Analyzing, Why nail polish is haram?

Some times for Muslim Women is difficult( to not say hard ) to accept what Islam orders mostly when it comes to make-up & fashion, with all the influence from the media showing exuberant women working sexy cloths, fake nails, fake hair, fake eye lash...the list is endless. We assume a position where we think that because "others" do it then is "not too bad" if we do it too.

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Then we adopt an attitude where we try to be "Different" and put in practice our own believes and thoughts, forgetting that Islam and the Qur’an are the only TRUE guides that we should follow because Allah(swt) sent the Qur'an for all mankind, so we can read and learn what is harm for us and what is better for all of us.

We should also always remember that "Islam orders only what is beautiful and prohibits only that which is ugly".

As a woman I was "Addicted" to nail polish, I used to have very long nails and paint them every day with different color, most of the times the color matching my cloths, I had a huge collection with all the colors you can imagine of nail polish, then I went to college and spend a lot of the time on the laboratories, Long nails wasn't an option anymore, it was a must keep our nails as short as possible, then , with the time I get used to it and no longer I was just fine with my not painted short nails, I wasn't Muslim at this time but I have to confess that sometimes looking at my friends that weren’t studying Science with their gorgeous manicure, I sometimes feel jealous, so I can understand what a Muslim woman feels when you see all this new trends in nail polish and nail ornaments.


So, starting with the question of Why?
Why is nail polish haram?
Well the answer according to Islam city Nail polish as a product is not Haram.

However, there are two issues you should know about nail polish:

1-A woman can pray with nail polish, however, when she takes her
Ablution, she should have it off, otherwise, both her ablution and her
Prayers don’t become valid. However, if she removes the nail polish,
Takes her ablution, and then puts the nail polish back, then she can
Pray with it.

2 -As to the second issue, nail polish is an ornament.
Therefore, like all other ornaments, it cannot be worn in public in the
Presence of the opposite sex (men).

3 - A woman can only have it in front of
Her husband, children, and all other women or men who are her Mahrams
(Those she can never marry like her father, uncle, etc.). If a woman
Really wants to put nail polish and go out, then she should cover her hands with gloves. Something I'm sure you don't want to do.

Now let's talk about Ablution with nail polish and why the rule about wiping over the sock in wudoo' can’t be applied to Nail Polish.

Nail polish and Ablution

Islam is the religion of cleanliness and purity. That is why every Muslim is ordered to be very clean, in body, in apparel and in regard to the place of standing for prayer. Ablution is a means of cleaning the body from what the Shari'ah terms as hadith al-asghar (the smaller impurities) although such a form of impurity is not related to the existence of physical impurity on the body, If a wife wants to put on nail polish to please her husband, after she does ablution, the ablution is valid,

If however, a woman applies
Nail polish in order to appear attractive in
front of others, (e.g. at work)
That is not accepted nor allowed

, If she applied the nail polish after ablution, the nail polish does not affect her ablution and she can make as such Salaah or other Ibadah (form of worship) which requires Wudhu (ablution) as she likes with that ablution.

If she loses her ablution, by any of the ways which nullify it and then needs to
renew it

, she must first remove the nail polish as it prevents the water from reaching the surface of the nails. The existence of such a polish will thus invalidate the ablution since it does not allow the water to reach the nails.

Lates trend in nail polish, Magnetic Polish, al most all the ingredients on it are haram!

Some scholars accept a minority opinion which has been presented by some scholars that says if the nail polish is applied after ablution; the ablution may be subsequently renewed, when necessary, without removing the nail polish. However the more correct and conscientious way is to remove the nail polish.

The above article was edited by Ustaaz Ahmed Fazel Ebrahim for the English to make full sense to a wider readership. The latter view expressed by some scholars seems to emanate from the Islamic ruling pertaining to the use of leather and other special types of socks upon which ablution is allowed provided that the feet were previously washed during wudhu and the socks have not been thereafter removed while the person who wore it had nullified his ablution by any factors that nullify it, Such an analyses is completely incorrect since,

The allowance of wiping wet hands over such socks is given in the hadith and Cannot be extend to the case of finger nails because although the leather and Other prescribed type of socks were not worn due to dire necessity, and the
Possibility exists to extend the ruling to cutex and nail polish, which is also Not worn due to medical need but, rather, for the sake of Beauty
, yet the Shari'ah had not prescribed the same ruling to the case of anything which covers the surface of the human body which has to be washed during wudhu (ablution) and ghusl (bathing) unless if such an area was covered by bandage, plaster or a cast due to medical need, It thus follows that if any other area which has to be washed during ablution or ghusl, is covered without a medical need, then the object or substance, which prevents the water from reaching the surface of the limb which has to be washed, must be removed.

So as you can see, in conclusion, Nail polish as a product is not haram, although some of them are made with not halal ingredients, then those are haram. If you want to use nail polish you can perform ablution first then apply it, but we have seen now how un-practical it will be, I mean, if you lose your ablution for any of the sircunsatance it could be lost, then you will have to take it off and perform ablution again, with 5 prayers every day I really doubt you will keep going with this, and the reward of performing our prayers on time is greatest than colored nails.

We should accept what Allah (swt) order us, because without no doubt he knows what is better for us.

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