425 – It is narrated from Ḥudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us to drink from vessels of gold and silver, to eat from them, to wear silk or dībāj (brocade), and to sit upon them.” Reported by al-Bukhārī (1).

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• dībāj: Al-Miṣbāḥ states that scholars differ regarding the presence of the yāʾ. Some hold it to be extra, giving the pattern fiyāl and the plural diyābīj. Others consider the yāʾ original, the root form being dabbāj with a doubled bāʾ; one of the doubled letters was replaced by a weak consonant, so the plural reverts to its root as dababīj, with a single bāʾ after the dāl. Dībāj is a kind of cloth whose warp and weft are both silk.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. A prohibition against eating and drinking from gold or silver vessels.
2. A prohibition indicates unlawfulness; therefore this is forbidden to men, women, and children alike. Women have no special need for a dispensation here, unlike their concession to wear gold and silver jewelry.
3. A prohibition against sitting on silk brocade, which likewise renders it unlawful.
4. Men are forbidden to wear silk or dībāj, and the wording likewise denotes prohibition. Women, however, are permitted to wear them because of their need for adornment. Islam differentiates between men and women regarding ornamentation and beautification: women may adorn themselves with what is customary, whereas men are barred from it because it conflicts with masculine nature,