In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With the pens of longing
And the ink of love
We inscribe insights more precious than gold.
Regarding the description of the Master of Creation, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il)
Chapter on what has been narrated regarding the seal of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The seal
It is a ring with a setting made of something else.
If it does not have one, then it is a matter of fiqh.
It is a trial.
The intended meaning here is the ring worn upon the finger.
And it is adopted for the completion.
He is not the Seal of Prophethood that was upon the back of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
This has already been discussed previously.
And the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He adopted the ring at a late stage, after his migration.
He adopted it during the final months of the sixth year after the Hijrah.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, began to correspond with kings, calling them to the religion of Allah the Exalted.
So when he intended to write to the Romans
It was said to him:
They do not read any book unless it is sealed.
He then adopted the seal ring at that time.
It is for this reason that some scholars have provided a detailed distinction regarding the ruling on wearing a ring.
They said,
If it is for a necessity, such as him being a judge or an official who requires the use of an official seal.
For him, it is considered a Sunnah.
However, if it is done without a specific need, it is considered permissible.
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
The signet ring of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was made of silver.
And its setting was of Abyssinian stone.
In this hadith
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, informs us
Regarding the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He mentioned to us that it was made of silver.
That is, made of silver.
This serves as evidence for the permissibility of a man wearing a silver ring.
And his statement
And its setting was of Abyssinian stone.
The eloquence
This is the place upon which the seal is engraved.
The stone of the ring of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was made of Abyssinian stone.
Meaning, he is from the region of Abyssinia.
Or that he was Abyssinian in his physical features and the style of his carvings.
Or that his complexion was Abyssinian, meaning black.
And on the authority of Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He took a ring made of silver.
He would conclude with it, but he would not wear it.
In this hadith
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, took for himself a ring made of silver.
And he used to conclude with it.
This has already been discussed by us previously.
However, the difficulty lies in his statement, "and he does not wear it."
This contradicts numerous hadiths.
which indicates that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to wear his ring.
Some scholars have adopted an approach of reconciliation between this hadith and those other hadiths.
Some of them deemed it defective due to its irregularity, owing to the contradiction it contains.
It was then said
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, possessed more than one ring.
He would wear some garments while leaving others.
Or perhaps the reason he did not wear it was...
It was not pure silver.
Rather, it is mixed with materials that are impermissible to wear, such as gold, for example.
This addition, if proven authentic, indicates this, and he should not be confused by it.
It is understood as applying to a specific circumstance.
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that he said:
The ring of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was made of silver.
So he took it from him.
In this hadith, Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had a silver ring.
So, take from it.
This contradicts what he stated in his aforementioned hadith.
And its setting was of Abyssinian stone.
Some scholars have reconciled these two positions.
that it is made of silver.
Furthermore, he was of Abyssinian descent in his physical features and the craftsmanship of his engraving.
And it has been said regarding how to reconcile between the two.
It is interpreted as referring to multiple instances.
Meaning that they are both seals.
The stone of his ring was of Abyssinian origin.
And the seal of his ring was made of silver.
And it is narrated from Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, intended
That he should write to the non-Arabs.
It was said to him:
Indeed, the non-Arabs will not accept anything except a book that bears a seal.
So he had a ring made.
It is as if I am looking at its whiteness in his palm.
In this hadith
An explanation of the reason why the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, adopted a signet ring.
And he only adopted it
When he intended to correspond with the kings and great leaders of the non-Arabs.
And they are those other than the Arabs.
To invite them to Islam.
This took place during the final months of the sixth year after the Hijrah.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, returned from al-Hudaybiyyah.
It was then said to him
The kings of the non-Arabs would never rely upon any document unless it bore an official seal.
For concluding it [the letter] is a way of honoring the status of the recipient.
And abandoning it is a sign of failing to revere it.
Furthermore, this is because if he does not conclude it
Doubt began to creep into its content.
Yet they do not act upon it.
And His saying
It is as if I am looking at its whiteness in his palm.
This is because it was made of silver.
He would see the shimmer of silver in his palm, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And in the hadith
He encouraged interacting with people in the manner they love to be treated.
And abandoning what they dislike.
And seeking the help of the enemy in matters that cause no harm and contain no religiously prohibited elements.
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that he said:
The inscription on the ring of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was:
Muhammad is the one who will be cast into Saqar.
And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And by Allah, it is Saqar.
In this hadith
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, informs us
That the inscription on the seal of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was...
It was composed of three words.
And it is: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
These words were not written in a single line.
Rather, it is contained within three lines.
Muhammad, in a single line.
And a Messenger [sent] in a line.
And the majestic name, Allah, is on a line.
Perhaps this is because the signet ring was not large enough to accommodate the three words on a single line.
The apparent meaning of the hadith
The first line from the top is Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The second is the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The third is the majestic name of Allah.
And this was his inscription.
And there was nothing else incumbent upon him.
As for what some of the scholars have mentioned
That its writing was from the bottom to the top.
This means that the majesty of the name of Allah is placed at the top of the three lines.
And Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is at the lowest level of it.
Nothing from the hadiths regarding that matter has been authentically established.
And on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He wrote to Kisra, Caesar, and the Negus.
It was then said to him
They do not accept any book unless it bears a seal.
Thus, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, formulated
He wore a ring with a silver band.
And he had engraved upon it: "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
We have already discussed this in a previous hadith.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He used to write to kings and dignitaries.
He calls them to Allah, the Exalted.
And in this hadith
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He wrote to Kisra, Caesar, and the Negus.
This Negus is not Ashama.
The one upon whom the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, invoked prayers.
And His saying:
Thus, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, fashioned
Concluding.
He ordered that a ring be fashioned for him.
And his statement, "Its ring is made of silver."
Meaning, it is fashioned from silver.
And he had engraved upon it, "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
As we have previously discussed.
This indicates that it is permissible to have one’s name engraved upon a ring.
And the permissibility of engraving the name of Allah, the Exalted.
And he may have a word of wisdom engraved upon it.
Or anything else of that nature.
As for his statement, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Let no one engrave anything upon the seal of this ring.
The reason for the prohibition
That he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He only adopted the ring and had it engraved.
So that he may conclude his books with it.
to the kings of the non-Arabs and others.
If someone else were to engrave something similar to it.
Corruption would have entered, and imbalance would have ensued.
And it is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, adopted
A ring made of silver.
It was in his hand.
Then it was in the possession of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him.
And the hand of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
Then it was in the possession of ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him.
until it fell into the well of Aris.
His mission was that of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
In this hadith
This serves as evidence that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He left behind no inheritance.
For if he were to inherit
To hand over the ring to his heirs.
For this reason, the seal of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was as follows:
in his hand until he passed away.
And in the hands of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them.
until he passed away.
Then it was in the possession of 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him.
Six years.
Then Uthman sat by the well of Aris.
It is a well in a garden near
the Quba Mosque.
He moved the ring of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
on his hand,
and the ring fell into the well.
They searched for the ring in the well
for three days,
to the point that they drained the well's water,
but they did not find the ring.
The people did not disagree regarding Uthman
until the ring fell from his hand.
The claim that the ring of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
exists in this late era
is a claim that lacks proof.
Something like this is not accepted except with established evidence
and clear proofs.
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the fact that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
used to wear his ring on his right hand.
On the authority of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
used to wear his ring on his right hand.
And on the authority of Hammad Ibn Salamah, who said:
I saw Ibn Abi Rafi' wearing a ring on his right hand,
so I asked him about that.
He said: I saw Abdullah Ibn Ja'far
wearing a ring on his right hand.
And Abdullah Ibn Ja'far said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
used to wear a ring on his right hand.
And on the authority of Jabir Ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
used to wear a ring on his right hand.
And on the authority of As-Salt Ibn Abdullah, who said:
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
used to wear a ring on his right hand.
And I do not think he said anything other than:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
used to wear a ring on his right hand.
In these hadiths, there is a consensus;
we learn that he, peace be upon him,
used to wear his ring on his right hand.
And on the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
took a ring made of silver,
and placed its stone toward his palm.
And he had "Muhammad the Messenger of Allah" engraved on it,
and he forbade anyone from engraving anything on it.
And it is the one that fell from Mu'ayqib into the well of Aris.
We have already gone through an explanation of parts of this hadith.
As for his saying, "and placed its stone toward his palm,"
An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The scholars said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not command anything specific regarding that,
so it is permissible to place the stone on the inside of the palm,
or on the outside.
The salaf practiced both ways.
As for those who wore it on the outside,
they said:
But the inside is better,
following the example of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and because it is more protective of the stone,
and safer for it,
and further removed from vanity and showing off.
And his saying,
"And it is the one that fell from Mu'ayqib into the well of Aris,"
it was mentioned previously that it fell from the hand of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him.
It has been said in reconciling the two hadiths:
Perhaps Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,
handed the ring to Mu'ayqib, may Allah be pleased with him,
to stamp with it or for some need,
and then when he returned to take it from him,
it fell into the well.
And Mu'ayqib, may Allah be pleased with him,
is Ibn Abi Fatimah Ad-Dawsi,
one of the foremost early converts to Islam.
And on the authority of Ja'far Ibn Muhammad,
from his father, who said:
Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn
used to wear their rings on their left hands.
From this hadith,
we learn that the matter is flexible,
for if one wishes, he may wear it on his right hand,
and if he wishes, he may wear it on his left.
And on the authority of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
took a ring made of gold,
and he used to wear it on his right hand.
So the people took rings made of gold,
then he, peace be upon him, discarded it
and said: "I will never wear it again."
So the people discarded their rings.
In this hadith,
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, informs us
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
took a ring made of gold,
and that was when it was permissible in the beginning,
then it was abrogated.
This is why he, peace be upon him, discarded it,
and the people discarded theirs.
And he, peace be upon him, said:
"I will never wear it again."
Thus, a gold ring is not permissible for men,
rather, they were granted a concession for a silver ring,
as the hadiths from the Prophet, peace be upon him, have previously stated.
In conclusion to this chapter,
we know that it is authentically established that he, peace be upon him, wore his ring
on both his right and left hands.
Authentic hadiths have come to that effect.
Some scholars said:
Both ways are permissible, but the right is better,
because it is an adornment,
and the right hand is more deserving of it.
Ibn Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The correct view is that it is Sunnah on both the right and the left.
Wearing the ring should be on the little finger of either hand.
There is a prohibition against wearing it on the middle finger and the index finger,
as in the hadith of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, forbade me
from wearing a ring on this finger or this one,"
and he gestured to the middle finger and the one next to it.
As for the woman, she may wear rings on all her fingers,
because she wears them for adornment and beauty.
The hadith has more to follow, if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and companions.