Is the Prayer of a Bride Wearing Make-up Containing Impure Substances Invalid?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

Is the prayer of a bride wearing make-up containing impure substances invalid?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Yes, if a person prays with an inexcusable amount of filth on their person or clothing, their prayer would be invalid.

The basis is that we are required to be in a state of purity for the prayer in view of the Qur’anic verses 5:6 and 74:4. However, a person who is unaware of the presence of filth, without being negligent, would not be sinful, insha’Allah.

With regards to alcohol, what is strictly impermissible, and hence religiously filthy, is wine derived from grapes, dates or raisins. Yet, if the alcohol is derived from another substance, its application onto the body would be excusable. [Consumption would also be permissible with its requisite conditions.]

Similarly, with respect to carmine, namely, the pigment extracted from types of scale insects, it would be permissible to apply it onto the body. This is because insects are not filthy in and of themselves, yet they are deemed impermissible to consume because of the Qur’anic verse, 7:157.

[Hamawi, Ghamz ‘Uyun al-Basa’ir, quoting Sughdi’s Nutaf; Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (1.212)]

Please also see: Is Snail Slime Impure? and: Is Escargot (Snails) Halal to Eat? and: Is It Permissible To Kill Insects And Harmful Animals? and: What Animals Are Halal and Haram to Eat in the Hanafi School? and: Eating Foods With Dye Made From Insects in the Maliki School and: Can We Use Deodorants, Creams, and Perfumes That Contain Alcohol?

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

​قال في شرح الحموي على الأشباه: «​قوله : الخرء نجس إلخ . قيل : ظاهر عمومه نجاسة خرء السمك ولم أره منقولا صريحا لكن رأيت في النتف ما نصه : وأما هوام الأرض ودواب البحر فهي وما يتخلل منها من والتنزه منها أفضل في قول عبد الله» اهـ.
وقال في ردّ المحتار: «(قوله: وقمل وبرغوث وبق) أي: وإن كثر بحر ومنية. وفيه تعريض بما عن بعض الشافعية أنه لا يعفى عن الكثير منه، وشمل ما كان في البدن والثوب تعمد إصابته أو لا. اهـ. حلية، وعليه فلو قتل القمل في ثوبه يعفى عنه، وتمامه في الحلية» اهـ.

wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.