Prayer is one of the central and most important acts of worship. Prayer (Salah) is an obligatory worship, which every adult Muslim is required to offer five times a day. This obligation also applies to adult women.
The performance of obligatory prayer is emphasized in many verses of the Quran, in different contexts. The 103rd verse of Surah An-Nisa specifically describes the significance of the timely performance of prayer, regardless of the circumstances. That reflects the importance of prayer in the Islamic faith.
Translation
If you are late in performing your service of prayer, honour God by remembering Him, standing, sitting, or lying on your sides. And when you have security, perform your act of prayer befittingly; and praying at fixed hours is prescribed for the faithful.
In many other Quranic verses, various other aspects of offering five regular mandatory prayers have been emphasized. The repeated emphasis on the performance of prayer shows that it holds a special status in Islamic teachings.
The higher level of emphasis on timely performance of prayer prompts a number of queries because everyone wants to discharge this religious obligation correctly, to get maximum rewards. One such question, quite frequently raised, especially by women, is “Can you pray with makeup on?” Not only women but also men often raise this question, seeking precise Islamic guidance on this important issue. The reason makeup is just a routine matter in modern life patterns, across the world, including the Islamic Countries. Hence, it is highly relevant for Muslims to know what Islam says about the makeup of women, especially when praying (or performing any other religious act).
This article explores everything a Muslim must know about praying with makeup, in light of Islamic rules, as derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
Wudu (Ablution) Is Essential Before Prayer
The question under discussion, “Can you pray with makeup on?” is directly related to a basic requirement before offering prayer, i.e., ablution or wudu. The spirit of making ablution is to attain physical purity before standing up for the performance of prayer, because prayer means presenting oneself in the Court of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى, for which they must be in their best condition.
Attaining the ritual purity in the form of Wudu is emphasized as a basic requirement before standing for prayers, as specifically mentioned in the 6th verse of Surah Al-Ma’ida.
Translation
O believers, when you stand up for the service of prayer, wash your faces and hands up to elbows, and also wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles. If you are in a state of seminal pollution, then bathe and purify yourself well. But in case you are ill or are travelling, or you have satisfied the call of nature, or have slept with a woman, and you cannot find water, then take wholesome dust and pass it over your face and your hands, for God does not wish to impose any hardship on you. He wishes to purify you and grace you with His favours in full so that you may be grateful.
This Quranic verse not only describes the essentiality of making wudu before offering prayer but also provides comprehensive guidance on how to perform it, even in the absence of water. That reaffirms the essential requirement of making wudu, even when water is not available. The concept is clearly defined in Islamic jurisprudence as “there is no prayer without wudu”. The importance and essentialness of wudu is also clarified in Hadith 173 of Sunan Abi Dawud, as follows:
Translation
A person came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He performed ablution and left a small part equal to the space of a nail upon his foot. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: Go back and perform ablution well.
Hence, the concept becomes clearer that wudu (ablution) is necessary before standing up for prayer.
Islamic Guidance on Praying with Makeup On
It is established in the light of the above-referred Quranic verses and Hadith that making a perfect wudu is an important essential before standing for prayer. It means all the organs that are required to be washed, during the course of making wudu, must be properly washed, ensuring that not even a minute part is left dry. Keeping this basic but essential requirement in mind, one can better understand the Islamic rulings on praying with makeup on.
There might be two different scenarios with reference to making wudu, where a woman might offer prayer with makeup on:
- She might have performed wudu properly and then applied makeup before standing for prayer.
- She might have applied makeup before making wudu, then performed wudu with makeup on, and then offered prayer.
The correct Islamic guidance in both these situations differs, as follows:
1. Making Wudu Before Applying Makeup
Technically, the act of making wudu properly and then applying makeup is generally permissible in Islamic teachings. If a woman makes wudu and then applies makeup before offering prayer, her wudu and prayer are both valid.
However, another question arises here: whether makeup itself is allowed for women in Islam? In this context, basic Islamic guidance about makeup is as follows:
- There is no restriction on women to wear makeup, unless the material used in it is impure (najis).
- Women are forbidden to appear with makeup on, in front of those men who are declared as “non-mahram” according to Islamic teachings. The list of mahram for a woman includes the relatives, such as her husband, father, brother, son, and some others, as comprehensively explained in the 31st verse of Surah An-Nour.
Translation
Tell the believing women to lower their eyes, guard their private parts, and not display their charms except what is apparent outwardly, and cover their bosoms with their veils and not to show their finery except to their husbands or their fathers or fathers-in-law, their sons or step-sons, brothers, or their brothers’ and sisters’ sons, or their women attendants or captives, or male attendants who do not have any need (for women), or boys not yet aware of sex. They should not walk stamping their feet lest they make known what they hide of their Ornaments. O believers, turn to God, every one of you, so that you may be successful.
So, women are allowed to wear modest makeup that does not expose their beauty, and that too only in front of their mahram male relatives.
If a woman had made wudu before applying makeup, which fulfills the above-mentioned conditions, she can pray with makeup on.
2. Making Wudu After Wearing Makeup
The other situation is that a woman has applied makeup and then performs wudu above that for standing for prayer. In this case, the correct ruling depends on the material used to make up. As a general rule:
- Makeup Material Is Not Waterproof – Wudu can be done with makeup if the material used in the makeup is not waterproof. It means the material used for makeup should be permeable so the water can penetrate and touch the skin, because no part of the face can be left dry to qualify as a valid wudu. Although scholars allow that even if such a permeable material is used for makeup, it is not a preferred and recommended act in Islam to make wudu with makeup on. So, technically, a wudu performed with makeup on (using permeable material) is valid and is good for offering prayer. However, it should be discouraged, according to the opinion of a vast majority of scholars.
- Makeup Material Is Waterproof – If the material used for makeup is waterproof, which does not allow water to reach the skin, wudu cannot be performed with such makeup on. Accordingly, if a woman wears makeup made up of waterproof material, and then performs wudu over it, her wudu and prayer both are invalid.
Non-Water-Proof Makeup Materials
The makeup prepared with lightweight and absorbent material that does not block water from reaching the skin is considered permissible for makeup. It may include the following:
- Powder-based makeup material.
- Light foundation, which does not make a waterproof barrier between the makeup and the skin.
- Surma (Kohl), which is traditionally applied to the eyes.
FAQs
- Do I have to remove makeup before every prayer?
No, you don’t need to do that if you have done wudu before applying makeup, and wudu is still valid. You can pray with makeup on, in this situation.
- Can I use waterproof makeup to perform wudu over it?
Wudu will not be valid if performed after applying waterproof makeup because it creates a barrier that blocks water from reaching the skin during wudu.
- Can I apply makeup after making wudu and then pray?
Yes, it is allowed according to the vast majority of scholars, with the condition that once makeup is applied, wudu is not broken afterwards.
- Is it a sinful act to apply makeup while praying?
No, applying makeup while praying is not sinful with the condition that wudu is still valid and, more importantly, makeup is modest and done in accordance with the Islamic guidance.
- Can I wipe over makeup like we do wiping over socks for making wudu?
Not allowed. Wiping over socks is a specific facility provided in the Islamic law, but it is not applicable to making wudu while wiping over makeup.
Conclusion
Prayer is mandatory for every adult Muslim, including women, and making a perfect wudu is one of the prerequisites of offering a prayer. The issue often raised about the prayer of a woman who has makeup on primarily depends on the fulfillment of conditions to make a wudu valid. The main condition of a valid wudu is that every organ of the body, included in the process of wudu, such as the face, hands, arms, and feet, is properly washed with water. If any part of these organs is left dry, wudu will be invalid.
So, if a woman has performed wudu properly, then applied makeup, and thereafter stands for prayer, her prayer will be valid. But the other condition that may invalidate her prayer is the way the makeup was done. Islam teaches modesty in such acts. While makeup is allowed in Islam, it must have been done in a modest way, which does not expose her beautification. If makeup is not modestly done, her prayer will not be valid, even if wudu was performed properly before putting on makeup.
