Death is Enough of a Reminder Ring

When the Prophet of Islam (God bless him and give him peace) began sending letters to heads of state, his Companions told him he needed a signet ring to seal the letters or else they wouldn’t be accepted as official diplomatic correspondences. They reminded him that this was the standard protocol at the time. Upon hearing this council, he had a silver signet ring made with the words written in Arabic “Muhammad the Messenger of God.” Thus began the story of signet rings in Islam. While Muslims know this story well enough, it also serves as a reminder that signet rings were a thing worn and used by heads of governments, nobility, scholars for as long as history has been recorded. We even have stories of the ancient Prophets and philosophers wearing them as well. While the signet ring became a sunna act and used to sign letters, it quickly developed into a practical way to carry a reminder for the one wearing it. Ibn Rajab (d.795/1393) wrote a treatise dedicated to the signet ring and des