Bigotry: The Dark Danger

The Idea that Gold and Silk Are Prohibited

The Prophet of God (pbuh) took silk and held it in his right hand, and took gold and held it in his left hand and said: both of these are prohibited to the males of my community. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 32, Hadith 4046)

Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari reported: Messenger of God (pbuh) said, "Wearing of silk and gold has been made unlawful for males and lawful for the females of my community.'' (At-Tirmidhi)

The fanatics have forbidden silk and gold and have fabricated numerous hadiths about this. Yet there are no verses of the Qur’an in which gold and silk are prohibited. On the contrary, gold and silk are described as blessings of paradise in several verses in the Qur’an:

They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful repose! (Qur'an, 18:31)

But God will admit those who have faith and do right actions into Gardens with rivers flowing under them where they will be adorned with gold bracelets and pearls, and where their clothing will be of silk. (Qur'an, 22:23)

They will enter Gardens of Eden where they will be adorned with gold bracelets and pearls, and where their clothing will be of silk. (Qur'an, 35:33)

There are hadiths showing that silk cloth was also used in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):

Narrated Sa'd: I saw a man riding on a white mule and he had a black turban of silk and wool. He said: The Apostle of God (pbuh) put it on me. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 32, Hadith 4027)

Abu Dawud said: Twenty Companions of the Apostle of God (pbuh) or more put on khazz [silk]. Anas and al-Bara' b. 'Azib were among them. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 27, Hadith 4028)

As we have seen, Muslims were regarded as deserving of beauty and fine clothing in the Sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh).

Of course these things were in the Sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh) because our Prophet (pbuh) encouraged and loved a blessing that is praised in the Qur’an. One of the main pieces of evidence that the false hadiths here are fabrications is the way they prohibit, as a command of our Prophet (pbuh), something that is never mentioned in the Qur’an: Such a thing is of course out of the question.

Gold is an adornment, and as we have already seen, God praises the beauty of adornment in the Qur’an. As revealed in the verse, “Children of Adam, put on your adornment in every mosque … “ (Qur'an, 7:31), Muslims are encouraged to dress nicely and use adornments.

Let us remind ourselves that adornments are made lawful for everyone, men and women, without distinction, in Surat al-A’raf:

Say: “Who has forbidden the ornament of God which He has produced for His servants and the good kinds of provision?” Say: “They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Resurrection.” In this way We make the signs clear for people who know.(Qur'an, 7:32)