Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.
Beautiful hands and nails are the dream of every woman because after face and hair these two are the things which they put on their list to care for. Nail polish has become a significant part of women’s fashion and nail care. Most women like to put it on. So, can Muslim women put on nail polish?
Although neither the Quran nor any early sources of Islamic law address the issue of nail polish, the consensus among the Islamic scholars and mainstream Muslim community is that praying with nail polish on is not halal (permissible) because the waterproof barrier it creates on nails prevents the pre-prayer ritual of wudhu’ (ablution) from being completed.
One of the conditions of tahaarah (purification) being valid is that the water must touch the skin. If there is any barrier such as grease, paint, wax or glue that prevents water reaching the skin, then the tahaarah is not valid and prayers offered in those cases are not valid.
Rasulullah, Shalallahu ‘alaihi Wasallam, said to Abu Dharr Radhiallahu ‘anhu: “If you find water, then let it touch your skin, for that is good.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (332); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Imam al-Shaafa’i Rahimahullah said:
If there is on him any mastic or anything thick that will prevent the water from reaching the skin, his washing of that part for wudhu’ is not valid, unless he removes it or removes enough so that he knows that there is no barrier to the water touching the skin.
Al-Nawawi Rahimahullah said:
If there is wax, dough, henna and the like on one of his limbs, which prevents water from reaching any part of it, then his tahaarah is not valid, whether the amount is large or small. If there are traces of henna and its colour left on the hand, without there being any solid material left, or elsewhere, or traces of liquid grease whereby water flows over the limb but does not stay there, his tahaarah is valid. Al-Majmoo’ (1/529).
Nail polish is considered inconsistent with wudhu’ because of the physical layer it creates over the nails. This prevents water from cleansing the nails, which is a requirement for wudhu’. Therefore, for this reason, some Muslim women put nail polish on after finishing the last prayer of the day before going out, and then take it off again before dawn prayers.
Some Islamic scholars said it is lawful to pray with nail polish if the woman has put it on after making Wudhu’ provided that the polish itself does not contain anything impure or forbidden by Sharia.
I was surprised when I read in Arab News about a new “breathable” nail polish by a Polish company, Inglot.
The company and some Muslims say the polish is the first of its kind because it lets air and moisture pass through to the nail. A craze has built up around it with Muslim women in recent months after an Islamic scholar in the United States tested its permeability and published an article saying that, in his view, it complies with Muslim law.
A “breathable” nail polish created as a less harmful alternative to regular nail varnish has become a surprise hit among Muslim women. The polish looks trendy, and — making it interesting to Muslim women — it is said to be halal (allowed by Islamic law) and provides no obstacle for women who want to complete their wudhu’ (ablution) before the daily prayers.
The news of Inglot’s breathable polish has in recent months spread quickly from woman to woman and over the Internet. It also has given Inglot a boost in sales of the product, called O2M, for oxygen and moisture.
Umar, the director of Education and Outreach with the Islamic Institute of Orange County in California, said he decided to study the matter because Muslim women had already been discussing the product in online forums. There was uncertainty over whether it would be ritually compliant, and they weren’t getting any answers.
So it’s not clear if all Islamic scholars would agree on O2M’s permissibility, or on whether wearing nail polish at all is compatible with Muslim notions of modesty.
The mosque Noor Al-Islam’s Imam in Sharjah, Sheikh Ali Barakat, pointed out the conditions of validity of wudhu agreed by the majority of scholars. It is the removal of any substances that prevents water from reaching the body, he said. “If this product allows water to reach the nails then there is no harm in using it.”
Nevertheless, Fatima Al-Hamrani, Islamic Law instructor, said that the product should be prohibited because it encourages women to manifest in finery.
“Any finery acts do not require a fatwa (Islamic legal judgment) to permit it,” said Shaikh Ahmad Al-Qubaisi, a prominent UAE Islamic scholar.
“Whether it allows the passage of water or not, it is haram (forbidden by Islamic law). These inventions are circumventing the name of religion, and we should be aware of it, and more eager to implement the Sharia,” he said. (http://www.arabnews.com/news/449314)
May Allah always guide us on the right path. Allah knows The Best