Keeping it Clean

Have you ever stood to pray, in a perfect state of mind at a Masjid, just after an Emaan rushing lecture, when you realize that the person beside you has the most awful stench? Or have you ever visited someone’s house, only to realize that you would not feel comfortable drinking a glass of water? These experiences leave you wondering; don’t these people understand the level of importance that cleanliness has in Islam?

Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “cleanliness is half of faith…” (1)

So how then can Muslim people claiming to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) not care about keeping their surroundings clean? A lot of them don’t even care about cleaning the Masjid, the House of Allah! The stories you hear and the stories I can tell are quite disturbing. For one rather grotesque story, just last Ramadan one lady decided that potty training for her one year old had to take place at this time at this place. Apparently, the kid wasn’t wearing diapers, so when he did number two, it dripped out of his pants onto the floor in the Masjid. We were praying taraweeh in one of the last ten nights! And of course no one could concentrate because the kid was walking up and down in front of us, and the diaper drippings were landing where we were supposed to make Sujood. The even more unbelievable part was that the mother didn’t bother cleaning anything up. All she did was pick the kid up after the current two rakahs was over and left. Obviously no one volunteered to clean it up, so I cleaned what I could reach between the people and left the rest. That’s just one example of extremely un-hygienic behavior, which is even more so shameful considering that the person was a Muslim and that all this happened in a MASJID!

Since we’re talking about cleanliness, we might as well mention personal hygiene. One factor is the issue of growing your nails. It is well known that a lot of Muslim women grow their nails, but don’t really pay much attention to the face that this is well against the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), and there are many Hadiths to prove it.

Abu Huraira reported: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Five are the acts of Fitrah (purity)… [among them are] clipping the nails [at least once] every 40 days.” (2)

A’isha reported: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said “Ten are the acts according to the Fitrah… [among them are] clipping the nails…” (3)

So it is clear through the Sunnah that keeping the nails cut is a very important part of personal hygiene. How you could you eat with such terribly long nails?!

As for other things, simply taking a shower and smelling good is very important. As I said earlier, some people simply smell horrible when you stand next to them to pray, and letting them know isn’t as easy as being like, “Umm hello…brother (or sister) you really stink,” as manners is also a very important part of Islam, and embarrassing people has also been spoken against by the Prophet (pbuh). It’s bad enough being the person next to the person who doesn’t smell good, but how do you think the person who smells feels? Not a single living person can tell me that if they don’t shower for a day or two that they don’t FEEL wrong. At least, not any of the people I know. Take me for example, I went camping the other day and where we went there were no showers. I had never felt so un-clean in all my life. When I finally came home, the first thing I did was take a cold refreshing shower and put all my clothing that I had taken with me to wash along with the bag I had taken. I really and truly don’t understand how people could stand to have their clothes smelling and then (at least act) like they don’t notice and don’t care. The Prophet (pbuh) was the neatest, cleanest man that has ever lived. His hair was always neat, his clothes always clean, his beard kept neat, and he always smelled good. How then could Muslim people, who are supposed to be using Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as an example have themselves smelling so horribly and not care.

Oh, but don’t spend so much time in the bathroom or shower, wasting water! And as we all know, there are jinns and shayateen in there as well, they are watching you, so be as fast as you can. And don’t forget to recite your dua’s before entering the bathroom as well!

There’s more to keeping clean than showering and clipping your nails, though. Regularly removing the hair from the underarms is an extremely important part of cleanliness. It sure is an embaressing subject though…

Overall, Muslims should honestly start keeping themselves and their surroundings clean. Just always remember the Prophet (pbuh)’s words: cleanliness is half of faith. Don’t take half of your faith so lightly! Those words should be enough; you should not need any reminding.


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(1) Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves. (Book #002, Hadith #0432)

(2) Abu Huraira reported: Five are the acts of Fitrah: circumcision, removing the pubes, clipping the moustache, cutting the nails, plucking the hair under the armpits, none of which should be neglected for more than 40 nights. (Book #002, Hadith #0496)


(3) 'A'isha reported: the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Ten are the acts according to Fitrah: clipping the moustache, letting the beard grow, using the tooth-stick, snuffing water in the nose, cutting the nails, washing the finger joints, plucking the hair under the armpits, shaving the pubes and cleaning one's private parts with water. The narrator said: I have forgotten the tenth, but it may have been rinsing the mouth. (Book #002, Hadith #0502)


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