Cleanliness and Beautification
أَعُوذُ
بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْــمِ الله الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيم
Let
me set the ball rolling by giving all thanks and gratitude to ALLAH the Self
sufficient Master, Whom alone we worship,we seek His indulgence in all our
affiars and beg for His forgiveness. He created the seven heavens and adorned
it with stars, and created seven earth with everything it entails of mountains,
sands, oceans and wildernesses, to Him is the dominion of every animates and
inanimates being. May His utmost peace and blessings be upon His cherished
messenger,his house-hold, and those who does not retrieve being on their track
till the Day of reckoning.
My
respected brothers in eymaan! We speculate in the following chapter which was
the second revelation in the Holy
qur'an and the hadiths that are as
follow
Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: The Messenger of
Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith.(Rawaahul Muslim
filkitabittaharah)
Islam is the only religion that provided guidance for all facets
of the life of human being. It established the unity of Allah (Tawheed),
jurisdiction and every sort of good morality the world has ever known. It is a
religion that recognizes for all to consume good, wear decent dress, to appear
in a beautiful form of looking. Cleanliness and beauty have become the second
integral aspect of Islam after spiritual purity. Allah elaborated this in Surat
Al-Muddathir, v 1-5: “O you (Muhammad SAW) enveloped
(in garment)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allah) magnify! And your garments
purify! And all abomination shun! ” The scholars of tafseer pointed outthat, in this ayat, the
word "SIYAB" not only means clothing but also refers to heart and
soul, that is to say; purifying heart from every sort of polytheism (shirk) and
injustice, contaminated emotions and feelings from heart and mind, innovation in religion, and possessing high
level of morality (akhlaq) are related to purification of body, clothes and
environment. Their evidence is the concept of the word "taharah".
Instead of nazaafah, which means physical cleanliness, taharah is used in the
ayat, which has a more comprehensive meaning including physical and spiritual
cleanliness. Keeping our environment & our garments clean and also
appearing decent are part of the purification and civilization that our
religion of Islam brought to humanity thereby distinguishing its followers from
the others. Indeed Allah has conferred a favour upon us on the blessing of
dress. Allah SWT says in Al-A’araf, v; 26: “O
you Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got
your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment (dress), to
expose their shame: for he (Satan) and his tribe watch you from a position
where you cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends (only) to those
without faith.”.
And in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), narrated by Abu
Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah said: “The
characteristics of the true tradition are five: circumcision, shaving the pubic
region, depilating the armpits hair, clipping the nails, and cutting the
moustaches short.” [Al-Bukhari. Volume; 4, Hadith Number; 5889]. Without Islam,
we would not able to know what it means by cleanliness and decency. Mankind
lived nude and naked but Islam taught them how to cover their private parts and
to live life different from that of animals. These indeed will manifest the
exemplary morality of Islam if put into practice by Muslims. Due to the
significance of cleanliness and purity, it is being considered half of Eeman
(Faith). Acceptance of Salat (Prayer), one of the pillars of Islam is
conditional on cleanliness and purity (taharatunnajaasat, taharatulhadath).
Narrated Salman Al-Farisi (Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses
his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds
(for the Friday prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together in
line (in the Mosque), then prays as much as (Allah has) written for him and
then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the sermon, his sins in
between the present and the previous Friday would be forgiven”[Al-Bukhari.
Volume; 1, Hadith No: 883]
This measure of excellence is not only for the Universities or
assembly/meeting places, but for the entire circle of Muslims’ life. It was
narrated in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW): purify your body, Allah will
purify you, in deed no servant spends his night in purity, except an Angel
spends that night with him praying: “O Allah forgive your servant, he has in
deed spend the night in purity”. The Ummah (Nation) of Muhammad (SAW) will be
recognized on the Day of Judgement by the shining of their faces and limbs.
Muslim males are required to get circumcised to avoid faint traces of urine
entrapped in the foreskin of the genitals. They are also instructed to trim
their moustaches in order to avert oral intakes. Islam has directed attention
in taking care of mouth by using any purifying agents. Brushing the teeth with
toothpastes (once or twice a day) is very recent development of the near past,
but Muslims are accustomed this practice for the past 1400 years, five times a
day prior to each ablution. Apart from body, Islam requires a Muslim to keep
his clothes, houses and streets clean. Muslims are asked to use clean water and
keep it safe from impurities and pollution. Moreover, Islam instructed Muslims
to maintain the cleanliness of the roads and streets.
This is considered a charity to ridding the streets of
impurities and filth. In an authentic hadith, Muhammad A.S. said "Iman has
60 branches. The smallest branch is to clear obstacles and filth from the
roads/streets." The Prophet (Peace be upon him) strictly warned against it
and considered it one of the reasons to provoke Allah's curse and the people's
curse, saying: "Beware of the three acts that cause others to curse you:
relieving yourselves in a watering place, on foot paths or shaded places."
(Abu Dawud). Wearing clean and good-looking dress is always required in Islam,
though away from vying or Riya (showing up). Narrated Al-Ahwas Al- Jushami:
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) saw me wearing a faded clothe. He (the Prophet) asked
me: “do you have money?” I said: yes. He then asked me again: “where did you
get it?” I said: from the camels and goats that Allah has given me. He (the
prophet) said: “Allah loves to see the sign of his blessings on his servant”.
That is if Allah gives you wealth, you should not be stingy with it to the
extent you cannot even benefit yourself from it.
And in another Hadith on the authority of Abdullah bin Mas'ud
that the Apostle of Allah (May peace be upon him), observed: “He who has in his
heart the weight of a mustard seed of arrogance shall not enter Paradise.A
companion said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his
shoes should be fine. Muhammad A.S. remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful and He
loves Grace. Arrogance is to disdain the truth (out of self-conceit) and
contempt for the people. [narrated in Sahih Muslim. Hadith no: 164]. Therefore,
there is a strong link between dress and fear of Allah, both are clothes
(SIYAAB). Fear of Allah is the cloth that shields heart from Shirk, while dress
covers our private part and beautifies us and distinguishes between us and
animals. That is to say covering our body is not just a mere culture or
something that western civilization brought like the way materialists and their
like think, but it is a nature that Allah has created human being with and it
is part of what He has ordered believers to do in order to earn His garden of Paradise.
Allah says: “O Children of Adam! Wear your
beautiful apparel (dress) at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But
waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters. Say: Who has forbidden
the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He has produced for His servants, and the
things, clean and pure, (which He has provided) for sustenance? Say: They are,
in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the
Day of Judgment. Thus do we explain the signs in detail for those who
understand. Say: the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: shameful
deeds, whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason;
assigning of partners to Allah, for which He has given no authority; and saying
things about Allah of which you have no knowledge. To every people is a term
appointed: when their term is reached (i.e. death), not an hour can they cause
delay, nor (an hour) can they advance (it in anticipation).” [Al - A’araf, v31-34]
أَلاَ إِنَّ أَحْسَنَ الْكَلاَمِ وَ أَبْلَغَ النِّظَامِ. كَلاَمُ اللهِ
الْمَلِكِ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلاَّمِ. كَمَا قَالَ اللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى فِي
الْكَلاَمِ. وَ إِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ. وَ أَنْصِتُوا
لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ. أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْـمِ
اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ:
إن الدين عند الله الإسلام
اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ. اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ. اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ حَمْدَ الَْمَا أَمَرَ.
نَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَ نَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَ
رَسُولُهُ النَّبِيُّ الْمُعْتَبَرُ. تَعْظِيمًا لِنَبِيِّهِ وَ تَكْرِيمًا
لِفَخَامَةِ شَانِ شَرَفِ صَفِيِّهِ. فَقَالَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ مِنْ قَائِلٍ
مُخْبِرًا وَ آمِرًا: {إِنَّ اللهَ وَ مَلاَئِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا}.
لَبَّيْكَ...
{ إِنَّ اللهَ يَاْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَ
الإِحْسَانِ وَ إِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَي وَ يَنْهَي عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَ
الْمُنْكَرِ وَ الْبَغْيِ. يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ }
(An-Nahl, 16/90) Allah enjoins justice (and right judgment in all matters), and
devotion to doing good, and generosity towards relatives; and He forbids you
indecency, wickedness, and vile conduct (all offenses against religion, life,
personal property, chastity, and health of mind and body). He exhorts you
(repeatedly) so that you may reflect and be mindful!
Jazakallahu Khair
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