Applying nail polish claimed to be non-waterproof

10-5-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

Asalamo Alaykum my daughter -who is 15 years old- heard about a new nail polish that is supposedly water permeable. This nail polish looks and feels exactly like the regular kind. A sheikh named Islam web did some testing to the product to see if it allows water to reach the nails, and he said it does, so my daughter and a lot of her friends took this as a yes and they have the nail polish on all the time. I am afraid that this sheikh didn't do enugh research. Please let me know if you have any idea about the subject. Jazakum Allahu Khayran
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

 

We in Islamweb.net have already issued Fataawa 83035 and 84033 about the ruling of nail polish and whether or not ablution is valid while applying it. We should mention here that we have not tested a product for nail polishing, and we mention this here so that people would not attribute to us what we did not say. This is because you mentioned in your question one of the Shaykhs whose name is Islamweb; indeed such a name is not given to individuals; rather, this is the name of our website Islamweb.net; so we would like to remove the confusion so that people would not attribute such a lie to us.

Indeed, we have previously been asked about a product for nail polishing as the company that produces it claimed that it does not prevent the water from reaching the nail; thereupon we issued a Fatwa stating that we cannot give a ruling about such a product as we have not seen it and we do not know what it really is. However, the following two matters should be mentioned:

1- The producing company saying that a Muslim woman does not need to remove the nail polish when performing ablution for each prayer should not be taken into account. This is because it is believed that the owners of the company are most predominantly thought to be non-Muslims and the statements of a non-Muslim regarding Sharee'ah issues are not accepted as stated by the jurists may Allaah have mercy upon them.

2- It is an obligation to wash the fingers (including the nails) when performing ablution; washing is to make water run on the organ. So, merely moistening or steaming the nails is not enough without making water run on them.

Allaah Knows best.

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