3. Believers must Keep Purity (Paakeezgi) & Cleanliness

Surat No. 74, Al Muddassir, Ayats No. 1 - 5

o وَالرُّجْزَفَاهْجُرْ o وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ o وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ o قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ o يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ

Translation :

O you wrapped up (in garment)! Rise and deliver His warning (to People)! And magnify your Lord ! And purify your garments ! And keep away from uncleanliness!

Comments :

These guidelines were revealed by Angel Jibraeel by the command of Allah not only for the Prophet but also for all the believers.

These verses were revealed after the very first revelation in mount Hira.This was after a gap of number of days. The Holy Prophet (saws) on this occasion had been terrified when he had suddenly seen the Angel Jibraeel (as), sitting on a throne between sky and the earth. He then returned hastily home and asked his wife Khadija (ra) to cover him up, so Allah addressed him with Ya ayyuhal-Muddassiru. The meaning of which is: "O you enveloped in your cloak!

“ A command had been given to the Prophet (saws) “Arise and warn the people that they are not living in a lawless kingdom where they are free to do whatever they like without any fear."

The duty of the Prophet is to magnify the glory of his Lord and publicly proclaim that the greatness in this universe belongs to none but Allah alone. For this very reason the slogan of Allaho Akbar has become a most distinctive and prominent emblem of Muslims throughout the world today. A fine point must be noted here that this was the first occasion when the Holy Prophet (saws) had been commanded to arise for performing the duties of the great mission of Prophet hood. It was obvious that the city and society in which he was commanded to perform this mission, was the centre of polytheism. The city of Makkah had become the most sacred place of pilgrimage for the polytheistic Arabs. It was obvious that in such a place, a person all by himself proclaiming the Oneness of God in the face of polytheism was full of risks. But Allah's greatness and majesty which was deeply embedded in the heart of the Prophet did not allow any hesitation at all in facing and fighting the entire world by himself.

Command of Allah is to Keep your garments free from every filth and impurity. A point to be noted that the purity of the body and garments and the purity of the spirit are inter-linked and inter-dependent. " Therefore, A pure spirit and an impure body with impure garments cannot live together.

At that time the society was totally devoid of the most elementary concepts of purity and cleanliness, and the Holy Prophet's task was to teach its members cleanliness in every way of life. Thus, the Holy Prophet (saws) gave his followers such detailed teaching about the cleanliness and the purity of the garments which is not possessed even by the most civilized nations of today. Obviously, if a person puts on neat clothes, he was looked upon as a worldly man.

This is very important that cleanliness and purification is one of the great privileges of Islam. There are two kinds of cleanliness; physical and spiritual. As far as physical cleanliness is concerned, it is of two types. One which is related to human body and the other is related to environment, water, house, road and public places.

Muslims are required to observe cleanliness from the excretions of all the body organs . Muslims wash after passing urine every time and also enjoined to use water, not paper or anything else after eliminating body wastes (Urine or Feces). Before every prayer (at least five times a day) and before recital of the Quran, Muslims are asked to perform ablution.

For keeping the body clean from all types of dirt Muslims are enjoined to take bath.

Apart from body, Islam requires a Muslim to keep his clothes, houses and streets clean. In fact a Muslim cannot offer his prayers with unclean body, impure clothes or using dirty premises.

Apart from physical cleanliness, Islam emphasizes on spiritual cleanliness. This means that one is free from polytheism, hypocrisy and ill manners, love of wealth, love of fame and other desires. The emphasis in Islam is more on the cleanliness of the inner-self that is heart, mind and soul. Thus, Islam requires the sincere believer to purify his entire way of life. The directives of Zakah (alms) and fasting are nothing but to purify ones wealth and soul.

In view of the significance of cleanliness in Islam, Muslims should have the highest standard of cleanliness and personal hygiene of all the people in the world. But, it is highly regrettable that the Muslim localities are marked with unhygienic and unhealthy conditions.

It is therefore obligatory that all the believers must keep themselves clean in all respect and also keep themselves free from the filth of evils which are prevalent in society around them.