Nails & Piercings - For Muslims

Bismillah.

In the Qur'an (5:6) Allah (swt) instructs us to perform wudu. It reads: “O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your hands to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles.” 

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ

The Arabic word for "your hands" is أَيْدِيكُم and the hands include the fingernails. According to Hanafi Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence based on the Hanafi school of thought), for wudu to be valid the water must touch all portions of the required body part. This means when we wash over our hands, for the purpose of wudu, the water has to touch the full surface area of each hand which includes the nail beds. 

If there is anything on the body that acts as a barrier preventing water from touching the required parts then that body part or limb hasn't been washed. If any part is left improperly washed this can invalidate wudu. 

Nail Polish

The issue with nail polish is that it creates a barrier that prevents water from thoroughly reaching the bed of the nails.

Someone has asked about halal nail polish. As it pertains to wudu and prayer, I don't trust any nail polish labeled halal. I simply don't think the risk of having invalid wudu is worth it. If a woman really wants to wear polish she should consider wearing it when having her menses or she can simply color her nails with henna, jagua or any natural dye that doesn't create a barrier.

One of the first things we will be questioned about is our prayers. And valid wudu is a pre-requisite to our 5 daily prayers. Anything that could possibly jeopardize the validity of our prayers simply isn't worth it.

Press-On Nails

If the press-on nails create a barrier that prevents water from thoroughly reaching the bed of the natural nails then the press-on nails should be removed for wudhu and ghusl.

Lengthy Natural Nails

☆☆☆Sunan an-Nasa'i - hadith 14☆☆☆

Anas bin Malik said: "A time limit was set for us, by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), regarding trimming the mustache, clipping the nails and shaving the pubes; we were not to leave that for more than forty days," on one occasion he said: "Forty nights.” [Grade: Sahih]

This hadith speaks towards grooming ourselves and maintaining the superfluous growths of the body to not allow them to go unkept nor unmaintained. 

The word haraam means strictly forbidden so engaging in a haraam action would be sinful. Islam makes it very clear what is considered haraam. We have to be very careful not to label an action as haraam that Allah has not labeled as haraam.

Having lengthy natural nails is not haraam. Having lengthy natural nails is not a sin. When something is haraam (strictly forbidden) we will have clear sound evidence. The evidence will be from the Qur'an and/or authentic ahadith and/or fiqh.

Per certain schools of thought, lengthy natural nails may fall under the category of ‘makrooh’. A makrooh action is something that is frowned upon. It is important to understand that makrooh (frowned upon) is not synonymous with haraam (strictly forbidden).

Lengthy natural nails do not invalidate wudhu nor ghusl as long as there is nothing added to them that would create an impermeable barrier to water. There are some people, such as myself, who have nails that grow at a fairly quick rate.

I've been asked how I grow them or if it is genetics. It is genetics. Many of my parents and grandparents have strong nails and can/could grow them long, if they desired to do so. I do not go to any special lengths to grow my nails. They grow on their own though I am keen on cleaning, grooming, and shortening them. If they grow too long they can become uncomfortable to deal with so I trim/clip them, as needed.

Surprisingly, I noticed that my daily supplements (iron and multivitamins) seemed to assist with the overall health and strength of my nails but these were never the reasons for taking the supplements I use. I started taking supplements for my overall wellness and because I may be prone to anemia. 

The caution regarding growing nails is in the arena of cleanliness as we are encouraged to not allow nails to be unclean nor unkept. The above hadith encourages us to clip/trim the nails but there is nothing that alludes to clipping the nails off completely. The word “clip” can refer to regular trimming and proper maintenance. As always, Allah knows best.

Piercings

The document linked below covers the topic of Piercings. If you have questions please take time to read it.

https://www.amjaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2013-1-piercing.pdf

Resources

Here are other resources if you'd like to read more on this topic:

Resource 1 (Tafsir): https://quran.com/al-maidah/6

*Please click on Tafsir and select Ibn Kathir.

Resource 2 (Hadith): Some Companions of the Prophet narrated: The Prophet (ﷺ) saw a person offering prayer, and on the back of his foot a small part equal to the space of a dirham remained unwashed; the water did not reach it. The Prophet (ﷺ) commanded him to repeat the ablution and prayer. [Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 1, Hadith 175]

Resource 3 (Hanafi Fiqh Manual): https://www.kalamullah.com/mukhrasar-al-qudri.html 

*To start, please read the section titled Taharah (purification).

Resource 4 (Fatwa):

Fatawa Al-Lajnah Ad-Da’imah (5/218): 

“If the colour is impermeable, then wudu is not valid unless it is removed before doing wudu . If it is not impermeable, then wudu is valid, as is the case with henna.” 

Resource 5 (IslamQ&A):

https://islamqa.info/en/answers/103738/is-wudu-valid-with-nail-polish-on