Islamic and scientific reason of trimming nails

 

Islamic point of view about trimming nails:

Trimming of nails

Praise is to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

 

It is proved in the sound collections of Hadith of al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Hurairah (Radiya Allahu Anhu) that Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said:

 

"Five things are part of one's Fitra (human nature and disposition): Shaving the pubic hairs, circumcision, trimming the moustache, removing the hair under the arms and trimming the nails"

 

As mentioned above, trimming the nails means to trim them and to keep them short so as to prevent dirt from remaining under them; otherwise this constitutes a disobedience to the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam).

 

Prophet Mohammad

 He (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) stated that we should not leave them (acts of Fitra except circumcision) more than forty days as reported in a sound Hadith by Imam Muslim. It means that we are allowed to leave trimming the nails no more than forty days; otherwise it becomes disallowed.

Method of trimming nails:

Scientific reason of trimming nails

 

1-  Prevent bacterial infection:

 Long nails can leads to bacterial infection. It is because dirt can collect in nails. We all know that bacteria and germs are attracted to dirt. This is especially true for your toe nails. When you wear shoes, your feet generate sweat because they do not have enough space to be able to breathe. When you do not trim your nails, bacteria and germs will start growing on your toenails and this can cause bacterial infection.

 

2-    Prevent fungal infection:

 

fungal infection

Fungal infections are caused by fungi. The common type of fungal skin infection is athlete’s foot. It affects the skin on the feet, usually between the toes. One of the possibility factors that contribute to this condition is keeping your nails long. Fungi like to live in dirty parts of the body. Dirt accumulates in nails and same with bacteria and germs, fungi are attracted to dirt.

3-    Prevent food poisoning:

Food poisoning

The dirt particles hide in long nails. Using your hands to eat food when you have long nails can allow bacteria and other type of infectious organisms to enter in system. This can leads to food poisoning. It is highly suggested that people should clean their hands and fingernails carefully before preparing and eating food.