The Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Thereupon the people adopted gold rings; when he saw that they had done so, he threw his ring away and said, “I shall never wear it again.” He then had a ring made of silver and engraved on it: “Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah.” After him the ring was worn by Abū Bakr, then by ʿUmar, and then by ʿUthmān, until it slipped into the well of Arīs. Al-Bukhārī (1) transmits this report through Yūsuf ibn Mūsā from Abū Usāmah Ḥammād ibn Usāmah.
Then Abū Dāwūd said (2): ʿUthmān ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from Ayyūb ibn Mūsā, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, regarding this same account from the Prophet ﷺ. He engraved on it “Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah” and said, “Let no one engrave the same inscription on his ring.” He then recounted the remainder of the ḥadith. Muslim (3) and the four Sunan compilers (4) likewise record it from Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah with similar wording.
Then Abū Dāwūd said (5): Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Fāris narrated to us; Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us, from al-Mughīrah ibn Ziyād, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar in this same report from the Prophet ﷺ. He said, “They searched for it but could not find it, so ʿUthmān had a ring made and engraved upon it ‘Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah.’” He added, “He would seal documents with it—or wear it as a ring.” Al-Nasāʾī (6) transmits it as well, through Muḥammad ibn Maʿmar from Abū ʿĀṣim al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Makhlad al-Nabīl.
Then Abū Dāwūd said (7): [Chapter: On abandoning the ring] Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān Luwayn narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd narrated to us, from Ibn Shihāb, from Anas ibn Mālik, that he saw a silver ring on the Prophet’s ﷺ hand for only one day. The people imitated him and wore such rings, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ discarded his, and the people discarded theirs. He (Abū Dāwūd) then added: This was also narrated from al-Zuhri by Ziyād ibn Saʿd, Shuʿayb, and Ibn Musāfir, all of whom said that it was made of silver.
I say: Al-Bukhārī (8) has likewise recorded it: Yaḥyā ibn Bukayr narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Yūnus, from Ibn Shihāb, who said: Anas ibn Mālik related to me that he saw a silver ring on the Prophet’s ﷺ hand for a single day; whereupon the people