The Importance of Personal Hygiene in Islam: A Path to Spiritual and Social Well-being

The Islamic Emphasis on Cleanliness and Grooming

ISLĀM IS A RELIGION OF HYGIENE

Al-Hafiz Abul-Faraj ibn al-Jawzī (may ALLĀH have mercy on him) said:

I noticed that many people tend to neglect their bodies; some do not floss their teeth after eating, some do not wash their hands from oil and fat.

Some rarely brush their teeth, some do not wear kohl in their eyes, some do not remove the hair of their armpits. This negligence and failing to observe personal hygiene leads to a failure in conforming to religion and life.

As for its negative effect on people’s religion, the defect results because religion commands believing men to observe particular etiquettes; to bathe on Friday before attending the Friday prayer because it is a day he meets with people; not to enter the Masjid when having bad breath from eating garlic; to cleanse the edges of the nails and toes and cut them; to cleanse the mouth with the siwak; to wear perfume and smell good and so forth.

If these etiquettes and manners are being overlooked or neglected, a person has by this, abandoned what the religion prescribed, whereby in some cases, it may affect the validity of his acts of worship such as in the case when neglecting cleansing the dirt accumulated under his nails will prevent the water of his wudu to reach these parts, hence his wudu becomes void and so does the prayer he prayed with that wudu.

With respect to the negative effect of this on people’s lives, I have noticed that some of those who overlook personal hygiene harm me when they get close to me to whisper a secret in my ears, while being unaware of the harm they are causing because I annoyingly have to endure the bad smell of their mouths to protect the privacy of the secret they wish to tell. Worse still, some of them notice the bad smell of their mouth yet do not even attempt to cleanse it.

The bad smell of the man also disgusts and turns off the wife who may find it too rude to mention it to him, and so causing her to give him no attention.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may ALLĀH be pleased with them) used to say, “I like to beautify myself for mv wife as much as I like my wife to beautify herself for me.”

The argument of some people, who object that this type of beautification is pretentious and unreal, is baseless and trivial because ALLĀH created mankind in the best stature and the eye enjoys beauty. Looking at the eyes, the eyelashes and the brows and the systematic order of body, will make one realise, with no doubt, that ALLĀH beautified mankind.

The personal hygiene of the Prophet (ﷺ) was of the utmost and he constantly smelled good, and so his Companions (may ALLĀH be pleased with them) reported that he would raise his arms until the whiteness of his armpit showed, and sometimes his leg was exposed and appeared very white and clean.

He (ﷺ) also constantly cleansed his mouth with siwak and disliked to smell anything but good.

{Captured Thoughts || Page 233-235}