Cleanliness has a very important place in Islam. The name “Mutahir”[1], which is one of the names of Allah mentioned in the Quran, means “cleansing, purifying”. The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Verily, Allah is pure, and He loves purity. He is clean and He loves cleanliness. He is generous and He loves generosity. He is magnanimous and He loves magnanimity.”[2] he drew attention to the importance of cleanliness and emphasized that it is a feature that is instrumental in gaining Allah’s pleasure.
In the period when Islam was born (6th century), the foremost guides to civilization were the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace and blessing be upon him) words and actions (sunnah). In the religion of Islam, the cleanliness of the body and the environment is given importance, as well as the cleanliness of inside of the person. These two situations which complement each other are examined under the headings of ‘material and spiritual cleanliness’.
- Material cleaning:
- The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) paid attention to his daily cleaning and always recommended it to his ummah.[3] He drew attention to cleanliness with the words, “Fitrah[4] or five things are from fitrah: circumcision, shaving pubic hair, cutting nails, plucking armpit hair and shortening mustaches.”[5] I would order them to use miswak[6]”[7] and emphasized the importance of tooth cleaning. In addition, despite the conditions of the period and the limited availability of water, he stated a minimum amount of washing,” It isa duty for Allah upon every Muslim to perform a ritual bath at least once every seven days, washing his head and his body.”[8]
- When the body and soul are considered as a whole, the material cleaning is a means of cleaning the soul. Muslims perform ablution before worship, clean the body that are likely to be contaminated, and perform their prayers believing that they are spiritually cleansed. The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Verily, my nation will be called on the Day of Resurrection as brightly radiant from the traces of ablution. Whoever among you is able to extend his radiance, let him do so.”[9] He drew attention to the fact that what was done was not just a material cleansing. The cleanliness of the clothes to be prayed with and the place of worship, especially the Kaaba, are the rules of Islam.[10]
- According to the expressions in the Quran, the issue of clean and halal food is also very important along with external cleanliness [11]. The fact that the number of verses in which Allah says, “eat and drink from clean and halal sustenance”, [12] is to emphasize that the bite that a person eats also affects his soul. Here again, it is reminded that body and soul affect each other. Therefore, material purification is dependent of spiritual purification. It is also very important to avoid questionable foods for fear that it will lead to haram [14] as much as eating halal [13] foods.
- Allah has created the world in an order and in the most perfect way.[15] He created everything that is necessary for a human being to survive, out of nothing. In that case, the world is a blessing and at the same time a trust given to human beings by Allah.[16] The belief of Islam has ordered people to see and reflect on the power of Allah in the environment, nature and everything created, and to protect these bestowed relics in the best possible way.[17]
- Spiritual cleansing:
- While cleaning the outside of the Muslim, he should seek ways to purify himself spiritually. Every Muslim must prevent himself and those around him from bad habits that Allah dislikes. In the verse, “Let there be a group among you who call ˹others˺ to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil—it is they who will be successful.”[18] Accordingly, if a Muslim has bad traits such as lying, backbiting, slander, hypocrisy, theft, betrayal of trust, arrogance, envy, greed, and showing off, he should be purified by abandoning them, and should recommend the good and the beautiful by making positive suggestions to those around him.
- Every human sin, because humans were sent to the world to be tested and they are beings with willpower. The important thing is to give up on your sins immediately and express your regret with sincere repentance to Allah. Along with the verse in the Quran in which he states that he loves those who try to be purified [19], he also states that those who purify their souls will certainly attain salvation [20]. In verse 222 of Surat al-Baqara, body cleansing is mentioned together with repentance, that is, it is indirectly stated that human’s body and soul are a whole.
- In addition to these, another important value is the cleaning of the property. This is possible with charity [21] and zakat [22]. By donating some of their earnings, believers wish for the purification of harams that may have interfered with their material income.
[1] Ali’Imran,55; Al-Ma’idah,41
[2] Sahih Al-Muslim, The book of faith, 147; Jami At-Tirmidhi, chapters on manners,41
[3] “cleanliness is half of Iman (faith)”, Sahih Muslim, 1
[4] Fitrat: Creation feature
[5] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dress, 63
[6] Miswak: a toothbrush made by pruning a tree branch
[7] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Friday prayer, 8, Wishes,9, Fasting, 27; Sahih Muslim, The book of purification,42; Sunan Abi Dawud, purification, 25; Jami At-Tirmidhi, purification, 18
[8] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Friday prayer,12 ; Sahih Muslim, Friday prayer, 9
[9] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Ablutions, 3 ; Sahih Muslim, The book of purification, 35
[10] Al-Muddaththir,4-5 ; Al-Baqarah,125, Al-Hajj, 26
[11] Al-A’raf, 31
[12] Al-Anfal, 69 ; An-Nahl, 114 ; Taha, 81 ; Al-Mu’minun, 51
[13] Helal: Things that Allah deems appropriate and does not forbid
[14] Haram: Things that Allah does not approve or prohibit
[15] Al-Mulk, 3
[16] Al-Mu’minun, 8
[17] Ar-Ra’d, 3
[18] Ali’Imran, 104
[19] At-Tawbah, 108
[20] Ash-Shams, 9-10
[21] Look at, “Charity in Islam”
[22] Look at, “What is Zakat? Why it is Ordered?”