaining for a long time without any foul smell or rust that harms the wearer of that borrowed tooth. So we find that the prohibition mentioned for men is not absolute, but it has some restrictions. It is necessary to cling to the first text that forbids, and then to these restrictions that came in some hadiths.
Countering this second part of the hadith, which is his (peace and blessings be upon him) permitting silk and gold for women; is there anything that restricts this permission, even specifically regarding gold? We find first a matter agreed upon by the scholars, and yet we find that everyone who researches this topic and argues with the absolute permission of gold for women overlooks or pretends not to know what the scholars agreed upon regarding the prohibition of a type of gold for women; that is gold vessels. It came in the authentic hadith in "Sahih Muslim" from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: —two narrations—so gold vessels for women are forbidden, just as they are forbidden for men. Women shared in this ruling with men, while gold for men is forbidden generally, as you heard, except for some restrictions. And conversely, it is permissible for women, and then this restriction came. So the scholars agreed that this gold which is permissible for women, if it is in the form of a vessel, that is forbidden for women as well. Therefore, when we hear this hadith or read it in a book where its author argues for the absolute permission of gold, we must remember that this hadith restricts this permission to the case where the gold permissible for women is in the shape of a vessel. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as you heard: .
At that point, we return to the rule of combining the absolute and the restricted, and we say: except for what is excluded. What is excluded? First, by consensus, gold vessels, as you heard. So it should not be understood from the start that the hadith: is this absolute, comprehensive one that includes gold vessels. This is the first restriction, and it is agreed upon. And yet, those who argue with the hadith: do not pay any attention to this restriction, and this is not the way of the fair scholars who are mindful of the Lord of the worlds.
Then we say: Is there another restriction that the Muslim must cling to, as he did with the first restriction? The answer is: Yes, for there are hadiths that forbid for women another form of gold or another shape of gold; that is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
We know that some people interpret this hadith in a way other than its intended meaning, and they claim that the meaning of *habib* (beloved) refers to a male child. At the same time, they know that in the Arabic language, the *fa'il* pattern includes both males and females. Just as one says, for example, "a dead man" (*qatil*), one also says "a dead woman" (*qatilah*); and just as one says "a wounded man" (*jarih*), one also says "a wounded woman" (*jarihah*); likewise, *habib* includes both males and females. Therefore, in this situation, one of two paths is obligatory in understanding the term in this hadith: either we make it inclusive of both males and females, or we interpret it by what the beginning of the hadith indicates, and then by what the other hadiths indicate. This hadith ends with: . Those who hold the view that gold is absolutely permissible for women—including gold jewelry—also hold the view that silver is forbidden for men if it is in large quantities. How, then, does this understanding align with the end of the hadith: ? This is evidence from the hadith itself that the address is not directed at males in their view; because they say that only a small amount of silver is permissible, and they cite as evidence a hadith in which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the making of a ring from silver; however, he said: . In my view, the chain of this hadith is not authentic, but they still use it as evidence that if the weight of a ring exceeds one mithqal, it is not permissible, even if it is made of silver. Therefore, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said at the end of the hadith: , this is a clue from the hadith itself that the address is intended for women and females, and not for males.
There is no doubt that the address here is to the guardians of women; . The *habib* here is either the wife or the daughter. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against adorning women with gold jewelry. If we set this hadith aside and look at other hadiths that came in this chapter, we find finally what confirms that the intended meaning of this name——is women. There are many hadiths on this matter, and it is sufficient for me now to remind you of the hadith of the daughter of Hubayrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) entered upon her and found a gold ring on her hand or finger. He had a small stick in his hand, so he struck her finger with it to disapprove of this gold jewelry. Then the daughter of Hubayrah went to Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Before we complete this hadith, I remind you of another hadith; if we combine it with this hadith of the daughter of Hubayrah, we gain a great benefit; which is that women share with men in the prohibition of gold jewelry. It was reported in *Sahih Muslim* that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a gold ring on the finger of one of his Companions, so he struck it with a stick that was in his hand and said to him: —or something similar. What this Companion did was respond immediately to the prohibition of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); he took the ring and threw it on the ground, saying: "By Allah, I do not know what Allah did with it." Here we find that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) treated the daughter of Hubayrah as he treated the man; he disapproved of her gold ring just as he disapproved of the man's gold ring. This is very clear evidence that women share with men in the prohibition of gold jewelry. This is a very strong corroborating narration for the previous hadith which restricts the permissibility to what is other than gold jewelry.
We continue the narration of the hadith of the daughter of Hubayrah. She had barely entered upon Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) when she was surprised by the arrival of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He saw a gold chain on Fatimah's hand, so he said (peace and blessings be upon him): and he rebuked her severely—meaning he scolded her—and she was his daughter. He had said in a well-known story in the authentic collections: , and yet he (peace and blessings be upon him) rebuked her severely. Then he left her. What she did (may Allah be pleased with her) was go and sell this chain, then she bought a slave with it or its value and freed him. When the news of that reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was very pleased with it and said: . So this hadith, in its second part, confirms the hadith of: ; for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disapproved of the gold chain on Fatimah and went to great lengths in disapproving of it, then when she got rid of it and gave its price in charity, freeing the slave, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So all of this and this and this indicates that women share with men in a type of gold. First of all, gold sheets—gold vessels. Second, gold jewelry, which is of three types: the necklace, the bracelet, and the ring.
This is what can be said at this time, and the details are in my book mentioned earlier, "Etiquettes of the Wedding."
Please proceed.