Question:
Assalamualaikum. Is it permissible for a man to wear a t-shirt which fabric is blended with silk? Hope for an explanation. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Waalaikumussalam w.b.t,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the prophet Muhammad PBUH, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
- The ruling of men wearing clothes made of 100% silk thread is haram.
- It is haram for men to wear clothes blended with silk where the silk blend is more (50% more) than other fabric materials.
- It is permissible for men to wear silk clothes if the blend of silk and other materials are at the same percentage (50%) or the silk blend is less than 50%.
- An exception is given to little boys in wearing silk and rukhsah (facilitation) is given upon the men on exigent (darurat) and dire need situations like skin diseases.
Explanation
The ruling of men wearing silk clothing is haram. This is based on the saying of the Prophet PBUH:
أُحِلَّ الذَّهَبُ وَالْحَرِيرُ لإِنَاثِ أُمَّتِي وَحُرِّمَ عَلَى ذُكُورِهَا
"Gold and silk have been permitted for the females of my Ummah, and forbidden to the males."
Sunan al-Nasi’e (5163)
Ruslan al-Ramli al-Maqdisi al-Syafi’e states:
وخالص القز أو الحرير أو غالبا إلا على الصغير
“(It is prohibited upon men) to wear pure silk or part-silk which blend is more than other materials except for little boys”.
يحرم عل الرجال أو الخنثى أستعمال (وخالص القز أو الحرير) من عطف العام عل الخاص فأو بمعنى الواو إذا كان خالصا أو غالبا أي مما غالبه من القز والخير لخبر لا تلبسوا الحرير والديباج بخلاف ما إذا كان غيره أكثر أو استويا وزنا فلا يحرم لأنه لا يسمى ثوب حرير والأصل الحل ويجوز لبسه لضرورة كفجأة حرب إذا لم يجد غيره ولحاجة كحكة وقمل إلا على الصغير أي ويحل للولي إلباس الصبي ولو مميزا الحرير.
It is prohibited for men and khunsa to wear pure or part-silk. If the pure silk or silk blend is more (dominant) from the other mixture in the fabric, they (men and khunsa) are prohibited from wearing silk and dibaj (one type of silk). It is different when the other material in the fabric is more or at the same percentage then it is not haram because it is not named as silk clothes. Next, wearing silk is only permissible in exigent (darurat) situations like having no other clothes than the silk one and in a needy situation like those who experience skin diseases. Little boys are permissible to wear silk and his guardian is permissible to make him wear such clothes even he has reached the mumayyiz age. (See: Ghayah al-Bayan Fi Syarh Zubad Ibn Ruslan, 183)
Exception is for men with skin diseases based on a hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik RA:
رَخَّصَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِلزُّبَيْرِ وَعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ فِي لُبْسِ الْحَرِيرِ لِحِكَّةٍ بِهِمَا
The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed Az-Zubair and `Abdur-Rahman to wear silk because they were suffering from an itch.
Sahih al-Bukhari (5829) and Sahih Muslim (2076)
When commenting on the above hadith, Ibn Hajar cited the opinion of al-Thabari:
قَالَ الطَّبَرِيُّ : فِيهِ دَلَالَة عَلَى أَنَّ النَّهْي عَنْ لُبْس الْحَرِير لَا يَدْخُل فِيهِ مَنْ كَانَتْ بِهِ عِلَّة يُخَفِّفهَا لُبْس الْحَرِير
Al-Thabari Rahimahullah stated the dalil of a hadith which shows the prohibition of men wearing silk does not include those with skin diseases which may reduce only by wearing silk. (Refer: Fath al-Bari, 10/295)
Coming back to the question presented, if the t-shirt is a blend of silk of the same amount (50%) with other materials or it is less than 50%, then the clothes is permissible to be worn by men. Conversely, if the silk blend is 50% more than other materials, then the t-shirt is haram to be worn by men. Hence, wearers especially men should always be alert and make sure what they buy is not blended with silk for more than 50%.
For additional information, refer our article Irsyad al-Fatwa: Using Praying Mat Made of Silk for Men: https://muftiwp.gov.my/artikel/irsyad-fatwa/irsyad-fatwa-umum/4367-irsyad-al-fatwa-siri-ke-469-menggunakan-sejadah-daripada-sutera-bagi-lelaki
Closing
Based on the arguments presented, it is permissible for men to wear clothes which fabrics are blended with silk if the blend is 50%, the same as the mixture of other materials or the silk blend is less than 50%. Conversely, it is haram for men to wear silk if its mixture is 50% more than other blends. While an exception is for little boys to wear silk and rukhsah (facilitation) is given to men with skin diseases.