Nail Polish and Salaah

Q: A lady has nail polish on her nails and it cannot be removed at all. How must she read salaah?

A: It is faradh to wash the hand in wudhu because the hand is part of the arm. Due to its non-porous nature, nail polish will prevent water from reaching the nails thus leaving the hand incompletely washed. This in turn renders the wudhu incomplete and one may not offer salaah in that state. She has to make an effort in remove as much of the polish as she possibly can. We do not believe the polish cannot be removed, for there are products available on the market for this purpose. Make an attempt to get these substances. In the first instance, females should never be using such cosmetics that are not sanctioned by Shariah and that cause dysfunction to one’s acts of worship. If she could get the polish, let her obtain the remover.