Ruling on Wearing a Wristwatch

Question:
I have been told that wearing a wristwatch is forbidden, by analogy to the iron ring which is prohibited from being worn, and it is made of iron. Is this correct? What is your opinion: should we wear the watch or not? The person asking this question is from Sabiya; the listener is: Abdul Latif Ali Nasser Khawaji.

Answer:
The correct view is that there is no harm in that. There is no harm in wearing a watch, nor in wearing an iron ring. What is forbidden is for a man to wear a ring made of gold. As for wearing a ring made of silver or iron, or a watch, all of that is permissible. It is established that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man who was proposing to a woman: It was narrated by the two Shaykhs in the two Sahihs.
If the iron ring had been prohibited, he would not have said to him: . What is permissible for a man is permissible for a woman, except for what the Shari'ah has forbidden or what it has specifically restricted to women or men. What is specifically restricted to women is the gold ring. This is what is not permissible for a man but is permissible for a woman. As for the silver ring and the iron ring, they are shared.
As for the hadith that he (peace and blessings be upon him), when he saw a ring of iron on a person, said: , and when he saw a ring of brass, said: , these are two anomalous hadiths that contradict the authentic hadiths. The anomalous hadith is considered weak by the scholars of knowledge due to its contradiction of the scriptural evidence.
As for the watch, if it is of the type that men wear and does not involve imitating women, there is no harm in it. It should not be made of gold, nor of silver, but rather of something else, which the man wears. The woman wears what is appropriate for her. A man should not wear what is specific to women, nor should a woman wear what is specific to men. Each wears what is fitting for them, whether it is worn on the right or the left hand, like the ring. The Messenger (peace be upon him) wore it sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left, and it was of silver. The watch is like the ring, so if he wears it on the right or the left, there is no harm in that. However, it should not be of silver; this is what should be adhered to, restricting it to what was mentioned regarding the ring only for the man.
As for gold, it is not permissible for a man, neither a gold ring nor a gold watch, both of them. Yes, and may Allah guide them all.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.