Are Earrings Haram for Men?

Question: 1980

In the basis of our religion, is it okay for men to wear earrings (whether that being one or several)? Is it okay for men to wear jewelry which is silver and not gold? I hope that this is not a silly question because a lot of the Muslim men that I associate with wear earrings. Some people say that the members of the Prophet's tribe – the Quraysh used to wear earrings in the old days and that is why it is okay for us. Could you please find out if this is true and give me a definite answer? Thank you very much!

Summary of answer

Earrings are haram for men as earrings and bracelets are forms of adornment for women. Men are allowed to wear silver rings. Islam allows men to wear gold and silver when necessary to replace a lost tooth or nose, and so on.

Answer

Table Of Contents

Are earrings haram in Islam?
Can men wear silver rings?
The prohibition to imitate non-Muslims

Are earrings haram in Islam?

Earrings and bracelets are forms of adornment for women. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed men who make themselves look like women and women who make themselves look like men . (Al-Bukhari, 5435)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed men who wear women’s clothes and women who wear men’s clothes. (Reported by Abu Dawud in al-Sunan, Kitab al-Libas, Bab fi libas al-nisa)

On this basis, it is not permitted for men to wear earrings or nose-rings.

The claim that this is permissible because the people of Quraysh used to do that needs to be proven, in the first place, and where is the proof?

Even if they used to do this in the Jahiliyyah (Time of Ignorance before Islam), Islam came and forbade men to wear the adornment of women or to make themselves look like them, as is clear from the hadiths quoted above. What matters is the ruling of Islam, not what Quraysh or other tribes may have done.

The kinds of female adornment known among Quraysh and others include earrings, bracelets, anklets and bangles worn on the upper arm. The point is that these are known as forms of women’s adornment since ancient times.

Can men wear silver rings?

Islam has given men sufficient scope to adorn themselves by allowing them to wear silver rings . Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wore a ring made of silver, and the people did likewise. (Reported by al-Bukhari, 5417)

Islam also allows men to wear gold and silver when necessary to replace a lost tooth or nose, and so on.

The prohibition to imitate non-Muslims

We would say that any Muslim man who wears jewellery is making himself look like the disbeliever , because this is known to be their style of adornment. The latest fashion among them is to wear earrings and the like in their ears, noses , lips, cheeks and other parts of the body (so-called body-piercing ).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever imitates a people is one of them. (Reported by Abu Dawud, al-Sunan, Kitab al-libas, Bab libas al-shuhrah).

Whoever does this should repent to Allah and not engage in the futile defence of falsehood. He should be distinct in both his personality and his dress from the disbelievers, as Islam has commanded us to be. Allah is the One Who guides to the Straight Path.

And Allah knows best.

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Source:

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid