by Dr. Abdul Wadud

            The word (        )   is a specific term used by the Quran, which means cleanliness, of not only the physical body but also of mind, thought and intention.

To begin with we shall deal with the physical cleanliness.

            The Holy Quran ordains the believers to be clean and tidy at prayer times and at other times in-between prayers.  A Muslim thus observes cleanliness not because he has received an academic course of instructions in hygienic principles but because it is the part of the discipline which he has learnt at home during his early childhood.  He is bound to remain clean at prayers five times a day and the time in-between the prayers being short; he automatically remains clean for almost all the 24 hours.  The Quranic injunctions as regards cleanliness are as follows:-

 

 

“ O you who believe! When you rise up for prayer, wash your face and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and wash your feet up to the ankles.  If  you are in a state of ceremonial impurity (arising from sex pollution) bathe your whole body.  But if you are ill or on a journey, or one of you comes from offices of nature, or you have been in contact with women, and you find no water, then take for yourself clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands.  God does not wish to place you in difficulty, but to make you clean and to complete His favour to you, (by making you a tidy and disciplined people) so that you may be able to express your gratitude to Him ( by enhancing your efforts in the way of life prescribed by Him).” (5:6)

              The above-said instructions are the essentials of ( ) wudhu, or ablutions, preparatory to prayers.  As is evident from the above, these instructions envisage cleanliness of all the exposed parts of the body.   The regulations for cleanliness, as ordained by the Quran, are much stricter than those found amongst other people of the world.  If water is not available the believers are ordained to use other means of cleanliness, such as cleansing by means of clean sand so that the ritual cleansing process may remain uninterrupted; and to take bath at the earliest opportunity available.

It is ordained to perform periodic ablutions five times a day, as well as to perform ablutions when necessary for special contaminations.  The cleansing process, as prescribed in the above-said verse, takes place according to a special ceremonial which has been inherited by Muslims thorough successive generations since the time of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions.  It begins with the expression of the intention to undertake washing.  The individual actions must take place in the prescribed sequence.  On Fridays or in the early morning before attending the prayers it is usual to devote more time to the ceremonial.  The bath does not replace the prescribed ritual of wudhu but it is an additional praise-worthy act.  Public baths were formerly a necessary attachment to the mosques along with the wells in small towns and villages.

The strictest ritual demands that cleansing should take place under running water.  It fills a Muslim with disgust to plunge into a bathtub and bathe in the dirt and pollution of his own body.  After defecation and urination, Muslims always use sufficient water to cleanse their persons.  As said already, cleansing with sand is the second alternative in case of the non-availability of water.  The use of toilet paper as a matter of routine is also considered undesirable and must be followed by the use of water as soon as available.

           

            At yet another place the holy Quran says:

   “ O you who believe! Do not come to the congregational meeting of ‘salat’ with a befogged mind, when you do not understand all what you say; nor when you are polluted, until you have washed your whole body, except when you do not participate in the prayer meeting but simply pass by it; or if you are ill or on a journey or you have touched a woman and you find no water, then take for yourself clean sand or earth and wipe therewith your faces and hands.  Such a relaxation is given by Allah, who is lenient and protective.” (4:43)

 Regarding woman’s courses it is said:

 

  “ They ask thee concerning woman’s courses, say: they are a hurt and a pollution. So keep away from women in their courses and do not approach them until they are clean… surely Allah loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” ( 2:222)

              There are also regulations concerned with the cleansing of clothes, dwellings, food and drinks.  As far as possible a Muslim shall, as a matter of routine, eat with his right hand and cleans his person after defecation or urination and cleanse his nose etc., with the left hand, which is thoroughly washed afterwards.  The garments are considered to be polluted even by the slightest touch of urine, blood or any other pollution and must be washed before attending the prayers.

              Above all, it is necessary that the floor should be clean because it is there that a Muslim kneels for prayer.  Not only in the mosques but also in private houses, one has to take off one’s shoes before stepping on to the carpet or mat.  If prayer time occurs at a place which is far away from the mosque or one’s own place of residence, or during travels, one will always use a cloth or garment to lay on the ground in order to avoid direct contact with it.

              The shaving of pubic region and armpits and removal of nails is a matter of routine amongst the Muslims and is strictly observed.  Cleanliness of teeth is also scrupulously observed.  Previously the use of ‘Miswak’, a green twig from a ‘kikar’ tree, was the common practice.  The twig, after being crushed by the teeth turns into a soft brush and the alkaline juices of the twig have a sedative effect on the gums.  But now the urban population generally uses toothbrush, pastes or powders.  

              Believers in the Quran are thus the cleanest persons in the world, which is an actual fact, and becomes more obvious on occasions when you contact non-Muslims.   The writer, who was in the Indian Medical Service during the Second World War, has a personal experience of the unclean habits of the non-Muslims.  We lived in the company of British officers in the battlefields day and night, for months and years together.

At dinner times the British looked clean and shining, firstly because they regularly washed their heads and faces and dressed their hairs in the evenings and secondly because of their complexion.  But in the line of march under the heat of sun when we halted at certain points under the shade of trees and took of our shirts, the British officers used to stink like a herd of sheep or goats, so much so, that often it became difficult to sit close to them; the smell surpassed even the proverbial stink of the Sikhs.  This was due to the fact that they took baths very sparsely and never shaved the unwanted auxillary hairs.

That was the case with British officers.  The other British ranks were still worse.  They remained unwashed perhaps for months together in spite of constant exposure to the heat of the sun and the dust and looked like creatures from some other world.  That was not the case with Indian Other Ranks.

              Non-Muslims in general, also have got unclean habits.  Sikhs and Hindus urinate while standing and never care to protect the lower part of their bodies and cloths from being soiled.  In the army, one is bound to live under varied and diverse conditions, especially during war time.  Once we were staying in a camp in the province of Madras, in India.  There happened to be a brick-built pacca room in the camp area, which was allotted to me for use as a Medical Aid Post.  There was a wash basin inside the room with a water tap.  I had a junior Medical Officer there to assist me who was a Bengali Hindu.  One day as I entered the room I saw this Medical Officer urinating in the wash basin, as there was no bathroom nearby.  I asked him what the hell he was doing.  He said, " Doesn't matter, the urine is sterile."   I was absolutely disgusted with that fellow but fortunately he remained there only for a day or two.  Such perversion on the part of Hindus is due to the fact that they learn from their parents in early childhood that cow's urine is sacred; they even cherish its taste.  So, if animal urine is sacred, why should they feel disgusted with human urine?   In India we often witnessed our neighbouring Hindu woman cleansing their children after defecation, with just an ounce or two of water or even wipe them with a piece of cloth and immediately thereafter engage themselves in preparing food.  The scene used to be absolutely nauseating.  Hindus selling sweet-meats and other food articles, also, seldom washed their hands after urinating and were satisfied with wiping off their polluted hands with their own dhoti ( loin cloth ).

 House-fly  -  Its role in pollution

            The greatest hindrance in keeping the food-stuff clean and uncontaminated is the house-fly.   Killing houseflies is an inadequate measure in order to destroy them.  Rather, the true measure is to check their growth.  A single fly produces 900 eggs in her lifetime, which after passing through the stages of larva and pupa, become adult flies in a short period of only one week.  The life span of a housefly is one month.  Thus if the growth of flies is checked in a particular area, according to the available plans, all the flies within a one mile radius shall automatically disappear in a period of one month.  This fact is based on my personal experience as an Army Medical Officer.

              However it all depends on adopting the hygienic measures, as regards the cleanliness of refuse and the disposal, burial and incineration measures which by itself is a comprehensive subject, outside the scope of this work

 Cleanliness a constant process in nature

            The cleanliness of impure salt water present in the oceans by the hydrological cycle on the earth, is a ‘Rahmat’ from Allah the Almighty, without which the provision of fresh water so essential to life, would have become non-available.

            Thus the Quran says:

 “And He it is who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His 'Rahmat’ and We send down pure water (free from all impurities) from the sky.” (25:48)

 Cleanliness of Mind, Thought & Intention

  “And thy garments keep free from impurity”( 74:4)

              In this the Rasool ( peace be upon him ) has been ordained not only to keep his clothes clean but also to keep his actions ( personality ) involved in the invitation to the Truth :

 

            “We had insisted to ( the builders of the Kaaba ) Abraham and Ismail, that they should make this place the centre of the universal system undefiled by man-made beliefs and ideas.  This centre was to be reserved for the organisation and training of Momineen who submit to the laws of Allah and their purpose in life would be to keep a vigil so that humanity is protected from danger and to resolve its knotty problems. ( 2:125)

 

              ( Seeing the inner life of the temple, Mary began to have all kinds of apprehensions regarding her own future ).  To set her mind at rest Malaika said, “ Do not be apprehensive.  You have been chosen by Allah for a noble purpose. You will lead a life of purity and shall have eminence over all the women.” ( 3:42)

  

            “ ( O Rasool! ) you may therefore accept their contribution ( This would mean that they have been accepted as members of your society and system ) And in association with other members, make arrangements for their education which would purify them (  by removing doubts from their minds.” ( 9:103)

The consorts of the Rasool ( peace be upon him ) were addressed as follows:-

 

“ Allah only wishes to remove abomination from you, you members of the family and to make you pure and spotless.” ( 33:33 )

“ None shall touch the revelation in the Quran except those who are clean in body, mind, thought and action.” ( 56:79 )

 

 Circumcision

  Circumcision is not prescribed by the Holy Quran and is not a commandment in Islam.   However, before Islam, it was practised by the people of Arabia; and being a good practice and a useful hygienic measure, it was allowed by the Rasool ( peace be upon him) to be kept up by the Muslims.  Since then it has retained its traditional significance in Islam.   Besides being  a measure of cleanliness,  the prophylactic value of circumcision is great.  For example, carcinoma of the penis is very uncommon amongst the circumcised and early circumcision has been a definite deterring factor in this respect.

It is also commonly believed that the incidence of acquired syphilis is lower in the circumcised Jews.  Jews, according to an old tradition, carry out circumcision on the eighth day after the birth of a child.  Being only a custom for Muslims, there is no such restriction as far as time is concerned, although it is often carried out early, generally before the age of five or six.  The festivities attached to circumcision amongst the Muslims, are of a customary nature and are not necessarily carried out in each case.

Jews and Muslims have circumcised newly born male children using different methods at different times.  Pictures depicting circumcisions are still in existence, for example: the well-preserved tomb painting at the Egyptian village of  Saqqara ( about 2400 B.C. ).  Even before the introduction of Christian calendar, circumcision was prescribed by law in Palestine and even today the Catholic Church Calendar records the feast of circumcision (circumcision Domini) 8 days after the birth of Christ.

            Besides this circumcision at an early age, there is also a later form of circumcision, especially amongst the tribes of Africa.  This is carried out between the age of 8 and 14, a period of development in which western countries celebrate the first Holy Communion or confirmation into the church or the non-religious “youth initiation”.  In Africa the act of circumcision is a communal festival, a symbol of attainment of the age of maturity.

            A fact which is less known is that in Africa, adolescent girls, too, undergo a ritual circumcision (Clitoridectomy) which is preceded by elaborate preparations, symbolic ablutions and periods of strict isolation and retreat.