اقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق

The effect of permeable nail polish on the validity of wudu


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Allah says in Quran:

" يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ "

"O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms..."

Surah maida, ayat - 6.

۩ Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr: "Once the Prophet (ﷺ) remained behind us in a journey. He joined us while we were performing ablution for the prayer which was over-due. We were just passing wet hands over our feet (and not washing them properly) so the Prophet (ﷺ) addressed us in a loud voice and said twice or thrice:

"Save your heels from the fire."

Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Knowledge, hadith- 60.

۩ Similarly in Sahih al Bukhari, kitab al wuzu, in the chapter: The washing of heels during ablution, It is reported from Ibn Seereen (Tabayeen) that "Whenever he used to perform ablution he used to wash the part of his finger where he use to wear ring." This was for the reason of not leaving any part of the finger dry because to leave any part dry on which ablution is performed is not correct.

۩ Imam al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

وإن كان عليه عِلْكٌ ، أو شيء ثخين ، فيمنع الماء أن يصل إلى الجلد : لم يُجْزِهِ وضوءُهُ ذلك العضوَ حتى يُزيلَ عنه ذلك ، أو يُزيلَ منه ما يعلم أن الماء قد ماسَّ معه الجلدَ كُلَّه ، لا حائل دونه" انتهى

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 wudoo’ 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. End quote. 

Al-Umm (1/44). 

۩ Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

إذا كان على بعض أعضائه شمع ، أو عجين ، أو حنَّاء ، وأشباه ذلك ، فمنع وصول الماء إلى شيء من العضو : لم تصح طهارته ، سواء كثر ذلك أم قل ، ولو بقي على اليد وغيرها أثر الحناء ولونه دون عينه أو أثر دهن مائع بحيث يمس الماء بشرة العضو ويجري عليها لكن لا يثبت : صحت طهارته" انتهى

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. End quote. 

Al-Majmoo’ (1/529). 

۩ Shaykh Saleh al Munajjid said:

"If the nail polish – whatever it is called or however it is manufactured – is simply a dye or colour, with no substance, in the sense that it does not form a separate layer over the nail, then this does not prevent water reaching the nails, hence wudoo’ is valid if done whilst wearing it and it does not have to be removed. 

But if it forms a layer that prevents water from reaching the nails, then it must be removed before doing wudoo’, because one of the conditions of wudoo’ being valid is that the water must reach all of the part of the body that is being washed and must touch it directly with no barrier in between. 

If it is only moisture, that is not sufficient for wudoo’ to be valid, because one of the conditions of the validity of washing any part of the body in wudoo’ is that water should be able to flow over it, and it cannot be merely wiped with something damp. It is not permissible to deliberately omit even the smallest part of the limb and not let water reach it."

source: https://islamqa.info/en/202971

So the summary of the topic is that if you are using that nail polish which doesnot prevents water to reach the nails then it is permitted to perform ablution without removing it. But if you are using that nail polish which prevents water to reach the nails then you have to remove it before performing ablution. And if you are not sure about the nail polish you are using that does it prevents water to reach nails or not then to be on safe side you should remove your nail polish before performing wudu.

And there is no damage if you wear nail polish after wudu or if you wear nail polish during prayer until you have performed the wudu properly as discussed above.

And Allaah knows best.

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