KERVAN
Lesson 6 : Importance of Cleanliness and Wudu
Objectives: In this lecture students will learn about the importance that Islam places on cleanliness and personal hygiene. Students will learn about the recommended hygiene practices and learn about the proper way to make wudu.
Part 1: Cleanliness in Islam
Allah wants us always be clean and tidy. We know this because it is encouraged in the Holy Qur’an many times. Surah Al-Baqarah (2:222) reads:
Truly, Allah loves those who turn to him constantly and he loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.
We also know that Prophet Muhammad practiced cleanliness of self and surroundings to a great extent and even said:
Cleanliness is part of our religion.
We must keep our body clean by showering. We must also do wudu before our prayers. We should also wash and dry ourselves properly every time we use the bathroom and remember to wash and clean our hands.
We must brush our teeth at least twice a day (morning and before bedtime). Prophet Muhammad encouraged brushing the teeth every time before doing wudu. This shows how important oral hygiene is, and that we must really make a habit of properly brushing our teeth to keep ourselves healthy and presentable.
We know how easily germs spread from our very own hands to our bodies as well as to other people. In addition to routine handwashing and bathing, we must maintain cleanliness of the fingernails and toenails. Scrub your nails daily and trim them at least once a week. Friday is an incredibly special day for us. How about taking some time every Friday to trim our nails?
Cleaning our bodies and then putting on dirty clothes really makes no sense. The Holy Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad urges us to always wear clean clothes and be particularly careful to make sure our clothes are clean even when using the toilet.
A Muslim should have a clean and pure mind and heart. We must respect others and help others in need. We must do good deeds and avoid what Allah has forbidden. Praying and fasting helps Muslims to remember Allah and cleanse our bodies and minds.
If our surrounding environment is dirty, we will end up getting dirty too. We should keep our rooms, homes, schools, neighborhood, roads, parks, and everywhere else clean. We should always dispose of garbage in trashcans. We should not litter even little things like a bottle cap or a candy wrapper. As good Muslims, we must respect Allah and His creations. Keeping the environment clean keeps the plants, animals, and us happy and healthy.
Before prayers:
We must be particularly clean and nicely dressed before we stand before Allah for our prayers.
We should do our Wudu and make sure our body and clothes are clean and neat.
We should also clear our minds of any bad thoughts.
We should also make sure that the place where we pray is clean and neat.
Part 2: Wudu
Before we perform salah and other prayers we must first prepare ourselves. This preparation includes making sure that we are clean from any physical impurities and performing Wudu.
The obligatory acts of wuḍūʼ are four. This is the minimum required to successfully perform wuḍū:
Washing the entire face, from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin in length, and from earlobe to earlobe.
Washing both arms completely, up to and including the elbows once.
Wiping a quarter of the head above the ears once.
Washing the feet completely including the ankles once.
This is the minimum required to successfully perform wuḍūʼ.
The sunnah way to perform wuḍūʼ is to:
Make an intention in your heart, such as, “I intend to perform ritual ablution for the sake of Allah.”
Wash the hands up to and including the wrists.
Invoke the name of Allah, such as saying Bismi ’Llāh wa ’l-ḥamdu li ’Llāh (In the name of Allāh, and all praise belongs to Allāh).
Rinse the entire mouth three times, with three handfuls of water.
Brush your teeth, with a tooth stick (miswāk) or toothbrush.
Rinse the nose three times, with a handful of water each time. It is recommended to take water into the nostrils with the right hand and blow it out with the left hand.
Wash the entire face. The face is defined as being from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin, and from earlobe to earlobe. This is the first of the four obligatory acts of the ritual ablution. It is sunnah to wash the face three complete times. After this, pass wetted fingers through the beard if long. It is recommended to start washing from the forehead. One should avoid slapping water onto the face, as this is improper.
Wash your arms completely, up to and including the elbows. This is the second of the four obligatory acts of ritual ablution. It is sunnah to wash the arms three complete times. After this, it is sunnah to pass the fingers through each other. It is recommended to start washing from the fingertips.
Wipe a quarter of the head once, above the ears. This is the third of the four obligatory acts of ritual ablution. It is sunnah to wipe the entire head starting from the top of the forehead and recommended to also wipe the back of the neck.
Wipe the ears (without taking new water). It is recommended to wipe the outsides of the ears with the thumb, the insides with the index fingers and to insert the little fingers into the ear canal.
Wash the feet up to and including the ankles. This is the fourth and final obligatory action of the ritual ablution. It is sunnah to wash three complete times, and to pass fingers through the toes. It is recommended to start washing from the tips of the toes, to rub with the left hand, and to pass the little finger through the toes starting with the little toe of the right foot and ending with the little toe of the left foot.
During the ritual ablution, it is sunnah to observe the above-mentioned order, to wash the limbs continuously without delay, and to rub the limbs during the first washing. It is recommended to face the qibla throughout the ritual ablution, and to avoid splashing water onto oneself. It is improper to engage in worldly speech without need, to waste water, or to leave any of the sunnahs without excuse.
When you need to make wudu again:
The exiting of filth (najāsa) or air from the private parts.
The flowing of blood or pus from any part of the outer body, regardless of whether it comes out on its own or is made to come out.
Vomiting a mouthful or more of other than phlegm.
Sleeping lying down, or reclining, on one’s side.
Loss of consciousness.
Loss of intellect.
Drunkenness.
Laughing audibly in a prayer (that has bowing and prostration).
Intimate contact between a man and a woman, such that the private parts touch directly.
Summary/conclusion: Muslims by and large have extremely high standards of personal hygiene because Islam places great emphasis on both physical and spiritual, cleanliness and purification. While humankind in general usually considers cleanliness to be a pleasing attribute, Islam insists on it. Muslims are required to take care of their personal hygiene by assuring that they are well groomed, and that their bodies, clothing, and surroundings are clean.
Cleanliness is Half of Faith
Allah does not want us to devote all of our lives to worldly affairs. He asks us to return to Him at certain times of a day and present our servitude to Him with complete respect. One of the commandments of Allah for us is the five daily prayers. Prayer is the most vital action of the believer. However, before performing the prayer, cleaning must be done as a preparation for it. Cleanliness is also an important matter that should be emphasized.
Cleaning done before entering the prayer is the key to prayer. Therefore, a person who has not done this cleaning means that he has not ready to enter the prayer. The following is stated in a verse: " You should rather pray in the mosque (the Quba mosque) founded from its first day on consciousness of God: in this mosque there are men who desire to grow in purity- God loves those who seek to purify themselves.” (Qur’an 9:108) This verse was revealed about the people of Quba, who attach great importance to cleanliness as preparation for prayer, and therefore to ablution. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the people of Quba: "Allah praises you for cleanliness in the Qur'an. Do you know why?” When he was asked, they replied: "We use stone and water when doing istinja (first we wipe it with a stone, then we wash it with water)", that is, we give the utmost importance to cleanliness.
Yes, the believer, who ensures that inner cleanliness and faith overflow in the form of ablution, is a person whom Allah loves. A believer rolls up his sleeves and performs ablution, regardless of whether it is summer or winter, just because he believes in Allah. When a conscious believer goes to prayer, that is, before the Lord, a bitter smile and bitterness appear on his lips; like Ali, a shiver and apprehension occurs in his body.
With the cleaning done and fulfilled, on the one hand, the hand-foot, hair-beard... is cleaned of dirt and rust, and on the other hand, the heart gets rid of the feelings of bad morals and rises itself to the high. Then, the secret in the heart becomes a mirror against the things that come from Allah the Almighty and preserves its purity. With such cleanliness, half of faith is achieved, as the Messenger of Allah said: "Cleanliness is half of faith." The remaining half is a matter of creating faith in the heart, which belongs entirely to Allah the Almighty. Presumably, when a person enters into such a cleansing with the intention of worshiping his Lord, the impurities inside him will also be erased... and Allah the Almighty will ignite the light of faith in this heart.
Prayer is a magnificent worship that includes four levels of cleanliness. By performing ablution, we will be cleansed of the dirt on our clothes, the dirt covering our limbs. In this way, the eye that undergoes a cleaning operation does not look at the haram (forbidden); the mouth does not speak bad words; the hand does not do bad things; the foot does not step in the direction of evil... and all organs are thus freed from sin.
Uthman ibn Affan (radiyallahu anh) smiles one day after performing ablution and says: "Why don't you ask what makes me smile?" says. The people next to him: “What makes you smile, O commander of the believers?” He replied, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed ablution one day and said what I told you. We said: "What makes you smile, O Messenger of Allah?" we said. He said: "Whoever among you prepares the water for wudu, cleans his mouth and nose with water, his faults will come off his face, mouth and nose. If he then washes his face as Allah has commanded, the sins he committed with his face will fall out along with water from around the beard. Then, when he washes his arms up to the elbows, the sins of his hands are washed away from his fingertips along with the water. Then, when he wipes his head, the sins of his head flow with the water around the hair. Then, when he washes his feet up to his heels, the sins of his feet flow from his toes with the water. Then, if he gets up and prays, glorifies and praises Allah, shows respect to Him as He deserves, and removes everything other than Allah from his heart, he will be purified from all his sins as on the day he was born from his mother. (Muslim, Musafirin 294) Maybe this is why the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) often performed ablution before performing every prayer. The sins wiped out here are the minor sins, the rights of people have on us cannot be forgiven without paying their rights.
Another cleanliness in Islam is the cleanliness of the heart, which is the state of getting rid of bad feelings and thoughts, becoming pure and showing acquiescence to the will of Allah. Yes, Allah the Almighty looks at people with the things He has commanded and makes them turn towards Him as a means of looking at him; You turn to Me, and I will turn to you. In other words, if a person bends down in front of Allah in prayer, it means that Allah is looking at him. He never looks at bodies that do not bend before Him, heads without prostration. Rabia al-Adawiyya expresses this situation as follows: "If Allah had not favored me, I would not have been able to perform ablution and pray, I would not have been able to fast, I would not have been able to get up by saying that tonight is the Lailat al Miraj and make the best use of it (by performing prayers, reading the Quran, doing remembrance of Allah, etc.). It is His favor that brought me to this state.”
We can better understand this in a comparison like this. Do sunflowers turn to the sun because the sun looks at them, or do they follow the sun? Of course, if the sun were not there, they would not be able to turn towards it. So, the main thing is the existence of the sun. Just like that, the view of Allah, who is the Eternal and Eternal Sun, is essential for the servant. If He did not look, a person would become incapable of looking at his face, and he would not know the way to the mosque, could not find his prayer mat, could not recognize the mihrab (a niche in the wall of a mosque), and would be stuck on the roads. So, in a time of righteousness, we will look at Him, and He will look at us. He will look after us, and we will look after Him. “Remember Me, and I will remember you.” (Quran 2:152) that is, remember Me in your great moments so that I will remember you in your troubled moments; remember Me in the world, so that I will remember you in the hereafter. Yes, the servant should look for Allah, like a moth, turning around and around, so that one day he will find Him.
Prayer provides this orientation. A believer who prepares for prayer will renew himself with ablution and become immaculate, then he will be in the presence of Allah and turn to Him. Allah the Almighty will respond to his prayers and will open wide all doors.
There is also the cleanliness of the prophets, which is the final level of cleanliness, which is removing from the heart everything other than Allah, even the removal of the legitimate worldly things from the heart. That is the cleanliness demanded from our Prophet and all other prophets... and this is the final point they reach in cleanliness. In order to reach this level, it is necessary to start from the beginning and follow all of the steps from the beginning to the end. For example, it is not possible to be fully cleansed without passing through the cleanliness of the heart and getting rid of all bad morals. Because the heart cannot establish a relationship with Allah unless it gets rid of all bad morals and breaks away from the things that are related to the world. Again, a light is not lit in the heart until the limbs get away from sins. In other words, the light of faith will shine in the heart of man only through the removal of sins from inner and outer limbs. The prophets paid attention to this balance and ascended to that rank. For example, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) performed very meticulously both his wudu and prayers, asking for forgiveness a hundred times in just one day for the sake of cleaning the heart, and when he expressed this, he said, “Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day.” Again, it is reported that the supplication he said most frequently was: “O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion." Here, besides his external cleanliness, his internal control is so solid, and so clear, clean, and deep inside.
Dear Muslims, in summary, we are faced with four kinds of cleansing in Islam. These are physical cleansing, cleansing ordered by the Islamic law, spiritual cleansing, and cleansing of the heart’s secret. The first is physical cleanliness, which is body cleaning, clothes cleaning, and cleaning our place of dirt and filth. In the language of fiqh (the Islamic Jurisprudence), this is called taharah (cleanliness) from impurities. So, it's a job of cleaning up the visible filth. The second one is cleanliness ordered by the Islamic law. Such as doing wudu (minor ablution) before performing the daily prayers and doing Ghusl, which we call major ablution. If doing these two are not possible then we do tayammum to replace them are ways to be cleansed from filth. The third cleansing is spiritual cleansing, which is the cleansing of our limbs from sins such as backbiting, lying, eating haram, treason. It is the cleansing of the heart from spiritual impurities such as pride, arrogance, frivolity, self-conceit, vanity, hatred, envy, and jealousy, and instead embellishing our hearts with faith, sincerity, piety and good morals. The fourth and final type of cleaning is to cleanse our secret, which is the most important part of the heart, from everything other than Allah and to give the true love in the heart only to Allah. In other words, we are in charge of purifying our hearts by not loving mortal, temporary beings as Allah loves them.
Let's end our sermon with the following prayer, which our Prophet made after wudu, and which is sunnah for us to recite after every wudu: "My God, make me one of your servants who constantly repent to You, always turn to You, realize their sins and turn away from them and strive for physical and spiritual purification." May our Lord make us one of His servants who perform physical and spiritual purification, which is half of faith.