The Swacch Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an appreciable step and must get due attention by all and sundry. Islam is a complete code of life. It contains a clear and adequate guidance concerning all aspects of life. As regards physical hygiene, Islam lays great stress thereon. The Holy Qur’ān says: “God loves those who turn to Him constantly and loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” (AlQur’ān 2:222). Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: “Cleanliness is a part of Faith.” He further said: “Islam has been founded on purity and cleanliness.” The verse of the Qur’ān and the sayings of the Prophet show importance and significance of cleanliness and sanitation.
In his monumental work Hujjatullah-il-Baligah Shah Waliullah writes: “Cleanliness is of three kinds. One, purification from impurity (i.e., to attain purity or cleanliness, by taking a bath or performing wazu (ablution) in states in which a bath or wazu is necessary or desirable according to the Shari’ah; two, to cleanse one’s body, dress or place from an impurity or filth; and three, to remove the dirt or grime that collects in various parts of the body, such as, the cleaning of teeth and nostrils, the pairing of nails and the removing of hair below the navel.” Shah Waliullah’s thoughtprovoking words summarise all the corners of cleanliness and purification.
The importance of physical purity in Islam can be realised by the fact that Namaz which is the main pillar of Islam is not accepted without purification and cleanliness. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: “Whoever is not with wazu (ablution) his Namaz shall not be accepted until he performs the wazu (ablution)”.
To perform ablution is necessary before saying Namaz. The holy Prophet stated: “The key to prayer is cleanliness.” The holy Qur’ān says: “O ye who believe, when ye prepare for prayers, wash your faces, and your hands and arms to the elbows; and wash your feet to the ankles.” The virtues of ablution have also been mentioned in various sayings of the Prophet. It is related by Osman that the Apostle of Allah said: “Whoever performed wazu (ablution) and performed it well i.e., according to the prescribed rules, all his sins will go out, even from under his nails.” (Bukhari)
It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of Allah said: “When a Muslim bondsman performs wazu and, during it, washes his face and pours water over it, all the sins he has committed with the eyes are removed from his face (i.e., are washed away with the water); after it, when he washes his hands, all the sins he has committed with hands are washed away from them; and, after it, when he washes his feet all the sins he has committed with the feet (i. e. by using them for that purpose) go out of them till by the time he has finished wazu he becomes completely purified from sin.” (Muslim)
It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of Allah said: “When my followers will be summoned on the Day of Judgement, their faces, hands, and feet will be radiant with the effects of wazu. Thus, whoever of you can increase this radiance and make it perfect, he must do so.” (Bukhari)
To maintain physical hygiene, the Prophet has laid special stress on cleaning of teeth by Miswak (i.e. a twig or tender shoot of the branch of a tree). It is related by Ayesha that the Apostle of Allah said: “Miswak cleanses the mouth through and is also greatly pleasing to the Lord.”
Commenting on the above mentioned tradition of the Prophet, Maulana Manzoor Nomani says: “There are two aspects of goodness in everything: one which is beneficial from the worldly point of view and is considered agreeable by the people, on the whole; and the other which is pleasing to God and a source of reward in the Hereafter. The above tradition tells that miswak possesses both qualities. It cleanses the mouth and removes bad odour; these are its ready material advantages. The other heavenly and eternal benefit is that it is a unique means of earning the good pleasure of the Lord.”
It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of Allah said: “If I did not fear that my followers would be put to much hardship, I would have made it compulsory for them to use miswak at every prayer-time.”(Bukhari) From this hadith one can guess the advantages of miswak. Besides, this tradition shows the importance of cleanliness and purification.
Uncleanliness and impurity have no place in Islam. The Holy Prophet said: “Save yourselves from two things which invite the curse of God.” “What are those things?” enquired the Companions. The Prophet replied: “One is that anyone defecated on the road (or any other place used by the people), and the other that did so at a shady place.” (Muslim)
It should be kept in mind that almost every book of hadith has a chapter titled ‘Kitabut-taharat’ (The book of Cleanliness). Even we cannot touch the Holy Qur’ān without cleanliness. The Holy Qur’ān says: “Which (i.e., the Holy Qur’ān) no one shall touch but those who are clean.” (S:56 A: 79) It is related by Abdullah bin Omar that the Apostle of God said: “No menstruating woman or Junubi (the state of uncleanliness caused by sexual discharge whether as a result of copulation or in a dream, etc., is called Janabat while a person who is in that state is called a Junubi) should recite anything from the Qur’ān unless they purify themselves by having ghusl.” (Tirmizi)
It is also related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of Allah said: “The effect of Janabat is under every hair of the body. Thus, the hair should be washed thoroughly in Ghusl-eJanabat (so that the parts of the body that are covered with hair are cleansed and purified), and the part of the skin which is visible (i.e., is not covered with hair) should, also, be cleansed and purified properly.” (Abu Dawood) So, it is evident that Islam teaches its adherents personal purity and cleanliness. Besides, it urges them to keep their surroundings neat and clean.
But it is unfortunate that scant attention is paid towards purification. Today it is generally said that Muslims do not take care of cleanliness and purity. No doubt, due to our shortcomings and carelessness such bad notions are attributed to us.
Hence it is incumbent for us to maintain physical hygiene and keep ourselves neat and clean because cleanliness is a part of Faith. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) says: “Allah is pure and loves purity, He is clean and loves cleanliness, He is kind and loves kindness, He is generous and loves generosity; therefore, keep your compounds neat and clean.”
[The writer is Lecturer at Nadwa College, Lucknow]