Cleanliness & Hygeine in Islam - Qari Zakaullah Saleem

Khutbah Opening

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and ask His help and ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims.

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul. And He created from it a wife. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, whom you ask about, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.

As for the rest, the best hadith is the Book of Allah. And the best guide is the guide of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are its innovations. And every innovation is an invention. And every invention is a misguidance. And every misguidance is in the Fire.

The Prophet's Mission: Perfecting Manners and Ethics

As he, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Musnad al-Bazzar; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman, Hadith 7609)

"I have been sent so that I can complete and perfect the manners and ethics."

There are so many aspects of good manners, ethics and akhlaqs. As we know, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, fulfilled this achievement and this goal through his actions, through his statements, as well as through his instructions and teachings to his ummah.

There are so many aspects of the akhlaq and good manners and ethics. But I would like to highlight in today's khutbah one of the aspects of the akhlaq that is usually neglected. And we very, very rarely see someone speaking about this topic in public. Although most of us criticize it. But we are reluctant most of the time to talk about this topic. Although it is very, very important.

It is important to the extent that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has classified it as half of iman. And this is the topic of cleanliness and hygiene in our religion.

Islam: The Most Hygienic Religion

My dear brothers and sisters, our religion, the religion we follow, is the most hygienic religion because it is the religion set by our Creator, Allah Dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has put great emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene.

And remember, my dear brothers and sisters, the standard that our religion has set for cleanliness and hygiene is not a normal standard. Rather, it is an even more strict standard. And it is not only cleanliness, rather it is purity. We must have a pure body, pure outfits, pure place, pure floor and mat in order to stand in front of our Creator, Allah Dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram. Our salah, our worship, our prayer cannot be accepted unless our body, our clothes, our place of prayer is completely pure.

Therefore, the word that has been used in the Book of Allah and in the statements of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning cleanliness is not nazaafa, rather it is tahara, which means purity.

My dear brothers and sisters, if a small drop of urine touches your clothes and it dries up, you are not allowed to pray until you clean it. Whereas, apparently it looks clean, but it is not pure, so you cannot pray. This is the standard — this is the highest standard of cleanliness that our religion has set for us.

But if we look at our habits, it seems completely opposite. We know, my dear brothers and sisters, nations and countries are judged based on the level of their hygiene and cleanliness. When we compare between developed countries and undeveloped countries, one of the most important things that we observe is the hygiene and cleanliness — when we see the roads and streets and the houses and the people and their clothing. When we see them clean, we say this is a developed country. As for undeveloped countries, these are the countries where you can see the dirt and rubbish on the streets, on the roads, and you can see the people with dirty clothes and they don't really bother with cleanliness or hygiene.

So my dear brothers and sisters, we as Muslims are the ambassadors of Islam. Every single one of us represents our religion, the deen of Allah. Why are we not abiding by the rules and regulations and teachings that our deen, our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has set for us?

The Masjid: A House of Purity and Fragrance

The Blind Man and the Adhan

Let me give you an example. We know a very famous hadith. A blind man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I live a bit far from the masjid. I am blind and I have no guide to take me to the masjid. And the path to the masjid is dangerous for me as well. Do you allow me to pray at home?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him — and he was rahmatun lil-'alamin, he was compassionate — he allowed him and said, "Okay, you can pray at home." When he was about to leave, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, called him again and asked him, "Do you hear the adhan?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Then you have to answer. You must attend the masjid."

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1378)

You might be thinking what this hadith has to do with cleanliness. Just bear this hadith in mind for a minute.

The Prohibition of Bad Odour in the Masjid

And then on the other hand, we have a hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, reported by Imam al-Bukhari, Imam Muslim and many other muhaddithin — an authentic hadith. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says: whoever eats raw onion or garlic or leek, then let him not come closer to our masjid — not even enter. He should not get close to our masjid.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 855; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 564)

And then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "For the angels of Allah are harmed and they are hurt from that which hurts and harms the children of Adam" — meaning odour, bad smell.

On one hand, we have a blind man who has no concession to pray at home — he has to attend the masjid. And on the other hand, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, himself is forbidding someone who eats raw onion to enter the masjid and telling him to stay home.

What do we understand from both hadiths? If you are smelling good, if your clothes are clean and smelling nice, you must attend the masjid — even if you are blind, you must attend the masjid. But on the other hand, if you can see, you are not blind, you are not disabled, but you smell bad — don't enter the masjid, stay home.

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said: when a servant of Allah stands for the prayer and he remembers his Creator, he recites the ayat of the Quran, he recites the Book of Allah, he remembers Allah — Allah, out of His love for His servant, sends the angel, and the angel places his mouth on the mouth of the slave of Allah. When you pray, imagine if you are smelling bad.

Smoking and Other Harmful Habits

And another thing that we understand from this hadith, my dear brothers and sisters: raw onion and garlic are halal vegetables — they are halal. But just because of their bad smell, if you consume them, you are not allowed to enter the masjid. And what about smoking? When you smoke a cigarette, or you take naswar, or shisha, and then you come into the masjid and harm others? Wallahi, you are pushing people away from the house of Allah. And instead of getting any reward, you will be sinful.

This is the house of Allah. This is my responsibility and your responsibility to keep the house of Allah smelling nice.

Keeping the Masajid Clean and Fragranced

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said in a hadith reported by Imam Ibn Majah: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered the companions to build many masajid within and outside Medina. He said: build masajid in every corner, in every street.

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 758)

And those masajid, the houses of Allah, must be kept clean and fragranced.

The Ghusl on Friday

My dear brothers and sisters, this is the standard of cleanliness that our religion has set for us. Let me give you another example that shows the importance of being clean and nice smelling, especially when you come into the masjid.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered the companions to perform the ghusl on the day of Friday. And it was wajib, it was fard in the early days of Islam. As our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says: the people used to work in their fields, they used to sweat, and they used to have their dirt and dust on their heads and clothes. When they would enter the masjid al-nabawi, the ceiling of the masjid was very low, and out of the hot weather the people used to sweat and the bad smell would come. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 879; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 846)

"The taking of a bath on the day of Friday is wajib upon every single adult." He made it compulsory. And then obviously, this compulsion was later abrogated. But it shows again the importance of respecting the house of Allah and keeping it clean and nice smelling.

Adorning Oneself for the Masjid

Allah also ordered us in the Quran:

"O children of Adam, take your adornment and your best when you come to the masjid."

Acting on this verse, one of the most beloved companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him — the companion who loved the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, so much — Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to have special clothing for attending the masjid. How many of us have special clothing just for attending the masjid? And he used to say, "I am going to stand in front of my Lord, Allahu Dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram, so I have to be in the utmost clean and nice clothes."

My dear brothers and sisters, my request to you all is: when you attend the masjid, and even outside the masjid, we need to observe these teachings of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, concerning tahara, purity, cleanliness and hygiene.

The State of Muslim Communities

And always remember the standard of Islam. Unfortunately, Muslim communities in this country and outside this country are seen as dirty people. A couple of days ago, I spoke with one of our converted brothers. And I asked him, "What was your perception of Islam before accepting Islam?" He said, "I used to believe that Muslims are dirty people." And he was grown up in the area of Small Heath. And he was saying, "Whenever I would walk on the streets and roads of Small Heath, I would realize that this is the Muslim area — that is why it is dirty. And there is rubbish all around."

Unfortunately, our deen teaches us the highest standard of cleanliness and hygiene. But we are neglectful.

The Miswak: Cleaning the Mouth for Every Salah

Don't we remember the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 887; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 252)

"If it was not a burden upon my ummah, I would have ordered my ummah to use the miswak, to clean their teeth and their mouth, for every single salah."

Nowadays we see the doctors who advise us to clean the mouth twice — before going to bed and in the morning after breakfast. This is the standard of hygiene of these people. But our religion, our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is instructing us to clean the mouth at least five times a day.

Combing the Hair

But unfortunately, we see people coming to the masjid with dirty clothes, with dirty socks, with dirty hair. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw a man with uncombed hair. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, got very upset and said, "Can he not find anything with which he can comb his hair?"

And it is reported in another hadith: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw a man with uncombed hair. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered him to go away and wash it and comb the hair. He came back after a while. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked him, "Is this position and this appearance not better than what you were upon before?"

My dear brothers and sisters, body, clothing, place — inside the house, outside, streets, roads — must be kept clean and pure.

The Reward of Cleanliness on Friday

We are instructed and ordered by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to wear nice clothes and the best clothes when we attend the masjid, and especially on the day of Friday. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 343; also reported by Ahmad)

Whoever wakes up on the day of Friday, takes a shower, wears the best of his clothing, puts perfume on, then attends the masjid, comes inside without separating between two sitting people, then sits down and listens to the khutbah of the Imam — Allah forgives his sins for the past seven days plus three extra days. This is out of this purity, cleanliness and hygiene, and obviously because of the blessed day of Friday.

Practical Reminders for Our Community

My dear brothers and sisters, we attend the masjid with clothing that smell of curry. Our sisters attend the masjid — and we have heard so many complaints from sisters — wearing abayas that have been left in the kitchen and then worn to the masjid, with bad smell coming from the abaya. And remember, my sisters, this is the house of Allah. We must keep it smelling nice.

Cleanliness from Birth to Death

Also, my dear brothers and sisters, we should remember that as Muslims, our beginning and our end both start with cleanliness. Remember, when a child is born, one of the etiquettes of the newborn child that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has taught us is that on the seventh day his head is shaved. And the wording in the hadith is: "the filth is removed." Not just that his head is washed — you cannot clean the head completely until you shave it. So the beginning of the Muslim child is with cleanliness and hygiene.

And when someone passes away, what do we do? We wash and shroud the body. Although he or she is going into the dust, into the mud, but living on this earth we are ordered to keep clean — even the dead. This is the importance of cleanliness and hygiene in our deen.

Allah Loves Those Who Are Pure

Allah loves those who stay clean and pure. And Allah has said this in the Quran:

Tahara, purity, cleanliness, hygiene — it is one of the means of deserving the love of Allah. This is a reward.

The Punishment for Neglecting Purity

But on the other hand, we have punishment as well. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was passing by two graves and he stopped and said: "These people are being punished in their graves, and they are not being punished because of a very serious thing — rather it was manageable. They could have managed it. But they did not."

And then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "In reality, in the deen of Allah, these sins are big and major." And then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 218; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 292)

"One of these two is being punished in the grave just because of the fact that he would not safeguard himself from the splashes and the drops of urine."

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said in another hadith:

(Sunan al-Daraqutni, Hadith 449; also reported by al-Hakim)

"Safeguard yourself from urine, from the drops and splashes of urine. For mostly the punishment of the grave is because of this sin."

If tahara is the half of iman, and it is one of the means of deserving the love of Allah, then on the other hand, neglecting tahara, purity and hygiene is also one of the major sins in our deen.

Du'a

May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to stay clean and to keep ourselves clean, our kids clean, our children clean. And may Allah allow us to keep our houses — inside and outside — clean. And may Allah give us tawfiq and ability to keep His houses, the masajid of Allah Dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram, clean. And may Allah allow us to keep our streets, our roads, and our areas clean as well. Because this is all part of our deen, our religion. May we not be among the losers.

O Allah, help Islam and Muslims. O Allah, help Islam and Muslims. O Allah, help our brothers who are weak in every place, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, help those who are weak — men, women and children — in the land of Sham. O Allah, help them with help and support. O our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter. And protect us from the punishment of the Fire. And bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.