Nails
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
TRIMMING NAILS & HAIR
O Allah (The Exalted) bless our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the family of our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as You have ordered him to be blessed.
Natural state
Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “He who does not remove bodily hair from below the navel, and does not trim the nails, and does not trim his moustache, is not one of us.” i i.e. it is against our practice. Allahu Akbar!
To grow the moustache below the lips is forbidden and a sin. ii Those who grow their nails long following fashion should be aware that this is a very serious matter and should be stopped as it is not fit for a Muslim to grow the nails, we should be representable and an example to the rest.
Natural things
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that, “Five are the acts of fitra1 (natural inclination): 1) circumcision, 2) removing the hair below the navel, 3) trimming the moustache, 4) cutting the nails, and 5) plucking the hair under the arms.” iii
1 The Sunnah of the Prophets (upon them all be peace).
2 Although this hadith is weak it can be used for acting upon and using it for virtuous deeds. (Durre Mukhtar)
Before Jumu’ah
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) has related that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) before going to Friday prayer would clip his nails and moustache.” iv
Every fifteenth day
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would get his nails pared every fifteen days. v
Do not exceed forty days
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “Do not let forty days elapse without trimming the moustache and paring the nails.” vi
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) states that, “To trim the moustache and nails and remove the hair under the arms and the hair below the navel we have been given a time to take them off, do not leave them for more than forty days (meaning trim them within forty days).” vii
When to cut nails
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has said that, “He who cuts his nails on Friday, will be in Allah’s (The Exalted) protection for the following week. He who cuts his nails on a Saturday will be spared from illness, and he who cuts his nails on Sunday will have poverty taken away from him. If someone is mentally unstable then by cutting his nails on Monday, this illness will be cured. He who cuts his nails on a Tuesday will also be protected from illness. It is better not to cut nails on Wednesday as there are hadith for and against, as Imam Tahawi said, paring nails on Wednesdays can cause leprosy. To cut nails on Thursday will cure illness such as leprosy.2” viii
Once a scholar trimmed his nails on a Wednesday as this hadith was weak (Dhaif) and not authentic (Sahih). As he did not practise even a weak hadith as a consequence he became leprosy. That night when he went to sleep he saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in his dream who said that, “Did you not hear that I warned you against trimming your nails on Wednesday?” The scholar said, “The hadith is weak.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Was it not sufficient that a hadith had reached you from me.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant 2 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
him peace) then wiped his blessed hands over the scholar curing him from his illness. The scholar repented and said that, “I will never go against a hadith.” ix Subhanallah!
Method of cutting nails
‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the way of cutting the nails: FOR THE RIGHT HAND: start of with the index finger, forefinger, ring finger and little finger, then moving onto the LEFT HAND: little finger, ring finger, forefinger, index finger, thumb and lastly the thumb of the right hand. Then to wash the hands after cutting the nails.x
Diagrams of hand & feet
EASY METHOD: – Follow the numbering on this picture.
For toe nails – Start with the right foot small toe and proceed until the big toe, then start with the left foot big toe and & conclude with the small toe (Semi-circle). xi
There is no specified way recorded for trimming the nails but it is better to use the same method that Khilal (wiping in between the toes in ablution) is done.
Request
It is requested that you also follow this blessed Sunnah and cut your nails in this manner. The biggest benefit one can gain is that if you teach others the Sunnah and they act upon it then you will gain the reward for this until it is practised and passed on, Insha-Allah!
What to do with them?
After cutting the nails and hair of the body, one should collect them all and bury them, since we all are made from soil and thus the hair and nails should be put back to the earth. xii
The consequence of keeping long nails
1. There will be no blessing in your wealth.
2. You will become poor.
3. Illness will plague you.
4. Allah (The Exalted) and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will be displeased with you.
5. The devil sits on long nails. xiii
Manners of cutting the fingernails & hair
1. To remove the hair directly below the navel, under the arms and to trim the nails once a week is Mustahab (preferable), it is permissible after fifteen days and to leave it for after forty days is disliked (Makrooh). It is preferable on Thursday or Friday as it is stated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would do this before Jumu’ah Salaah. xiv
2. To wash the fingers after trimming the nails is desirable. xv
3. Do not bite your nails as it is disliked and a predisposition to infectious diseases. xvi
4. To get rid of the hair under the navel is Sunnah and the best day is Friday. xvii
5. It is permissible to use hair removal cream. xviii
3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
i Tirmidhi, Nisai & Imam Ahmad
ii Ehkam-e-Shariat & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 586
iii Bukhari & Muslim
iv Ma’riful Hadith
v Shamail-e-Tirmidhi
vi Muslim
vii Muslim
viii Durre Mukhtar
ix Usool-e-Hadith, p. 44 & Naseem-ur-Riyaaz Sharah Shifa, Vol: 1, p. 344. Published by Darul Fikr, Beuirout, lebonon.
x Durre Mukhtar & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p.584
xi Durre Mukhtar, Bahar-e-Shariat & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 584
xii Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 857
xiii Kimiyae Sa’aadat & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 585
xiv Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 586
xv ibid p. 585
xvi Alamgiri & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 585
xvii Ma’riful Hadith
xviii Durre Mukhtar & Alamgiri
xix Raddul Mohtar & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 585
xx Alamgiri & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 585
xxi Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 587
xxii Alamgiri & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 587
xxiii ibid p. 585
xxiv ibid p. 587
xxv Alamgiri & Faizan-e-Sunnat, p. 586
6. It is Sunnah to pluck and there is no problem in shaving the hair under the arms. xix
7. Do not remove the hair from inside the nose as it could affect an illness of sense. xx ‘Abd-Allah bin Basheer (may Allah’s Mercy be upon him) said that, “Tweezing of the nasal hair can lead to a disease called Aakilah (cancer or gangrene).”
8. If the eyebrows become long, then to trim them is permissible. xxi
9. To take of hair in any part of the body when in the state of impurity (when bathing is obligatory) is disliked (Makrooh). xxii
10. The hair and nails should be buried and to flush them is disliked (Makrooh) as there is a chance of illness spreading. xxiii
11. Women should put the hair that has been removed from the head, naval and under the arm in a place that no non-permissible man can see (Ghair Mehram). As this is part of the Aurah and should be covered even after removing from the body. xxiv
12. Four things should be buried, blood, hair, nails and the cloth that has been used for the menstrual period (Haiz). xxv
Many are headless and do not bother cutting their nails nor removing the hair. We should consider whether this is acceptable for a Muslim, try to live according to the Sunnah, and do not give Islam a bad name by adopting Western ways and fashions.
O Allah (The Exalted)! Give us the ability to follow the Sunnah of Your beloved Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and to keep both our internal and external selves clean, Ameen.