for men. In the narration reported from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever wears it in this world will not wear it in the Hereafter,” meaning that if a man clothes himself in silk here, he will be deprived of it there. This threat shows that wearing silk is one of the major sins, for every offence that incurs a warning of punishment in the Hereafter is, according to the scholars, counted among the grave sins.

There is no distinction whether the silk item is a shirt, trousers, a ghutra (head-scarf), a skullcap, or anything else that is worn; all of it is forbidden for men if it is made of silk. Men are not permitted to wear any silk whatsoever, whether a small amount or a large amount.

In the ḥadīth narrated by ʿAlī, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took gold and silk in his hands and said, “These two are prohibited for the males of my community and lawful for its females.” The reason is that a woman needs to beautify herself for her husband, so gold and silk were permitted for her, whereas a man has no such need, so wearing gold and silk has been forbidden for him.

Another narration from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) states, “Only those who have no share in the Hereafter wear it,” that is, they will have no portion there. Consequently some scholars held that a person who wears silk in this world will not enter Paradise—may Allah protect us—because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He has no share in the Hereafter,” meaning no allotted portion of it.