in this world, whereas they have been set aside for the believers in the Hereafter. For this reason the scholars have ruled that wearing silk and using gold- or silverware constitutes imitation of the unbelievers.

In the two Ṣaḥīḥs it is narrated from Abū ʿUthmān an-Nahdī (1) who said: “ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—wrote to us while we were in Azerbaijan with ʿUtbah ibn Farqad: ‘O ʿUtbah, what you enjoy is not the fruit of your father’s labor nor your mother’s; therefore give the Muslims in their quarters the same food you take in your own, and beware (2) of luxury, the dress of the idolaters, and wearing silk. For the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade wearing silk and said: ‘Except for this much’—and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his middle and index fingers and joined them together (3).” (4)

Abū Bakr al-Khallāl transmitted, with a chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, that Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān once approached a house and noticed two alcoves (5) with brass and lead ewers displayed inside. He refused to enter and said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (6) In another wording: “He saw something of the Persians’ attire…"