rings, bracelets, and similar ornaments. As for the reports that forbid women to wear circular gold jewelry, they are either weak or irregular ḥadiths that scholars have abandoned, whereas numerous well-attested narrations confirm that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, approved of women wearing such bangles and rings.

Nevertheless, if a woman owns gold jewelry that reaches the niṣāb (the minimum amount on which zakāt is due), she must pay its zakāt by appraising it each year at its current value and giving one quarter of one tenth—that is, two and a half percent. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once saw a woman whose daughter wore two thick gold bangles. He asked, “Do you pay zakāt on these?” She answered, “No.” He said, “Would you like Allah to adorn you with two bracelets of fire on the Day of Resurrection?” She at once removed the bangles, handed them to the Prophet, and said, “They are for Allah and His Messenger.”

The same ḥadīth also contains a prohibition against drinking from silver vessels: he forbade us to drink from any container made of silver, whether the drink be water, milk, broth, or anything else, and whether the drinker be a man or a woman. The ban on vessels of gold and silver is universal, and there is no distinction between solid silver and silver-plated ware—both are forbidden.

Gold vessels are even more strictly prohibited. It is authentically reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not drink from gold vessels or eat from their dishes, for they are for them…”