Does oil, cream, or gel applied to the hair prevent water from reaching the hair when wiping in Wudu?

Question Summary

Does oil, cream, or gel apply to the hair prevent water from reaching the hair when wiping in Wudu?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Oils and creams do not prevent water from reaching the skin when washing, so a fortiori does not prevent wiping.  [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

On the other hand, Gel, if very thick, may prevent the wet hand from contacting the hair. For this reason, it would be most cautious not to use thick layers of hair gel.

If only a thin layer of gel, the basis is that the water reaches.

Considerations

Note that the obligation of wiping is fulfilled if one wipes one-fourth of their head. If one uses gel to style their hair for work or other important purposes that one cannot excuse themselves from, one can put the gel on the top of their head and make their wiping on the sides.

Keep in mind though the wiping must occur on any part of the head above the ear level. [Ibid]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.