Fathwa, - Can I pray with makeup on

Question:
Can women wear makeup after wudu and then pray?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
You can pray with make-up on if you are sure that it is pure. Since
some make-up products contain impurities, you need to make sure that
the one you put on does not contain any impure ingredients.
And Allah Most High knows best.

Fathwa, - Is it permissible to use the nail whitener pencil?

Question:
Is it permissible to use a nail whitener pencil on the inside bit of
the nail to make the tips of the nails look whiter?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
It seems as if most pencil whiteners leave a barrier such that one''s
ablution is not valid if made after using it.
Note that it is reprehensible to let the nails grow long (Al-Durr
al-Mukhtar 5:260) even if it is done for one''s husband.
And Allah Most High knows best.

Living the Quran

Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}It was the month of Ramadan in
which the Quran was ]first[ sent down as guidance for all people,
having ]in it[ clear proofs of ]Divine[ guidance and the
criterion.{]Quran 2:185[
Since that first Ramadan revelation, believers the world over and
across history have drawn nearer to Allaah Almighty, rejuvenated their
faith, found their purpose in life, saved their souls from hellfire,
and found the key to eternal happiness in Paradise with their Beloved
Lord through the Quran.
Almost exactly 1,433 years ago, the Beloved Messenger of
Allaahcommenced his journey form Makkah to Madeenah and laid the
foundations of the greatest community of believers ever to have lived.
Among the foundations of that Community of men and women was a radiant
and vibrant faith in Allaah Almighty, unflinching love for His
Prophetand brotherhood and sacrifice for each other. These virtues
were implanted in their souls by the Prophetthrough the guidance of
the Quran. The foundation of that Community was the Quran. The Word of
God was what that blessed Community stood for.
Allaah's speeches, delivered and explained to them by His impeccable
Messengerhad created and nurtured that community in Makkah for the
previous 13 years. In the second year of Hijrah or shortly afterward,
the verses about fasting were revealed that eventually made the
fasting of the month of Ramadan an obligation. Just like all other
foundational markers and rituals of that blessed Community, the month
of fasting was connected to the Quran.
The pillar of Islam prior to fasting, that of Prayer, was also built
around the Quran. The Prophetand his followers prayed from the very
beginning of his blessed call, and read Quran in it. The five regular
prayers had been revealed toward the end of Makkan life )in the year
10 or 12 of prophethood( at the occasion of the Prophet's Ascension
)Mi`raaj( to Heaven. The Quran had already alluded to the number of
obligatory prayers, their times, and content, and the Prophethad given
them their final form by way of instruction from the Archangel
Gabriel.
The month of fasting was designed, in the wisdom of Allaah, to
celebrate the Quran in a different way, but one which complemented the
prayer. While the regular prayers set the tone and the rhythm of the
daily life of the believers, Ramadan would challenge them and all
their spiritual descendants to soar even higher in their worship and
remembrance of their Creator, and specifically to rejuvenate that
daily routine of prayer.
Allaah, Most High, is, of course, all aware of His servants, whose
habitual practices inevitably become monotonous. Thus the heart rusts.
Feelings mellow. Intellectual acuity in the form of spiritual
understanding clouds over. Hence, perspectives blur. The journey of
faith begins to seem long and uneventful from day to day. Impulsive
and short-sighted—"Man has been created from haste"]Quran 21:37[—the
human being is nonetheless capable of rising to great heights,
provided he is prompted with proper reminders that hold his attention
to his task and path. For no matter how great the reward, how high the
stakes, when the human heart loses sight of its purpose and road, it
gives up the struggle. It needs peaks from where to see the end
clearly, oases wherefrom to fill up on hope in order to gain the
stamina required to cross the many difficult vales along the way.
The Month of Ramadan provides that climax, that summit, that
viewpoint. It comes with intense physical training. But its soul is
the Quran. It is only as good as the closeness to the Quran—both
spiritual and intellectual—that one attains in it.
Without exemplifying the meanings of the Quran, without pondering its
signs, and rethinking the whole life in a coherent way through it,
Ramadan becomes empty. That is why the Prophethas tied fasting and the
Quran together as the two intercessors on the Day of Judgment: The
Prophetsaid:"Fasting and the Quran will intercede on behalf of the
servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: `O Lord! I
prevented him from food and satisfying his desires during the day.
Therefore, do Thou make mean intercessor for him.' The Quran will say:
`I prohibited him from sleeping at night, therefore, do Thou make me
an intercessor for him.' Thus shall they intercede'"]Ahmad[
An intervening plea, then: Let us both strive, then, you and I, to
make this Ramadan truly the month of the Quran, a month in which we
transcend the monotony of life and reach a new level of faith and
bliss. For we know not how many Ramadan peaks we have left before our
way ends.

The Chronological Analysis of the Quran

The Quran was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Mohammadin 610 CE over
22 years. In the first twelve years of the revelation, the Prophetwas
living in Makkah )Mecca(. Persecution, at the hands of the tribe of
Quraysh then forced him, allallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his
companionsto leave to Al-Madeenah, in what is known as the Hijrah
)immigration(, where he lived the last ten years.
The 114 chapters of the Holy Quran are not listed in the chronological
order of their revelation. This special order, however, was inspired
to the Prophetby Allaah, the Most Exalted, so it is a genuine quality
of the Quran. Each chapter is described as either Makkan or Madeenan,
depending on whether the majority of its verses were revealed before
or after the Hijrah.
Knowing the chronological order in which the different Soorahs
)Quranic chapters( or verses were revealed can be of importance in
some cases. And even though this may not be possible for all of the
6234 verses, because the sequence was recorded at anytime, through
sound Ijtihaad )research( and analysis, scholars were capable of
putting together the cases where authentic reports confirmed such
order and the cases where that order was made clear.
These efforts resulted in the development of a method in which the
revelation of the Quran was looked at in chronological terms as well
as dividing revelation into Makki )Makkan( and Madani )Madeenah( types
or periods.
We will first look at some of the benefits of this chronological
analysis, then proceed to discuss the Makki and Madani criteria and
their use in the Tafseer )interpretation of the Quran( and the
deduction of Fiqh )Islamic jurisprudence( rulings.
In the following we will present a very brief look at three main
benefits of the chronological analysis of the Quran, other benefits
and many more examples can be found in Al-Itgaan, by Imaam As-Suyooti:
Assessment of Rulings' Abrogation
Abrogation is a term that refers to the cases in which a ruling gets
abrogated by another. Simply put, abrogation means the replacement of
one verse by another thus reversing or repealing the ruling that was
revealed in it. Therefore, if we have a case in which we have two
verses that carry in them two rulings which oppose one another and we
could reconcile them in a way that is acceptable under the Principles
of Fiqh )Jurisprudence(, then we look at the chronological order of
their revelation to assess which verse carries the abrogated ruling.
Obviously, the verse revealed first carries the abrogated ruling, and
we should uphold the ruling carried in the late-revealed one.
Examples of that: If we knew that:
1. The verses making Salaah )prayer( obligatory were revealed in
Makkah before the Hijrah ]migration of Prophet Muhammadand his
companionsfrom Makkah to Madeenah[.
2. The verses making Zakaah )the Poor Due( and Sawm )fasting(
obligatory were revealed during the second year of Hijrah, and
3. The verses that established the obligation of Hajj )pilgrimage to
Makkah( were revealed in the sixth year of Hijrah,
We would know the sequence in which these pillars of Islam were established.
Appreciation of the Gradual Process in Legislation
This is an important part of the general message of Islam, especially
the aspect related to making prohibitions and having people go through
major changes of lifestyle. Knowledge of the chronology of how these
aspects were made in the early period of Islam leads one to appreciate
the wisdom behind the gradual process of legislation. A good example
of this is the prohibition of inebriants. First, people were told they
are bad but may have some benefit, as in the verse )which means(:"They
ask you )O Muhammad( about wine and gambling. Say, 'In them is great
sin and ]yet, some[ benefit for people.'"]Quran 2:219[
Then they were told not to drink before Salaah, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while
you are intoxicated ..."]Quran 4:43[
And later inebriants were prohibited altogether, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling,
]sacrificing on[ stone alters ]to other than Allaah[, and divining
arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you
may be successful. "]Quran 5:90[
In this example we notice the way the legislation considered the fact
that drinking was a major solid part of the Arabs' social life. But
the gradual approach used in indicating its harms and making it
prohibited on them made it easy for them to accept, a realistic
approach which we can all learn from.