Salaam Alaikum,

Okay, every now and again, some of us "girls" get together and chat for a couple of hours. I am usually quiet and just take everything in. But, a certain subject came up that got me talking. I have a few piercings here and there. The only one visible now is my nose piercing (when I wear my ring.) As a topic of discussion the whole " showing adornments" issue was brought up; from there a lot of other issues came up.

I said, my nose piercing wasn't something I did to draw male attention. I just like piercings, I have some that can't be seen by anyone except me. Even when I wear my scarf covering my neck I still wear earrings. Most of the women present had rings on their fingers ( other than wedding rings.) I Wear bracelets on occasion as well as rings. Most of my jewelry was given to me by my parents so it means something to me. It's not a man magnet. I have never heard of a man finding a woman attractive physically due to her jewelry or how many holes she has punched into her face and body.

Then the toenail painting issue came up. I had stopped painting my toenails for a while because I was led to believe it interfered with my wudu. However, I have picked up the practice again. Frankly speaking I could no longer stand the sight of my toes unpainted. True, some people have a foot "thing," but I don't think painting your toenails is "wrong."

They had arguments against shaping your eyebrows, wearing perfume, using perfume with alcohol in it, wearing make-up, showing your feet, showing your neck, wearing jewelry, wearing jewelry that makes noise, wearing jeans, and the list goes on.

I do not see where the Quran says I can't do any of the above mentioned things. I do believe that a woman should at least look feminine.

If I'm wrong, I don't mind being corrected; as a matter of fact, I welcome correction.

I also went to the Quran about the woman marrying a non-Muslim issue. All I can gather is that no where did it say a woman can not marry a Christian or Jew. So I figure it is okay, unless I have overlooked something.

I am new to this post and any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated.