Re: Namaz and Nailpolish
Shay, sorry to be so witchy, but that’s really interesting that you should be so judgemental about others when you yourself are the same one who put pictures of herself in a sleeveless sari up in the Weddings forum. You’re just as guilty of “adjusting Islam” for your own convenience. Like they say, those in glass houses…
As far as nail polish goes, it was never forbidden explicitly in the Quran or Hadith (obviously). Some say the it’s best not to wear it. Others say the polish temporarily becomes part of the nail, so as long as the nail was clean before application, it’s okay. There are a lot of exceptions granted when it comes to wudu. A lot of people feel it’s okay to simply wipe their hands over their socks instead of washing their feet when they are out in public and have to do wudu, and many scholars have backed that up. Women back in the the early days of Islam often wore their hair in tight cornrows or braids and it was allowed for them not undo their complicated styles when they had to do ghusl, despite the fact that thoroughly washing the hair is a component of the ritual bath. Those without water can do tayummum with sand. So before you go and damn all those women who like to polish their nails, give them the benefit of the doubt first.
You also mentioned something about Islam, culture and Nikah. Nikah means you are legally married in the eyes of God, but even in Islam, you are supposed to respect your cultural mores as well. So while you won’t get gunah for being intimate with you Nikahfied spouse, it is better to wait until rukhsati. Even the Prophet SA was “married” to Ayesha RA for years before her rukhsati.