What Kind of Jewelry Can a Woman Wear in Public?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I have heard that women can wear things like rings and henna in public, things that come into view as they are not awra, but I have also heard all jewelry is haram to wear in public.

My question is, what kinds of jewelry can a woman wear in public if her awra (excluding face, hands, and feet) is fully covered? Can she wear rings that match her husband’s to keep fitna away?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health.

It is permissible for women to wear jewelry as it is a form of beautification and adornment.

One has to remember a few points:

• One wears what is customarily worn in one’s land amongst religious people;
• Does not attract undue attraction;
• Adorn oneself, but not make a purposeful display;
• Conceal one’s jewelry as much as possible when the opposite gender is around.

There will be times when women go out, and there will be an unintended display of jewelry, etc., and will come into the view of others, so as long it’s not a purposeful and worn looking at other norms and customs of religious people, then it is fine.

The scholars have stated that there is no problem with this since this unintended display comes under the provision of the verse: “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears.” [Quran, 24:31] [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Islam is not a religion of hardship, given the cultural, geographic, and income diversity found in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. What is essential is that one wears what is customarily worn and does not attract the attention of the opposite gender purposefully.

Related:

• The Wearing of Silk and Jewelry
• Can Women Wear Ornaments While Performing Umra?
• Adornment Archives
• Jewelry Archives

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course like Living Right: Halal and Haram and Living Prophetic Excellence (Hanafi)

I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.