Golden rolled-gold buttons, watch chains, iron rings, and the ruling on buttons and rings of mixed metals

Question

What is the Shari‘a ruling on the golden-coloured rolled-gold buttons (a base metal covered with a thin layer of gold) that are sold in the market nowadays? Also, what is the ruling on golden watch chains? Will these metals be counted among iron and the like or not? If so, what is the meaning of the issue that is explicitly written in the books of fiqh, for example in “al-Hidaya” and others, that using buttons and the like of iron (hadid) and similar metals is makruh?

Answer

A button that is sewn into the garment is subordinate to the garment (tabi‘ al-thawb); in “al-Durr al-Mukhtar” buttons of gold are written to be permissible; an iron ring is makruh. Otherwise, regarding the reality of rolled gold, let inquiry be made of those people who have experience of it: they will be able to say whether it is gold, or iron, or mixed.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.