Fatwa ID: 03111

Answered by: Shaykh Umer Khan​

Question:

I have braces (clips) on my teeth. Can I perform umrah & hajj? Will it be accepted?

Answer:

In The Name Of Allah, The Most-Merciful, The Most Kind

It is permissible for Muslims to wear braces in order to align and straighten crooked teeth. Wearing braces does not affect the validity of wuḍū' (ablution) or ghusl (ritual bath), and therefore it does not affect the validity of Ṣalāh (prayer), ʻUmrah, or Ḥajj, even though the clips may prevent water from reaching every part of the teeth. This is because if a part of the body is generally required to be washed for wuḍū' or ghusl, but it needs to be covered for a reasonable need, wuḍū' or ghusl will still be valid (Raddu al-Muḥtār, 1/54) even if the water is unable to reach it. You are not required to wash under the clips of the braces as this would create potential hardship or harm, and therefore you may pass water only over the clips.

Allāh says: "He [i.e. Allāh] has chosen you, and He has not placed upon you any difficulty in the religion” (Qur’ān, 22:78). He also says: “Allāh does not burden a[ny] soul except that which it can bear" (Qur'ān, 2:286). He also says: "Allāh intends for you ease and he does not intend for you hardship" (Qur'ān, 2:185). From these verses, the scholars of Islāmic law have established the principle: "Hardship begets ease".

Only Allah knows best

Written by Shaykh Umer Khan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham