The Importance Islam Gives to Cleanliness
Islam gives great importance to cleanliness and has made it the indispensable condition and key to some kinds of worshipping.
The Prophet states the following in a hadith:
“The key to the prayer (salah) is cleanliness, its beginning is takbir (saying Allahu Akbar) and its ending is salam (salutation).” (Abu Dawud, Taharah, 31: Tirmidhi, Taharah, 39
Cleanliness is the precondition of some sorts of worshipping; it is also the indispensable condition of health and hygiene. Besides, it makes the sustenance increase. The following is stated in a hadith:
“Keep cleaning so that your sustenance will increase...”.
Some hadiths and verses showing how much importance Islam gives to cleanliness are as follows:
“Islam is clean. Therefore, you should keep yourselves clean, too. Only the clean people can enter Paradise.” (Hadith)
“Cleanliness is the half of belief.” (Hadith)
“Cleanliness is from belief (its perfection and light).” (Hadith)
“For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean...” (al-Baqara, 222).
“Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete His favor to you, that ye may be grateful.” (al-Maida, 6).
“He caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you therewith...” (al-Anfal, 11).
It will be wrong to reduce cleanliness to body cleanliness only. The cleanliness of the heart, honesty and high ethics are as important as body cleanliness. As a matter of fact, the worshipping of a person whose intention is not clean will not be sincere; therefore, it will not be accepted by Allah.
Therefore, the cleanliness of the heart and the cleanliness of the body should come together in a Muslim; it should be known that if both of them are clean, a person will become a mature Muslim.
The cleanliness of the heart and the body is an important essential of Islam. As a matter of fact, the Prophet pointed to those two issues with the following hadith:
“Islam was built on the foundation of cleanliness.”
Another hadith that reminds us the principle of cleanliness is as follows: “Allah is clean; He loves clean people.”
0 comments :
Post a Comment