Fatwa on the Permissibility of Nail Polish - Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl

In an excerpt from the Usuli Institute Ramadan Q&A with Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl on 16 May 2020, Dr. Abou El Fadl answers the following question regarding the permissibility of wearing nail polish and prayer:
"This may not be the most pressing question today but it is important to me and to so many women. I've read and heard many different responses to this that I don't know what to believe. My question is regarding the permissibility of nail polish and prayer. Does it matter if it’s artificial or just a paint? I’ve heard some say that if someone has polish on (prior to ablution), one should still make ablution and pray without necessarily having to remove it while others have went as far as to say that prayer is completely rejected if one has nail polish on prior to performing ablution. I know that Muslim businesses are capitalizing on this idea of breathable polish. Does it matter if it is breathable but not permeable. Is there something to this concept?! I am asking for myself and for my friends who feel at times, a little anxious to be seen with manicured nails in muslim spaces especially in the mosque."
To see the full Q&A, see:
Part 1: bit.ly/UsuliPt1RamQA51620
Part 2: bit.ly/UsuliPt2RamQA51620
For more, visit www.usuli.org!

[@miriamezzani4037]

“Stop bothering women “- best thing I’ve heard in a long time!

[@ThePalestinePod]

“We are responsible because we alienated them from minutiae.” This is the TRUTH!

[@darksoulz8678]

Thank you sheik before in my Islamic school in 🇨🇦 we got expelled or suspended and all kinds of troubles made to feel guilty Shameful sinful Satan etc cause of forgetting to remove nail polish to pray dhuhr such past oof rlly happy I came across someone like u alhamdullilah

[@sajjadc9068]

Thank you and God bless Dr. Abou El Fadl. This is the type of higher order thinking we need.

[@gabrielaaminkhoriati2263]

We could go on making things complicated forever. Can we make wudu if we oil our hair? The oil doesn't mix with water so the water will not reach our hair and scalp. Can we make wudu if we used skin products such as sunblocker or should we completely wash our face with soap before making wudu? Idk just engaging so the vieo will reach more people.

[@abdur-rahmansyed2915]

Very thoughtful analysis, masha'Allah. May Allah reward KAEF for his ijtihad, for his empathy for Muslim women and youth, and for his concern for the crises confronting the ummah today. I thought the last line was not given much thought, however--i.e., don't buy expensive nail polish that claims to solve a problem with regular nail polish. There are several problems with this critique. (1) The people "who create the problem" are not the same as the people "who create the solution and profit from it". (2) The reason niche products (including halal alternatives to a variety of mainstream products) are expensive is because they are not mass produced and mass marketed, making them expensive to make (in other words, higher prices do not translate to higher profits). (3) For the people who are justifiably concerned with regular nail polish because of the majority opinion against it, it is worth paying the higher price.

[@fatoumfatoumeh]

Jazakallah khair sheikh. I’ve always found this confusing, because the Prophet peace be upon him used to do Wudhoo by rubbing water over his socks/shoes, and also rubbing water over his turban, without taking them off. It is easier to take those off than to take off nail polish, and it’s not like we wear them every day. Also there are a minority of people who wear polish to prevent biting their nails or to help heal nail fungus, so it’s not necessarily for vanity reasons. So I just wonder about this since water doesn’t penetrate socks/shoes either or penetrate the turban.

[@offline__]

Where did he not take off his turban, is it a hadith or what? If it is please can you quote it?

[@dturkman]

Wow, this guy is so on target. Thank you for speaking up on what matters (and I’m not talking about the polish directly, ha!).

[@dgantt951]

a voice of reason , totally refreshing thank you

[@syedsharjeelaskari2161]

This is a very wise answer. May Allah bless you and your family Dr. Khaled Abou El fadl

[@yusuffulat6954]

Wow so refreshing to hear this take! thank you

[@mallorystewart6125]

"Leave women alone". That's the main issue. It has become so hard being a muslim woman. I'm still fighting to stay muslim, but to speak the trurh, I feel so oppressed, and not because of nail polish. I've suffered all kinds of humiliation from muslims, including my husband, just because as a muslim woman I don't havr the same rights as men. They proved me I'm not worthing as a woman. They proved me my feelings as a woman are not important in Shari'a and Fiqh. Just submit and suffer in silence.

[@TheUsuliInstitute]

Watch the Project Illumine Qur'anic Commentaries. They will change your outlook completely and reassure your worth...and much, much more.

[@mallorystewart6125]

@@TheUsuliInstitute thank you so much, baraka Allahu fikum

[@soumasarayji7781]

Thank you for being open minded 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@shaheenjunaid3161]

Thank you SO MUCH

[@cryptowizard9578]

Perfect ❤️

[@NoNames824]

May Allah guide this man! Amin!

[@dianaalghoul4667]

Salam, does the same principle apply to ghusul?

[@bananafloat27]

Amen

[@Tlk0826]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@SaimaZuberi]

Aunties become rude when they see no socks or ankles showing! And Uncles get bothered just by seeing women at the mosques. They literally comment why women can't just pray at home instead of ruining their namaz!

[@muneebahmad7729]

mosques are necessary for women because they don't feel connected and committed to their faith which should be first priority dressing modestly or in actual hijab is a gradual process on which they can work according to their capacity

[@amayoka]

I visited a new mosque and didn't know where to enter the women's section so I was standing there looking lost. The man at the door came to ask why I was there, it was the time for prayer. Wasn't it clear?

[@lifechoices6643]

Is this an issue worth bothering about? why don't we simply use our God given reason and be accountable for that?

[@aqibjavaid5291]

These questions are a result of typical paranoi. Getting deeper and deeper into details is discouraged by Quran in a story of Moses and Jews.

[@elissa8242]

Good point!

[@strangersprison]

I mean is it worth the doubt? I don’t understand y risk it? It’s so petty in the grand scope of things, I’m sorry.

[@rimemahdi1218]

Are you a man or a woman?

[@amandalehtinen3381]

It’s not petty. This discussion is about a bigger concept. That concept is that many Muslims get pedantic about small things that have no mention/evidence in the Quran or Hadith. Nails is just one example. But there are so many others too