My Outlook Regarding The Misconception of Nail Polish Making Ones Wudu Incomplete
A common issue that arises between Muslim girls, at school, in the workplace, and out in public is that nail polish can't be worn when a girl has to pray Salat. Different scholars and sects have a conflicting stance on this subject, but my opinion is that 'No, nail polish does not impact one's wudu'. Before the comment section fills up with an outpour of commentors stating otherwise, let me just outline the reasons why I take this stance on the subject.
WHY IS IT SEEN AS A BARRIER?
For one to understand the reason that nail polish makes ones Wudu incomplete, we must understand why this claim has been made. For ones Wudu to be complete, water must reach all the parts of our body which are involved (in Wudu), to remove the dirt that has built up in those parts or any perspiration that may come from the human body. Most scholars claim that with nail polish on, the water isn't reaching our nails, making our Wudu incomplete.
BUT WAIT...
...if water must reach every part of our body that is involved in Wudu, then why is our Wudu still valid if we have socks on? If we perform Wudu and put our socks on, then our socks act as a barrier between our feet and dirt. Then why isn't the same claim made for nail polish?
PROOF
From my knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith, I can honestly say that there is no Hadith that states the invalidity of Wudu with nail polish on our nails. However, the one Hadith that many like to use to prove that indeed we can't pray with nail polish on is:
"If you find water, then let it touch your skin, for that is good." -Narrated by Abu Daud
But once again let me go back to the point I made earlier. What about socks? Are those not a barrier, preventing water from touching our skin?
PRACTICALITY IN ISLAM
Islam is a practical religion. It doesn't want to make our life difficult, rather fill it with ease. So why would Allah make women remove their nail polish 5 times a day to pray? He wouldn't. The same goes for makeup, we are allowed to do Wudu and put on makeup, and pray all day if our Wudu is still valid. We aren't forced to remove that makeup and reapply it 5 times a day.
NAILS
We must remember that nail polish is applied to our nails, which are already dead. So in fact, the passing of water to all the other parts of our body is permissible to that degree, but the nail does not matter. Adding nail polish to something that is already dead, doesn't make it any cleaner. The cleanliness is guaranteed with nail polish in that, washing the nail polish becomes the same as washing the nails.
EXPLAINING IT SIMPLY TO SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT AGREE
"The reason that you believe that nail polish makes one's Wudu invalid is because nail polish doesn't allow water to seep through. Right? If you think of it in that sense, then nothing should be able to seep through. Right? Then how can dirt seep through? If dirt isn't getting through the nail polish, to the nail, then the need for Wudu doesn't arise. So if our hands are already cleaned, and we have completed our Wudu prior to applying nail polish, then shouldn't the nail polish act as a barrier, preventing dirt from going through? Meaning, that the need for Wudu shouldn't arise, since the nail remains clean and our Wudu, valid."
Unfortunately, these things are given far more importance than they need to be given. Such things were never 'wrong' during the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), so they shouldn't be seen as wrong today. Even with nail polish, when the whole hand is washed, your purpose of Wudu is achieved.
Unfortunately, these things are given far more importance than they need to be given. Such things were never 'wrong' during the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), so they shouldn't be seen as wrong today. Even with nail polish, when the whole hand is washed, your purpose of Wudu is achieved.
This is what Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (ra) (the fourth successor of the Promised Messiah (as)) replied to the question stated above:
Take Care, Allah Hafiz
4 comments
The socks argument sounds very reasonable. I have seen pictures of Afghans praying with their shoes on, maybe it is allowed during war time. Most people forget that it is the Niyat or intention that matters. They make Islam a difficult religion to practice through their extreme interpretations.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about Islam not being a difficult religion is absolutely right. However, I would beg to differ on your argument. Socks and nail polish serve two completely different purposes. While sock are worn to protect feet and are classified as garments, nail polish on the other hand is purely ornamental. There are definitely many hadiths that talk about socks or wearing of shoes. These hadiths say that a clean sock worn after wudhu can be just wiped over for the next salah (only 2 prayer in total). If the socks are soiled by anything considered impure or, if I'm not wrong, you wore them to the bathroom while relieving yourself then you must perform wudhu. About shoes and other wudhu related exceptions, it is almost always in a situation where removing shoes is not possible (example praying on an open ground) or when you do not have access to water and perform tayammum instead (wudhu without water). Performing wudhu as prescribed is always highly preferred unless you are unable to do so. Another point I would like to highlight is that socks don't prevent the water from touching your skin. It is a fabric, even if you lightly moisten it, someone of the moisture makes it to your skin. This is not the case with nail polish. One of the primary argument about nail polish is the ingredient list. Most people do not spend the time to check if there are ingredients that are haram (forbidden). All these issues with nail polish have already been over come now. With new polish recipes that allow water to seep through without destroying your manicure and all this while using halal ingredients. While Islam encourages discussion, regardless of our level of piousness, we cannot claim our personal opinions to be in line with what the Qur'an or hadiths say without backing them up with authentic anecdotes from either the Qur'an or hadith. As humans are opinions are always influenced by our personal ideology, no matter the amount of religious knowledge we hold. Regardless, we are to be respectful of each other whether our opinions match or not, for in the end it is not a human but God that decides our final fate. ☮️
ReplyDeleteSister, very informative article. I didn't think of this until my wife brought it to my attention. I was wondering what the reason is behind this and I see it now and I still have a few questions in this regard:
ReplyDelete1) Not all scholars agree the socks can be wiped over in wudu. Notably all the Shia ulema do not allow this. So without this reference, how do we explain permissibility of wudu over nail polish?
2) Islam is a practical religion. And there are practical answers to this issue, the easiest is to not wear nail polish. But also, just because something is hard does not mean we do not do it because Islam is practical. Jihad is hard and not practical, but when Ayatollah Sistani called for jihad against ISIS in Iraq, men had to go for it. They could not say that Islam is practical so we will not go...
3) Dirt and dirt touching the skin is not what makes one need to do wudu. Wudu is broken when we use toilet, when we sleep, etc. These have nothing to do with nail and dirt going through the nail to the skin underneath, so why will your simple argument at the end work...?
Your point 3 is the answer to all your points. Wudu is not about physical purity, at all. It's about spiritual purity. Because if you don't find water, or if you think using water will harm you, you must use soil or dust to perform wudu. It's entirely about acting on the order of Allah. Whether or not you've nail polish on, if Allah calls you saying: hey, wash your hands, you do it...
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