TAHARA (CLEANLINESS AND PURIFICATION)

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim

Assalam alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatu

Nature loves cleanliness and abhors pollution: that’s is why this highly desirable feature of human existence- cleanliness is one of the basic tenets of the Islamic faith.

In the Holy Qur’an there are a number of verses that can shed light to the importance of cleanliness. In Surah Al-Baqarah (Q2:222), “…For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” And in Surah At-Tauba (Q9:108), “… In it are men who love to be purified; and God loves those who make themselves pure.” Cleanliness has also been emphasizes on various hundreds of hadeeths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and in one common one, he said: “Cleanliness is half of Faith and Alhamdhulillah fills the scale, and Subhana Allah and Alhamdhulilah fill up what is between the heavens and the earth. Salah is a light, and charity is proof (of one’s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Qur’an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.” (Muslim). Here the prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) tells us that cleanliness is half of faith, therefore it should not be taken lightly.

The prophet advised Muslims to appear neat and tidy in private and in public. Its importance can be estimated from books of Hadith and Fiqh and there are two terms used ‘Tahara’ and ‘Nadhafah’. Tahara as we know is being free from any filth, cleanliness from impurities as is required in Islam to be observed by each Muslim and Nadhafah, neatness is a desirable attitude. In the first phase of Islam, it was common practice for Muslims to take a bath daily before Fajr prayers and thus became and should be a regular feature of our lives.

While people generally consider cleanliness desirable, Islam insists upon it and makes it an indispensable fundamental of religious life. Islam requires tahara both physically and spiritually. Physically it is required for a Muslim to clean their bodies, clothes and related environment like the house, path and community. On our bodies, we are to observe cleanliness on the private parts and wash off the impurities that come out of them; that is why we wash with water our genitals after passing urine and secretion (Hadath Asghar). And after ablution (wudhu) is done which equivalent to half a bath. In this way, a devout Muslim takes half a bath five times a day. As for a full bath (ghusl) it’s done when exposed to intercourse between married couples, after menstruation, ejaculation, puerperium among others (Hadath Akbar). While on other occasions, bathing is recommended on Friday prayers, festival days, in Hajj etc. After cleanliness of the body, our clothes should also be clean, without it our bodies aren’t hundred percent clean. As much stress as it’s laid upon body cleanliness, same goes for our clothes. In fact a Muslim cannot offer prayers with either unclean clothes or body.

Still on body cleanliness, we have fitrah- Muslim’s cleanliness obligations or hygienic practices. It was narrated by Abu Huraira (RA): Allah’s Messenger said, “Five practices are characteristics of fitrah: shaving the pubic hair, clipping the nails, depilating the hair of the armpits, cutting mustaches short and circumcision.” In another hadith reported by Aisha (RA): the Messenger of Allah said: “Ten are the acts according to fitrah; clipping of the mustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubic hair and cleaning one’s private part with water.”  The narrator said: “I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth.” (Bukhari). We do not have any excuse not to observe cleanliness of our bodies and clothes, because clearly Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have stated how to keep ourselves clean on both Qur'an and Hadeeth. In Sha Allah we should exercise it. It is narrated by Abu Huraira (RA) that the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “If I had not found it hard for my followers or the people, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with siwak for every salah.” (Bukhari)

Spiritual tahara means being free from carnal desires and denotes in the Oneness of God. But because there is a lot of filth in society, before we know it all sorts of crazy things run through our minds and our hearts are occupied with concerns and desires of this worldly life. And therefore before standing before Allah in the special connection that is prayer, a person must ensure his heart is free from sin, idolatry, ill manners and other arrogance, hypocrisy and all the diseases of the hearts. And how do we do that? Through remembrance of Allah, Adhkaar. When our minds and hearts are full of dhikr, there is no room for lust, envy or jealousy. This is why Islam emphasize in more on the cleanliness of the inner-self that is the heart, mind and soul which is the ultimate goal of the religion and requires the sincere believer to sanitize and purify his way of life. Once is this accomplished it is counted free from impurities. The directives of Zakah and fasting are nothing but to purify ones wealth and soul.

Islam is a holistic religion that takes into account humankind’s need for a balance between physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. Personal hygiene and cleanliness both physical and spiritually keeps both the body and mind free from disease. Cleanliness is an important part of the high standards and values that are inherent in Islam. It is the pathway to health and strength and Islam wants a healthy and strong Muslim society free from infectious diseases and capable of understanding then applying Allah’s message as well as carrying it away to the whole world.

Sister, our homes serve as our Masjid, they should be clean too and brother if you see a paper, pick it up and know that your reward is with Allah. In the view of the significance of cleanliness in Islam, Muslims should have the highest standards of cleanliness and personal hygiene of all the people in the world.

And Allah knows best.