Albani: Gold Rings Bracelets Necklaces Forbidden for Women!

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

يا نبي سلام عليك

Contrary to a somewhat widespread impression, the Shari’ah of Islam does not contain any extremely unusual or unnatural rulings which conflict with human nature or common sense. Extreme practices and laws are rather to be found in the other religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism and Christianity.

Islam totally allows women to wear gold jewelry, for that is something natural and common for women across all human cultures and civilizations. Describing females, Allah says in the Holy Quran:

اَوَمَنۡ یُّنَشَّؤُا فِی الۡحِلۡیَۃِ وَہُوَ فِی الۡخِصَامِ غَیۡرُ مُبِیۡنٍ

One who is reared among jewelry and who is unclear in disputation

(Surah 43, Ayah 18)

My master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَحَلَّ لإِنَاثِ أُمَّتِي الْحَرِيرَ وَالذَّهَبَ وَحَرَّمَهُ عَلَى ذُكُورِهَا

“Allah, glorified and majestic, has permitted for the females of my Ummah silk and gold and prohibited it for its males”

The prohibition of wearing gold and silk for men is not illogical, for they are primarily associated with women as a means of their adornment, and the distinction between male and female ought to be maintained.

In a previous post I mentioned how Albani, a Salafi figure of recent memory, caused considerable tribulation in the Ummah by issuing legal opinions and rulings that contravene the consensus of the four schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.

Another one of those controversial opinions of Albani was his fatwa that even women are prohibited from wearing gold jewelry that is circular (rings, bracelets, necklaces):

واعلم أن النساء يشتركن مع الرجال في تحريم خاتم الذهب عليهن ومثله السوار والطوق من الذهب

“Know that women, along with men, are prohibited from wearing gold rings and likewise gold bracelets and necklaces” (Adab uz-Zafaf, p.222)

This strange and false ruling not only dissents from the established consensus of the four schools that women are permitted to wear gold jewelry, including rings, bracelets and necklaces, but is also contrary to nature and common sense. It is a ruling more in tune with the strict monastic code Buddhist nuns are required to observe.

Albani based his radical and unique ruling on some isolated and odd (shadh) narrations. This demonstrates the danger of people neglecting traditional Sunni scholarship and jurisprudence in favor of an approach of directly consulting the Hadith literature without proper training and guidance.