Nail polish before namaaz is 'un-Islamic', use mehendi instead, claims latest fatwa from Darul Uloom Deoband

The Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh has issued a fatwa, or a decree, against Muslim women wearing nail polish while offering namaaz or prayers, calling the practice un-Islamic. Mufti Ishrar Gaura, a cleric at the seminary, said: “Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against Muslim women using nail polish because it is un-Islamic and illegal. Rather, women should use mehendi on their nails.” Gaura told ANI that Islam does not prohibit women from using beauty products, and that they can apply nail polish, but before offering namaaz, they have to completely remove it. The cleric argued that a layer of nail paint hinders the “wudu water” (ritual purification) from washing their nails completely. [caption id=“attachment_5505291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mufti Ishrar Gaura. ANI[/caption] Farah Faiz, an advocate and national president of the Rashtriyawadi Muslim Mahila Sangh, opposed the fatwa by the theological school. “They never issue fatwas against men. Islam prohibits a number of things, but those are still carried out by people. They only issue fatwas against women so they do everything with their permission,” she said. “The Darul Uloom is even in Pakistan, but they do not issue such orders there. Only the one based in India comes up with such fatwas all the time.” One of the largest Islamic seminaries in India, the Darul Uloom Deoband is often in the news for issuing such fatwas . Earlier this year, the seminary ordered that Muslim women should not watch men playing football, claiming that it violates the tenets of Islam. “Football is played wearing shorts. So watching men playing with their bare knees is forbidden for women; it’s against religious beliefs,” senior cleric Mufti Athar Kasmi had said, even as the Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia had allowed women to watch matches at soccer stadiums for the first time in history. In January, the influential seminary in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur had  issued a fatwa  stating that Islam does not allow women to wear designer or body-hugging burqas. “The veil and burqa are supposed to protect a woman from prying eyes. So a woman wearing a designer burqa or body-hugging outfit is strictly not allowed in Islam,” members of the seminary had reportedly said. The Darul Uloom had also issued a fatwa against celebrating New Year’s, observing that it was un-Islamic as the Islamic calendar year starts from Muharram. On 8 October, 2017, they issued a fatwa  banning women from plucking, trimming, shaping their eyebrows and cutting their hair. Also last year, the seminary had issued a decree  prohibiting Muslim men and women from posting their or their families’ photographs on social media. The fatwa was issued after a man approached the Darul Uloom, asking whether posting photos on social media sites was allowed in the religion. With inputs from agencies