In honor of February, which is the birth month of yours truly and of Styled by Zubaidah,  I have decided to post an OOTD every day for the next 100 days! 

Bracelets anyone?!

My venture for the perfect accessory lead me to design my own...

I have always loved the idea of the beaded shamballa bracelet, but there were no options for Muslim women because many of them displayed crosses.  I am an avid online shopper or online window shopper some may say, and trust me when I say I could not find anything hijabi friendly in this type of style. So, what is a girl to do.... Create her own hijabi/Muslimah friendly bracelet. I have been selling them online at www.styledbyzubaidah.com and my girls are loving them already! Here are a few sisters from instagram wearing them.

This has been a true labor of love and I am very pleased to finally release them to my muslimahs out there.
Girls these are for you!!! Purchase yours today at www.styledbyzubaidah.com

is O2M nail polish permmisable to wear while making Wudu?

The below is information that I obtain from shuwaibweb.com on wearing nail polish while still maintaing wudu.

One of the most common questions asked by Muslim sisters is whether or not they are allowed to wear nail polish. The frequent query about whether nail polish is ḥalāl (lawful) or ḥarām (prohibited) is worded incorrectly. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with wearing nail polish.¹ The real issue is that this substance forms an impermeable barrier over the nails preventing water from getting underneath. So when a sister needs to perform wuḍū’ (ablution) in order to pray, it cannot be completed without first removing the nail polish.
Many Muslim women have found a solution: wear the nail polish during their period since they don’t need to pray during those days. Yet many sisters will admit that they wish it would be somehow possible to wear nail polish at any time of the month. First, it is highly fashionable nowadays. Second, wearing nail polish usually indicates to another person that a sister is undergoing her period, which can be very embarrassing for others to know.
Now there is a solution. No, I’m not talking about wearing henna. Most scholars advise it as a substitute while failing to realize just how different henna is from nail polish in the world of fashion and beauty. The urge to wear nail polish on a regular basis has even led some sisters to wear a ‘peelable’ variety, which can be scraped off without any chemicals. But what if there was a nail polish that allowed the water to seep through?
Good news. Inglot Cosmetics, a company from Poland, has released a new line of polish called O2M that it has labeled “breathable nail enamel”.² It borrows a polymer used in some contact lenses that allows oxygen and moisture to penetrate to the nail.³ One sister wisely decided to call the company and was told that water vapor reaches the nail but not water in its liquid form.⁴ The question then arises about whether water vapor reaching the nail suffices for wuḍū’. Let’s look at the issue in detail.

Reasoning Behind the Necessity of Washing

There are several sisters who don’t know that nail polish prevents wuḍū’, and probably just as many who don’t care and will wear it anyways. But for those who do care, this analysis might help clarify things.
Muslim scholars have analyzed the issue of impermeable substances in the following manner. This verse of the Qur’an prescribes the wuḍū’, “…wash your faces and your arms…” (Qur’an, 5:6). The points that require investigation are: what is meant by ‘arms’ and what is meant by ‘wash’. Mention of the word ‘arms’ (which includes the hands linguistically in Arabic) indicates that every part must be washed and not a single spot should be left dry. Scholars arrived at this conclusion both through linguistic analysis as well as by analyzing reports from the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him), which emphasize that the body parts must be washed thoroughly. From this they concluded that anything that prevents water from reaching any of these parts must be removed. For example, if someone had dried paint, dough, or wax on their hand while performing wuḍū’, the water would not permeate that substance and the hand would not have been properly washed. The same is true with nail polish which, when dried, forms a solid impermeable layer on the nails. This is why women are instructed to remove their nail polish when performing wuḍū’. Other substances that do not form an impermeable solid layer such as henna, oil, ink, and lotion are allowed due to the ability of water to penetrate through, especially when rubbing over the wet area.⁵
As to the definition of ‘washing’, it means that water flows over the surface of every body part which must be washed during wuḍū’.⁶ The bare minimum amount of water that must be used in order to suffice has been a matter of contention among scholars. Some stated that the part being washed must drip off at least one drop of water.⁷ Other scholars held that water must have reached every area of that body part, but dripping off is not necessary.⁸

The important thing to realize is that these scholars were trying to precisely define a minimum point at which the body part in question has had water ‘flow’ over it. The first opinion did not imply that drops of water must drip from any particular area but rather from any area of one body part. For example, while washing the arm with the hand elevated above the elbow, it is likely that the water would drop off near the elbow area due to gravitational forces. For our case concerning the fingernails, this opinion (which is the stricter of the two) does not necessitate water having to drip off the fingernails. This makes sense because water usually drips from a small area when it has completely flowed over that region.
Based on this difference of opinion concerning the definition of washing, scholars have differed concerning whether rubbing snow over the body parts suffices for wuḍū’ if no drops fall off.⁹ At first glance, it might appear to a student of Islamic Law that this example serves as a good analogy to apply to the issue of breathable nail polish. However, upon further inspection the analogy fails because the case of snow involves no drops falling whereas the case of the fingernails does involve drops falling, even if not from the nail area. Keeping this in mind, if the entire hand was immersed in water and water vapor permeated through to the nails, it would not matter whether or not an actual drop of water in its liquid form reached the nail. The entire hand is still considered washed since water reached every area.

A Test Case

One of my students¹⁰ decided to perform a test to see whether or not water actually seeped through when using the Inglot O2M nail polish. As a test case, she applied standard pink nail polish and purple O2M on a coffee filter and allowed both to dry. She then placed another coffee filter below the painted one, squeezed two drops of water over the polish, and applied some pressure with her finger.¹¹ After about ten seconds it was clear that the water was prevented from seeping through (even to the back side of the first filter) on the standard polish but clearly went through the O2M and even wet the second filter. This is sufficient to show that the claims made by the manufacturer are correct and water does indeed permeate through to the nail.

Conclusion

It is imperative that issues such as the legitimacy of wearing breathable nail polish while performing wuḍū’ be properly researched both on the scientific level as well as the fiqhī (Islamic Law) level. It appears to me that there is a sound basis for believing the water seeps through to the nail when wearing O2M breathable nail polish. Perhaps not every brand that claims to be breathable meets this criteria and perhaps the nails need to be soaked in water for a few seconds. Nonetheless, the basis exists for permissibility. As for the questions concerning whether or not nail polish should be used by Muslim women in public, which colors may potentially cross the boundaries of modesty (ḥayā’), and whether these cosmetics are an extravagant use of one’s wealth are all beyond the scope of this article and not directly related to the issue at hand. Sisters must consider all those variables before using any cosmetics, but after they have done so, the research on breathable nail polish points to its permissibility.

1. This is according to the widely-held opinion by several Muslim scholars that cosmetics containing alcohol are allowed to be worn. Also, cosmetics should not be tested in a cruel manner on animals or contain any pork products such as gelatin. The Inglot brand discussed in this article is free from these deficiencies. See http://veggiebeauty.com/cruelty-free-statement-inglot [↩]
2. http://inglotcosmetics.com/o2m.nail.enamel/products/141/565 [↩]
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/fashion/22SkinOne.html?_r=3& [↩]
4. http://www.reveilingyourself.com/2012/04/halal-nail-polish.html [↩]
5. It is interesting to note that Ibn ʿĀbidīn [ḥanafī] argues this is not the real reason but substances like henna are allowed due to necessity. See Ibn ʿĀbidīn, Radd al-Muḥtār, 1:154. [↩]
6. Al-Samarqandī, ʿAlā’ al-Dīn, Tuḥfah al-Fuqahā’, 1:8. [↩]
7. Ibn al-Humām, Kamāl, Fatḥ al-Qadīr, 1:15. [↩]
8. Ibid. This is the opinion of Imām Abū Yūsuf. [↩]
9. Kāsānī, ʿAlā al-Dīn, Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ, 1:3. [↩]
10. Shabana Haxton lives in California and is an RN, MSN, and CNL. [↩]
11. The extra drop on the filter paper seen in the picture was an accidental misfire from the dropper and was not taken into consideration during the experiment. [↩]

Fall 2012

Fall is almost here!!! My favorite time of the year and soon it'll be time to break out those boots, scarves & jackets. As some of you may know my favorite past time is shopping, but as a mother of 2 I've had to cut back on a few things. Now I am all about the bargain shopping. So this fall I will be doing a lot of bargain shopping and blogging about it.

Below is an outfit I wore last week hope it's an inspiration. And all items were bargain items excluding the bag.

Dress: target $24.99, jacket: OldNavy $34.99, Shoes:Gap $20.99 Watch:Fossil $? Gift from hubs. 

Winter wardrobe blues...

Salaams Ladies! If anyone else is like me well, then you’re tired of this winter and with the first day of spring not until March 20^th, it’s easy to catch the winter blues. Now what is a girl to do when you’re tired of your winter wardrobe and you have a closet filled with clothing ranging from colors of grays to blacks and footwear that consists of Uggs and Tims? Recently we have been having some beautiful weather and it has inspired me to do a little shopping and of course some blogging.

 It’s definitely tough to look at all the cute spring clothes in some of our favorite stores especially when it’s still February and many of the spring fashions are too skimpy, but that shouldn't be a reason you can’t do a little shopping now.

Even though it may not be time to pull out your most fabulous maxi dress, there is a way to spruce up your drab winter wardrobe, here are a few tips:

1.      Add a pop of color. This can be incorporated through jewelry, scarves, accessories and even make up.

2.       Try buying a versatile piece in a hot spring color that you can wear for the remainder of winter like a bright cardigan or blazer which can be worn over all black in the winter and then a maxi dress in the spring.

3.      For the menstruating sister, nail polish is a sure way to add an instant pop of color. Try the new salon effects by Sally Hansen they are an easy way to add some instant glam to your outfit.

Well Insha Allah these quick tips will help you to in vision a brighter winter wardrobe and with spring just around the corner we’ll be back in our dresses and sandals in no time! iA

I'm back!

Salaams Ladies! I know I have been on a little hiatus from my blog, but it’s all because of the new bundle of joy I am carrying. For the past few months my body has been undergoing some expanding (LOL) and I haven’t had the energy to shop and blog as I would have liked to. Nonetheless I am back! I will still blog about the fashions that we would enjoy to wear and maybe a few maternity ideas as well. So Insha Allah I hope I haven’t lost too many followers on my journey and brace yourself there’s more to come!

Top 5 Fall Must haves!

Salams Ladies!

Its officially  FALL and you know what that means Fall Fashion! I love when the weather starts to cool down, because we no longer have to suffer from the heat of summer. As Muslimah’s we know all too well of the feeling of being uncomfortable from the heat and there’s nothing we can do about it but complain. So for me fall is not just about the fashion but a relief from the heat, the fashion is just a plus ;). So while digging through my basement last night, I started pulling out all of my fall items that have been hibernating all summer and realized I’m so excited. I have so many things that I forgot about, things that I bought while on sale during the early spring that I haven’t worn yet and old items that can be reinvented. So, I decided to take an inventory of everything I had, everything I didn’t have and everything each muslimah must have to complete her closet for the upcoming fall season.

So after doing some research I found 5 must have Fall Items every Muslimah needs

1.   Animal prints are huge this season but a majority of the items that are out now are too tight, too short or just not flattering for a Muslim to wear so I found a few pieces that would work for us!    A, is a skirt from Kohl's, great length and extremely flowy. B, is a dress from forever 21 wear with a black cardigan or blazer with some wide leg pants. C, Is one of my obsessions, animal printed shoes from Steve madden that can be dressed up or down. D, was found of one of my all-time favorite stores H&M and is only $14.95 wear with pants or skirt. E, is something unexpected from QVC Rachel Zoe line.





A. $48.00. B. $22.90, C.  $119.95, D. $14.95, E.  $89.99



2.   A maxi skirt is an effortless piece and is an essential in every Muslimah’s closet. Maxis can be very casual depending on how you style it. For the fall pair your maxi skirts with chunky sweaters and boots for a more casual bohemian look. A. Zara $59.90 B.  Old navy $44.94 C. Forever 21 $19.80.







A. $59.90, B. $44.94, C. $19.80





3.      Chunky sweaters are a great way to transform your summer maxi dresses and skirts, just add a chunky knit sweater to create a cozy fall look. A, is a sweater dress from H&M $69.95. B, is Gap $59.99. C, is Victoria’s Secret $69.50 and D, is Free people $298 (it’s a bit pricey but it can also be worn as a coat) and would look great for over a sleeveless dress.

A. $69.95. B. $59.99. C. $69.50. D. $298

4.       Comfortable flats are not new to the fall and actually flats are popular all year long. This fall there is a new twist on the average flat they are now coming in colors that aren’t considered fall colors and with embellishment and that’s what I love, a shoe with some fur or glitter will win my sale any day. A. is a Reva Tory Burch flat $235, B. is one of my new fav’s and it’s from Sam Edelman $150, C and E are Steve Madden and are $119.95 and D is from the gap and has a hint of femininity with the added bow on the back for $49.95.



 A. $235, B. $150, C and E $119.95 and D $49.95.



5. Last but not least are wide leg pants! These are my ultimate favorite fall item! I absolutely love them because they are very versatile they can either be dressed up and down. They give you the modest look of having on a full skirt without the breeze (if you know what I mean LOL). You can find them everywhere nowadays. I fell in love with them last fall and have been wearing them ever since. A. are pants from Shukr online $64.95, this is where I typically buy my wide leg pants from B. are pants from Zara $59.90, when I purchased these in the store I was pleasantly surprised on the fit! and C. are from Alloy.com for $36.95 they look like they flow nicely.

So these are my 5 items that every Muslimah should have for the fall! If you have any of these items and want me to post a pic of you wearing it send me an email styledbyzubaidah@gmail.com and I'm looking forward to your comments as well! Until Next post ASA