Why gold is prohibited for men..
With regard to this particular question we say:
Allaah, may He be glorified, has created mankind and made them
of two genders, male and female, and He has given each of them
its own characteristics which are suited to the role that each of
them has to play in this life. Men have roles and tasks that
women cannot do, and women have roles and tasks that men
cannot do.
If that is the case, then it is perfectly wise to prepare each gender
in a way that helps them to play the role that is required of them.
It is well known that gold is something with which people adorn
and beautify themselves, but a man is not meant to do this, i.e.,
he is not a person who may be perfected by means of adding
something, rather a man is perfect in and of himself, because of
his manhood, so he has no need to adorn himself for some one
else that he may like, unlike women. A woman needs to adorn
herself so as to make herself attractive to her husband, thus
creating a bond between her and her husband. Hence it
permissible for a woman to adorn herself with gold and other
things, so that the man will be attracted to her and seek her, and
the purpose of marriage will be achieved, which is the
propagation of the human species. Being brought up with
adornments and softness is only appropriate for women; as for
men, it is something blameworthy in their case. Hence Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“(Like they then for Allaah) a creature who is brought up in
adornments (wearing silk and gold ornaments, i.e. women), and
who in dispute cannot make herself clear?”
[al-Zukhruf 43:18]
This is summary of what the scholars have said in response to this
question, as was mentioned by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (11/60).
Because gold and adorning oneself with it are things that are
suited to the nature of women and the role for which they have
been created, it is obviously wise for it to be forbidden for men
to imitate women in that. The great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said in I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een (2/109)
:
Similarly the prohibition on gold and silk for men is decreed so as
to block the means that may lead to men imitating women. End
quote.
One of the strange things that we see nowadays is many young
men adorning themselves by wearing gold chains and the like,
and they even put makeup on their faces. This is contrary to the
fitrah (sound human nature) and to the masculinity and resolve
which should be the characteristics of men. Hence you will not
find any wise and serious man doing that, rather they are either
perverts or those who are lacking in character, time-wasters who
are trying to fill the gaps in their character or fill their time by
doing that.
And Allaah knows best.