Scholars' opinions on a small boy wearing gold

27-8-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the ruling on wearing gold by baby boys?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Scholars held different opinions regarding young boys wearing gold. The majority of Muslim scholars, including the Hanafi, Maaliki, and Hanbali scholars believed it is forbidden. They justified their opinion by the fact that Muslim parents are enjoined to guard their young children against committing religious prohibitions. As Muslims, we are obliged to guard our children from alcohol because Allaah, the Exalted, made it forbidden to drink or serve it. The same applies to wearing gold since, as it is prohibited for men, it is also prohibited for young male children.

Moreover, the generality of the pieces of evidence with regards to this prohibition entails that young male children are also included. The relevant religious text states that wearing gold is prohibited for Muslim males. Logically, young male children are included.

However, Shaafi‘i scholars considered it permissible for young boys to wear gold, as long as they have yet not reached puberty. They relied on the fact that the boy at that age has no manliness that would be incompatible with femininity, for which the wearing of gold is deemed forbidden for men.

The preponderant opinion, in our view, is that of the majority of scholars, for their piece of evidence is stronger and their justification is better.

Allaah Knows best.