Generation Z’s Understanding of Wudu Validity while Wearing Makeup: A Socio-Ecological Phenomenological Study

Abstract

The rise of social media and digital culture has influenced Generation Z’s aesthetic practices, including wearing makeup during wudu, raising concerns about the validity of ablution when waterproof products block water from reaching the skin. This study aimed to analyze Generation Z female students’ understanding, practices, and interpretations regarding the validity of wudu while using makeup through Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological approach. This qualitative phenomenological study involved nine purposively selected female students at SMKN 1 Dlanggu, Mojokerto Regency. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and documentation and analyzed using Moustakas’ phenomenological analysis. The findings indicate that most participants demonstrated a sound understanding of the Islamic legal principles governing the validity of wudu, although this understanding was not consistently reflected in practice. The participants’ wudu practices were influenced not only by their understanding of Islamic jurisprudence but also by a process of religious negotiation between religious commitment and aesthetic demands shaped through interactions across multiple environmental layers within Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological theory. These findings emphasize that the primary challenge lies not in the lack of understanding of Islamic jurisprudence but in the application of religious teachings within the social realities of Generation Z Muslim female adolescents.