Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is it allowable for women to wear garments made of silk? The hadiths are not really explicit, and I’ve been told that women can wear it but men can’t.
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah,
It is permitted for women to wear silk by explicit permission of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) saying, “Gold and silk has been permitted for the women of my community (umma), and forbidden for its men.” [Ahmad, Nasa’i, and Tirmidhi, who deemed it rigorously authenticated (sahih); this has been related in more than 8 chains of transmission, which confirm each other]
It is important to understand that the basis of good and bad is Divine: the good is what Allah has deemed good; the bad is that which Allah has deemed bad. The role of the intellect regarding good and bad is to understand and fulfill the Divine Command. [ See below]
The second point to understand that all the Commands of Allah are for the ultimate good of humans. This good is either worldly or next-worldly, or both. Normally, the benefit of rulings is evident to all; sometimes, it is only evident to those of understanding. When the benefit or wisdom is not immediately evident, one believes that there is benefit, at least in the next life by fulfilling the command of Allah and eternal reward in the next life. [As explained by Izz al-Din Ibn Abd al-Salam in his Qawa`id al-Kubra]
Wassalam
Faraz Rabbani
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