The Centre for Islamic Decrees & Doctrines

Is Wudu (Ablution) Valid When Wearing Nail Polish?

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:57:31 -0700

Introduction

Nail polish is a chemical substance that is applied to the nails and, after drying, forms a solid, visible layer. When this layer forms on the nails, a question naturally arises about whether water reaches the nails during wudū’ or ghusl or not. If water does not reach the nails, then wudū’ and ghusl would not be considered valid according to prevailing Islamic law.

Looking at both Sunni and Shia schools, three broad positions emerge within the Ahl al-Sunnah: a strict prohibitive stance, a moderately strict position (associated with Imam Tirmidhi’s approach), and a position of permissibility. The Shia maraji’ (sources of emulation) have also issued rulings, largely requiring the removal of impermeable nail polish before wudū’ .

However, no specific text from the Quran or Sunnah addresses nail polish directly, nor does any fatwā or ijma’ (consensus) from the classical jurists exist on the matter—since nail polish did not exist in their era. This is a modern invention requiring contemporary Ijtihād guided by existing principles.

The first thing to state is that nail polish in and of itself is permissible, on account of it being classified as an item of adornment and beautification (zīnah). Islam does not prohibit adornment in principle; indeed, the Quran states:

and

Secondly, in the absence of any explicit prohibition, the Quranic principle of ease in religion is also best considered here:

and

Islamic jurisprudence holds that Allah does not burden people with...Read More

Can the Quran Be Recited Without Wudu (ablution)?

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:01:31 -0700

Introduction

A common perception exists among Muslims that the Qurʾān cannot be recited without wudū’ (ritual ablution). This belief extends to recitation from memory, from digital devices, and from the physical manuscript (muṣḥaf). The DIA conclude that reciting the Qurʾān from memory without wudū’ is permissible, while touching the physical script of the Qurʾān without wudū’ is a matter of scholarly disagreement.

Screens on mobile phones, tablets, and computers display the Qurʾān as electronic light emissions, not as permanent ink on a physical page. This does not constitute a muṣḥaf in the jurisprudential sense. Accordingly, reading the Qurʾān from a digital device is equivalent to reciting from memory and does not attract the rules that apply to touching the physical script of the Qurʾān.

This position can be justified in the following ways.

1. The Prophet (ṣ) remembered Allah in all states. A well-known tradition in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim establishes that the engaged in the remembrance of Allah (dhikr) in every condition, including states of ritual impurity.¹ Since the Qurʾān falls within the broader category of dhikr, and the Prophet was not prevented from dhikr in any state, recitation of the Qurʾān is likewise not restricted to a state of purity.

2. Wudū’ is commanded only for ṣalāt and ṭawāf. When asked about performing...Read More

The Time of Maghrib in Islamic Law

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 08:08:11 -0700

Introduction

The determination of prayer timings is one of the fundamental aspects of Islamic ritual practice. Among the five daily prayers, the timing of Maghrib has generated significant discussions among Sunni and Shia scholars, particularly regarding the precise moment when it begins. While the Qur’an emphasises general human observations of natural phenomena rather than precise astronomical timings, later exegetical and jurisprudential efforts sought to clarify the starting time of Maghrib. This writing explores the Islamic legal discourse on the timing of Maghrib, incorporating both Sunni and Shia perspectives, and concludes that the commencement of Maghrib aligns with the physical sunset.

Qur’anic Verses

The Qur’an addresses prayer times in a general sense, linking them to observable natural events such as the movement of the sun and the onset of night. Several verses illustrate this approach:

The Qur’anic language avoids rigid definitions of astronomical moments, favouring subjective observation to determine prayer times. This flexibility highlights the practical nature of Islamic worship, allowing believers in diverse contexts to identify the appropriate times for prayer based on observable signs.

Early Disputes

The Muslim community has long debated on the issue of the exact starting point of Maghrib. Sunni legal schools generally viewed the physical setting...Read More

Qur’an and Ritual Impurity

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:41:22 -0700

Some Muslim scholars have imposed restrictions on women reciting and touching the Qur’an during the period of menstruation because they are in a state of ritual impurity. However, the Quran is accepted as a source of guidance, healing, and mercy.¹ For example, the verse,

underscores its purpose as a guiding light for humanity. Additionally, the Qur’an elucidates its role in providing clarity on life’s purpose, stating,

Therefore, the question arises: is Qur’anic guidance, healing, and mercy restricted only to those who are in a state of ritual purity? Is seeking guidance limited to individuals in a state of purity, or is the quest for guidance unconditional and open to all? Considering the numerous Qur’anic verses emphasising its role as source of wisdom, (16:44; 16:64; 16:89; 16:102; 38:29; 24:1; 69:12; 12:1, 41:44) it can be argued that placing restrictions on when an individual should recite or listen to the Qur’an and seek guidance from it would defeat this objective.

This may be understood from the fact that the Qur’an itself does not explicitly forbid recitation while in a state of menstruation. Although, some interpretations suggest that the verses

indicate that only those in a state of purity should touch or recite the Qur’an. However, many Muslim scholars have noted that the ‘Noble Qur'an in a protected book’ is actually referring to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ), in which everything is recorded without any omissions or alterations, as opposed to the Qur’an. In this case the ‘purified ones’ is referring to the angels since only they have access.² Thus, these verses have no bearing on the physical state of purity.

Nonetheless, there are two conflicting sets of traditions regarding the recitation of Qur’an whilst a person is in the state of menstruation or janāba. Tirmidhī reports,

However, this narration is considered weak in its chain of transmission. On...Read More

Determining the first of the month

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 08:01:15 -0700

Disagreements regarding determining when the new monthstarts have become commonplace amongst Muslim communities, especially when it comes to establishing the first of Ramadhan and Shawaal. This is because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar where each month commences on the birth of the new lunar cycle and lasts for 29 or 30 days depending on the visibility of the moon. Traditionally, this is based on actual observation of the moon's crescent (hilāl) marking the end of the previous lunar cycle and hencethe previous month, thereby beginning the new month. However, Muslim scholars are not in agreement on how exactly the new month is determined and whether physically sighting the moon is a requirement. The Qurʾan mentions the new moon (ahilla)as a means for tracking time in the the verse,

Similarly, the verse regarding the commencement of the month of Ramadan states,

According to these verses, the ‘new moon’ is the subject for the beginning of the new month. The verses do not specifically mention sighting the moon per se. What is important here is that in essence the new month is determined by the new lunar moon, no matter how it is ascertained. However, according to the Arabian context of the time, the only way to determine the new lunar month was through actually sighting the new crescent. At the time there were no optical aids, such as telescopes and therefore, the crescent had to be visible to the naked eye to establish the commencement of the new month. Also, there were no calculations that could determine the birth of the new moon and the possibility of its visibility. And whilst sighting (ruʾya) is mentioned in hadith literature,³ it is possible to say that this was referring to a means (tariq) of determining the new moon, especially because there were no other means...Read More

TOUCHING A DIGITAL QUR'AN

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 04:46:04 -0700

One of the beneficial technological advancements of the 21st century is that a digital copy of the Qur'an can be downloaded in its entirety or can be accessed via numerous apps on smartphones and tablets. This means that it possible to recite or listen to the Qur'an at all times; However, it also raises the question, is it permissible to touch a digital copy of the Qur'an without performing ablution (wuḍūʾ) or whilst a person is a state of major or minor impurity.¹

In order to answer this, it is important to have a proper understanding of the difference between an e-book and a physical book. An e-book that can be read on the phone screen does not physically exist inside the phone; it is just a visualization being created in real-time by the phone's software and hardware. At the most fundamental level, everything stored digitally in a smartphone consists of binary data - long strings of zeroes and ones encoded on the hardware. For example, a page of the Qur'an in an e-book would be encoded as: 01001010 01110101 01110011 01110100. From this, it is clear that ablution is not a necessity to touch the text of the Qur'an on a phone screen. Another common concern is whether it is disrespectful to take a smartphone that contains a digital copy of the Qur'an into a bathroom. Given that an e-book is just a series of encoded zeros and ones, there is no issue.

In addition to this explanation, an analysis of the Qur'anic verse often used to establish the obligation of performing ablution in order to touch the Qur'an, shows that the verse is not addressing the issue at all. Sura Al-Waqi'ah (77-79) states,

Some Muslim scholars think that here the ‘Noble Qur'an’ refers to the physical book and the 'purified ones’ are people free from minor impurity and major impurity; therefore the verse is prohibiting people from touching the Qur'an until they are ritually...Read More

Polygyny in Islam

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 07:21:22 -0700

Polygyny is the practice of a man marrying more than one wife at the same time. Islam did not institute polygyny but rather it regulated a pre-existing practice to ensure justice is served among spouses.¹ However, in some, particularly Western societies, polygyny is considered to be an unethical practice which is punishable by law. In the UK, you can only be legally married to one spouse. If a man performs nikah with more than one woman, the subsequent marriages cannot be legally registered, which can result in complications related to inheritance, child custody, and other legal matters.² This raises the question regarding the Sharia stance on polygyny.

It is evident from the Quranic verses that a man is permitted to marry up to four wives:

The verse offers an allowance for believers to engage in polygamous relationship but emphasises certain requirements; the most important being justice for the spouse. However, in another verse the Quran further casts doubt whether this is truly possible:

The verse reminds men how difficult it is to maintain justice, which includes equal emotional attachment, if one chooses to have more than one wife. The minimum requirement is to treat the wives as spouses and not to abandon them and their rights. In addition to the above mentioned two verses of the Quran, the conduct of the Prophet and the practices of early Muslim communities indicate that polygyny is permitted.

It is essential to recognise that polygyny is neither a unique nor an institution created by Islam. The traditional rationale for polygyny was rooted in the prevailing societal conditions where men were often the sole breadwinners, responsible for securing the basic needs of their families, including...Read More

Halal compliance in Stunning and Slaughter of Ovine (Sheep/Lamb)

Thu, 11 May 2023 15:44:27 -0700

There is a growing demand for the supply of halal meat in the UK mirroring the scale and centralised nature of the wider food industry, significant numbers of animals are slaughtered in a way which maintains animal welfare whilst also being compliant with sharia and legal regulations.

To ensure that an animal’s welfare is taken care of, many slaughterhouses do have mandatory pre-slaughter stunning, which renders an animal to be immediately unconscious and therefore insensible to pain and distress until death ensues.¹ The law of many western countries, including the UK, requires all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but non-stun slaughter is permitted for Muslims and Jews.²

In recent years many animal welfare and veterinary organisations have been campaigning for proportionate regulation of non-stun slaughter so that supply meets demand in the UK^3,4, whilst maintaining animal welfare and minimise pain as much as possible during the slaughter process. This is based on scientific evidence demonstrating that effective pre-slaughter stunning allows the animal to be killed in the most humane way possible.⁵ Several countries in Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland, have already prohibited slaughter without stunning or introduced tighter regulations.⁶

Although much of the halal meat available in the UK has been pre-stunned with head only electrical method,⁷ the compatibility of pre-stunning with Sharia requirements for halal meat has been a point of controversy for Muslims.⁸ Unfortunately, some of the concerns regarding stunned meat arise from a misunderstanding of the process. One of the greatest concerns is that it causes an animal to experience pain and suffering. However, there is ample scientific evidence showing that effective head only electrical stunning results in immediate unconsciousness, meaning that an animal cannot experience any...Read More

Tattoos in islam

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 07:21:09 -0700

Tattooing, which is the practice of marking the skin permanently with designs and patterns, is an ancient practice. It is known from both historical and archaeological evidence that it was a custom practiced by Indigenous cultures, prevalent throughout the world in antiquity including pre-Islamic Arabia.¹ Many Muslim scholars, particularly from Sunni jurisprudential schools, state that having a tattoo is impermissible in Islam.² The following three arguments are typically advanced for the impermissibility of tattooing the skin:

Although the Quran does not specifically mention anything about tattooing the skin, it does admonish those who change the creation of Allah.³ Some Muslim scholars argue that tattoos constitute changing Allah’s creation and therefore are prohibited. However, there are numerous practices commonly engaged in that involve making changes to the human body, which Muslim scholars do not find reprehensible. For example, many people use orthodontic braces, which can also involve removing teeth if the mouth is overcrowded, to straighten crooked teeth. Although this involves making a permanent change, often without any medical necessity, Muslim scholars deem it permissible. As such, it is possible to argue that it is not sufficient to rely on the verses of the Quran prohibiting altering Allah’s creation alone to rule on the prohibition of tattooing.
Within the Sunni corpus, there are hadith that address the status of tattooing. For example, it is reported, “The Messenger of Allah has cursed the tattooer and the one who is tattooed.”⁴ This narration has to be understood in accordance with the context and the way which tattooing was practiced during the period of jahilliya (ignorance). During that time tattoos were sometimes used as a part of religious rituals whereby people tattooed images of their deities and idols on their faces, hands, and chests. These images used by the pagans...Read More

Keeping a beard

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 07:47:36 -0800

Many Muslim scholars argue that apart from practising the fundamentals of religion¹ which unify the Muslims as one body, another fundamental and obligatory element of the Muslim identity is for adult males to keep a beard and that shaving the beard is deemed impermissible according to the Sunna of the Prophet. Many scholars assert that the Prophet stipulated that males must keep a beard as a sign of maintaining a “Muslim” identity and to distinguish them from non-Muslims of his time. Therefore, the question that arises is: Is it obligatory in the present-day context for a Muslim to keep a beard as a distinguishing factor from non-Muslims?

According to various narrations attributed to the Prophet, he deemed it necessary to instruct Muslim men to keep a beard in order to distinguish themselves from the Jews (who shaved their beards and grew their moustaches long) and from the idolators. The Prophet emphasised that Muslims must not imitate non-Muslims. For instance:

Abd Allah ibn Umar narrates that the Prophet said,

Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said,

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said,

As a result, many scholars have opined that it is impermissible for a man to shave his beard and therefore it is obligatory (wajib) to keep a beard.⁵ However, a less popular opinion among scholars is that shaving or trimming a beard less than a fist length is undesirable, but it is not impermissible (haram) or a sinful act provided that a Muslim man does not shave or trim their beard for the purposes of imitating non-Muslims.⁶

With regards to the majority opinion that states that it is impermissible for a Muslim man to shave his beard, it can be argued that the impermissibility of shaving (and therefore the obligation of keeping a beard) was context based and in the present-day context is no longer applicable. As mentioned, the Prophet wanted...Read More