Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamalaikum ..

I would like to ask u how far is the following true ..

Cutting nails after Maghrib is not allowed in Islam.

Rolling up of sleeves is a sign of pride, hence, one should not do it.

The Holy Quran should not be touched if one is wearing shoes.

Believing that a color can cause bad luck to someone .. for eg .. some people believe that if they

wear a particular color, they`ll fall sick. Could this ever be true?

I don`t think any of the above is true but would still like to knw what is right and what is wrong.

Thanks 

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Answer:

Superstitions cutting nails

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: Cutting nails after Maghrib is not allowed in Islam.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.779 Narrated by Abu Huraira

I heard the Prophet (saws) saying. "Five practices are characteristics of the ‘Fitra’ (nature): removing the pubic hair, clipping the nails, depilating the hair of the armpits; and circumcision and cutting the moustaches short (for the males)

Other than cutting or clipping one’s nails during the state of ‘ehraam’ for pilgrimage to the Sacred House, the believers, men and women alike, are at absolute liberty to cut or clip their nails anytime of the day or night or any day of the week they will or please or is convenient for them.

We absolutely assure you that there is absolutely nothing in Shariah which prohibits the believers from cutting or clipping their nails after Magrib or at any other time of the day or night they will or please.

The one who declares that it is impermissible or undesirable to cut one’s nails after Magrib should be asked to provide his/her evidence from the Quran and/or the Sunnah for their prohibition….and if they are unable to provide the evidence for the prohibition….and we absolutely assure you that there is no such prohibition found in the Quran or the Sunnah….one should know that this is a self-invented and self-imposed prohibition of the ignorant and has absolutely nothing to do with the Guidance of Islam.

Q-2: Rolling up of sleeves is a sign of pride, hence, one should not do it.

Sahih Muslim Book 4, Number 0991:

Abdullah Ibn Abbas (r.a.) reported: ‘The Messenger of Allah (saws) said that he had been commanded that he should prostrate on the seven (bones) and he was forbidden to fold back the hair and clothing.’

It is indeed forbidden that one fold their sleeves when in the state of prayer, but if a need arises and one needs to fold one’s sleeves at times other than prayer, there is absolutely no harm.

Q-3: The Holy Quran should not be touched if one is wearing shoes.

There is absolutely no such restriction in Shariah which declares that a believer, man or woman, cannot touch the Glorious Quran while wearing shoes. More often than not, the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the noble companions prayed with their shoes on in their humble masjid at Medina; simply because the Prophet’s Mosque in their times was on bare ground without any carpets or floor coverings, unlike our mosques today.

Abu Sa'eed reported that once the Prophet (saws) removed his shoes while he was praying, and the people behind him did likewise. When he (saws) finished the prayer, he (saws) asked, "Why did you remove your shoes?" They said, "We saw you remove yours." He (saws) said, "Gabriel (a.s.) came to me and informed me that there was some filth (impurity) on them. Therefore, when one of you comes to the mosque, he should turn his shoes over and examine them. If one finds any dirt on them, he should rub them against the ground and pray with them on."

Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Hakim, Ibn Hibban and Ibn Khuzaimah.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 652 Narrated by Aws ibn Thabit al-Ansari

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Act differently from the Jews, for they do not pray in their sandals or their shoes.’

Q-4: Believing that a color can cause bad luck to someone .. for eg .. some people believe that if they wear a particular color, they`ll fall sick. Could this ever be true?

A belief that anything in creation like a stone, or a star, or a color, etc. brings good or bad luck in the ‘unseen’, especially when such a belief is not endorsed by Allah Subhanah or His Messenger (saws) is no more than a falsehood and a superstition invented by the ignorant….and such baseless, self-invented theories and superstitions have absolutely no basis in reality, guidance and the Truth as endorsed by Al-Islam.

No star, no stone, no color, house, no property, no car, no land, no tree, no fruit, no flower, NO-NOTHING IN CREATION has absolutely no power in the least by itself to bring about some good or bad luck on anyone in the unseen! It is Allah Subhanah Alone Who has the Sole Right, Power, and Strength to bring about good or try one with some evil in the ‘unseen’! These self-invented theories that certain things when done or worn bring good luck and certain things bring bad-luck are nothing more than superstitions, and superstitions have absolutely no place in the religion of Truth called Al-Islam.

Whatever good and whatever evil effects a person, they are all from Allah Subhanah. No nothing in creation has any power in the least to bring good or evil upon anyone by itself, unless Allah Subhanah Wills it. Therefore, the believers must put their full trust in Allah Subhanah Alone.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verses160:

If Allah helps you, none can overcome you! And if Allah forsakes you, who is there, then, after Allah that can help you? Therefore, the true believers should trust in Allah Alone.

To believe that some stones, or stars, or colors (or anything else in creation) can bring about any good to someone in the ‘unseen’, or to believe that such things can save one from any harm, or such objects have the power by themselves to influence absolutely anything in one’s lives or one’s behavior, etc….is a manifest act of disbelief and ‘shirk’! Nothing, absolutely nothing in the Universe has the Power or the Strength or the Ability to bring about any good or harm upon anyone in the ‘unseen’ except the Lord Most Majestic, Most Supreme Alone; thus the believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day should keep their full trust and belief in Him and Him Alone.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 133 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Don't you know what your Lord said? Your Lord observed: ‘I (Allah) have never endowed My bondsmen with a favor, but a section amongst them disbelieved it, and said: stars, it was due to the stars!’”

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan