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Health and Cleanliness
the first instruction that al-qaradawi deducts from the sunnah is to cherish health and truly realize its value as a blessing from allah almighty. allah says in the holy qur'an, [and when your lord proclaimed, "if you give thanks, i will give you more; but if you are thankless, lo! my punishment is dire] (ibrahim 14:7). the author , al-qaradawi, emphasized that al bukhari reported that the prophet clearly said that "there are two blessings that many people are about to lose: health and free time" from what is mentioned above, al-qaradawi concludes that the "way to thank allah for the gift of health would be to preserve it in accordance with allah's rules" (al-qaradawi 6).
the author quotes imam ahmed in his musnad, who reported on the authority of abu bakr who said, "i heard the prophet (peace be upon him) saying: ask allah almighty for perfect faith and sound health, no one ever gets anything, after sound faith, better than sound health" .
the first of many ways to maintain overall health is through personal bodily cleanliness. al-qaradawi asserts that islam's attitude towards cleanliness is unmatched by any other faith because cleanliness in islam is an act of worship that draws people closer to allah. moreover, it is a religious obligation (al-qaradawi 9). the renowned scholar draws our attention to a very important point, namely that all books of fiqh (islamic jurisprudence) start with a chapter entitled taharah (purification). this is the first branch of fiqh that muslim men and women start to study (qaradawi 9). the respected scholar then cites a well-known rule for muslims: no muslim could pray if he or she is not purified from "al hadath al asghar" by partial ablution as well as "al hadath al akbar" by complete ablution or ghusl.
the partial ablution, wudu', is sometimes repeated several times a day. it is not complete unless the parts of the body more susceptible to dirt are washed, such as the face, the nostrils, the mouth, the feet, the head, and the ears (inner side) allah almighty describes wudu'inthe holy qur'an as follows{oyouwho believe, when you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands upto the elbows, and lightly rub your heads and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.andd if ye are junub, purify yourselves. and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or you have had contact with women, and ye find no water, then go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it. allah would not place a burden on you, but he would purify you and would perfect his grace upon you, that you may give thanks] (al-ma'idah 5:6). every muslim man andwoman knows that prayer without ablution will not be valid.
in addition to the cleanliness of the body as a pre-condition for allah's acceptance of prayers, the surroundings have to be equally clean. the clothes, the ground, and the prayer rug have all to be clean. the holy qur'an states, {for allah loves those who turn to him constantly and he loves those who keepthemselves pure and clean] (al-baqarah 2:222). the sunnah emphatically supports this verse as prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) said, "purification is half of faith" (muslim)
the prophet was very keen to emphasize personal hygiene and bathing as he said, "it is the right of allah upon every muslim that he should take a bath (at least) once every seven days and that he should wash his head and body" (al-bukhari and muslim). prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) was specially concerned with the hygiene of the mouth and teeth. he was reported saying, "the siwak (a small piece of wood from a particular tree used for cleansing teeth) is a means of cleansing the mouth and pleasing the lord" (ahmad). moreover, our beloved messenger urged people to clean their houses and the town's roads (al-qaradawi 13).
